June 22, 2009 by Donna Anderson.

Without a doubt, it seems many who want to sell their luxury Tucson Foothills homes do not realize that prices dropped about 10 percent when the stock market crashed last fall. Unfortunately, many homes are list -priced at prior to the stock crash prices.  These homes have little chance of being sold unless they take this 10% dip into consideration. I get many calls from Sellers that seem to think they might be able to sell their homes at 2007 or beginning of 2008 prices, and it just is not attainable. Even more surprising, I have gone on listing appointments with some Sellers thinking they can get the same prices as the peak of the market, and though I would not list their home at this high price, there is always a real estate agent who will. What these Sellers also need to know is that by adding to the glut of homes on the market, they are adding to the unlikelihood of appreciation and  probably leading to more depreciation, when the market is struggling to stabilize. It is  especially frustrating to me  since my fellow-realtors are part of the problem by agreeing to list these homes. They are giving the Sellers false- hope and as the home withers on the market, the luster will go away and it will be worth even less than it would have, had they listed it at fair-market value to begin with.  Many times I am the second agent to get the listing after the Sellers have gotten “real”; I always feel badly since I know if they had listed with me originally the house would have sold sooner, and for more.

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June 15, 2009 by Donna Anderson.

There is no doubt about it that luxury homes in the Foothills are selling and that the number of sales is increasing for homes priced over $800,000. As time goes on, the deals will be less. Of course, there are numerous homes that are very over-priced, and these will not sell until they get real, but for those homes priced aggressively, most should become history in 2009.

Perhaps that the stock market is 15% better than last Fall has made the difference for the high-end market. Perhaps the many folks who love the mountain and Sonoran beauty, coupled with the fantastic climate, have decided it is now or never to get the best deal in many years.

 Whatever it is, with each passing day, I see more proof of life in the luxury Tucson homes market.

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June 10, 2009 by Donna Anderson.

Today Tucson Multiple Listing Service reported 3 homes went under contract:

Pima Canyon                list price:            $1,495,000

LaPaloma                      list price:             $1,695,000

Ventana Canyon         list price:             $  999,000

2009 will likely prove the bottom has been reached for 1 million + homes in the Tucson Foothills.

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June 5, 2009 by Donna Anderson.

6595 E Placita Alhaja, Tucson, AZ 85750 Range Price $675,000 - $700,000. Very aggressive price for this 3,441 square foot 5 bedroom, 4 bath home on almost 1 acre with amazing high Catalina Mountain Views. Resort-style living with large, sparkling pool, multi-covered patios and custom BBQ in private, Sonoran Desert Setting. Exquisitely remodeled with a Kitchen usually found in homes priced over 1 million. Minutes from Ventana Canyon, Westin LaPaloma Resort, upscale shopping and restaurants. Boasts coveted Catalina Foothills schools.

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June 5, 2009 by Donna Anderson.

Since my office is the # 1 selling office in all of Southern Arizona, let’s see how the sales stats were for May. These prices represent final sales prices:

• Under $100,000                             5 sales

• $100,000 - $200,000                  18 sales

• $200,000 - $300,000                 16 sales

• $300,000 - $400,000                   6 sales

• $400,000 - $500,000                     3 sales

• $500,000 - $600,000                     4 sales

• $600,000 - $700,000                  NONE 

• $700,000 - $800,000                   4 sales

• $800,000 - $900,000                   2 sales

• $900,000 - 1 million                      NONE

• $1,150,000                                        1 sale

• $1,395,000                                       1 sale

• $1,800,000                                      2 sales

• $2,100,000                                      1 sale

• TOTAL OF 63 SALES  that have closed escrow in May.

 Note: each sale is equivalent to one side of the sale, the listing agent gets one side and the selling agent gets another side. So, for instance, if the listing agent and sales agent are from the same office, it is counted as 2 sales even though only one property is sold.

These stats are those reported by Tucson Multiple Listing Service and were compiled carefully by me, but could reflect some minor mistakes on my part.  

Obviously most of the sales are in homes priced lower than $300,000.  Surprisingly enough the homes priced over a million are not so bad: there were 5 sales.

A few years ago the Long Foothills office had many sales in homes priced over $400,000. It is amazing that there were only 13 sales in homes priced from $400,000 to a million!  

Traditionally in the Catalina Foothills, homes sales start slowing down in June.  July and August sales are usually quite a bit slower than the first 6 months of the year.

I share these stats with all you out there that have your homes listed for sale in the Catalina Foothills. You need to make sure your pricing is aggressive, that the house shows well, and that you have an excellent agent who knows your community.    

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June 4, 2009 by Donna Anderson.

I can not tell you how many homes I see in the upper price ranges in the Catalina Foothills that are very over-priced and have been on the market for a long time. To top it off,  some are tough to show or preview. You see, many high-end clients prefer  that their agents preview homes and weed out the ones that do not appear to meet their needs. Many of the agents who market houses listed for sale that are priced over one million demand that you meet with them at a time that it is convenient for the listing agent. Some listing agents will not open the house to preview it and will only make it available if you are accompanying a buyer.  I also find it interesting that when I do show these expensive homes,  some listing agents do not  call me for feedback.  It has been my experience that most Sellers appreciate feedback and many times learn from it. As a result, some reduce the sales price or make changes to their home to make it more appealing and the listing agents also learn a lot from the feedback, too, and may modify their marketing strategy, as a result. When an agent does not call me for feedback or makes the home hard for me to preview it, I call this unaggressive marketing. 

If you have a home that is not priced to sell and is listed with an unaggressive agent who has too many listings to offer you personalized service, your home is unlikely to sell.  

 I notice some of the top Tucson luxury home real estate agents are carrying listing inventories of 60 or more houses. How on earth can they give personalized service with so many listings? My message to these agents is ”Cut your losses, and refuse to list homes that are obviously over-priced. Make the homes easier to preview and show.” After all, the more people who see the house, the more likely it will sell.  Even if it does not suit the needs of one buyer, it may suit the needs of another future buyer of the previewing agent.

To Sellers — I say, “If you are not serious about selling, take the house off the market so the market is not flooded. If you can not stomach the lower prices of the present market, sell at another time when the market appreciates.” If many not so serious Sellers  would take their homes off the market, the  inventory would lessen, and as a result, prices would increase. It is all about supply and demand. In homes priced over a million in the Tucson Luxury Homes Market, the supply is quite a bit higher than the demand.

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June 3, 2009 by Donna Anderson.

When has the market bottomed in the Tucson Foothills? Many have asked, and the answer, in my opinion,  is probably that in every price-range except in homes priced over 800K, it has occurred, is occurring or will occur later on in  the last few months of 2009. In the lower- end price range of the Tucson Foothills, homes priced at 350K or below, the floor has already occurred. So if you you love Tucson, want to bargain- hunt and have some nice homes to chose from, don’t wait any longer! 

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