Great news – jumbo loan interest rates are way down! Today you can get one for 6 3/4% for 30 year fixed jumbo loan if your credit scores are good.  Jumbo interest rates are for loans over 417K.  Just a month ago these rates hovered 8%.  This should help all those who are selling houses over 450K; it will bring more buyers in!

I have listed a 3,000 square foot D. Horton built home on almost 3 .5 acres with gorgeous high Catalina Mt and pristine desert views. Be at peace with nature while swimming in your pebble tec pool with rock waterfall. Offers 3 car garage, silestone counters, first floor study; 2nd floor loft game room with pool table, large 2-story family room with fireplace and more. Priced to sell quickly at $500,000. Give me a call at 520-615-2598 or visit my website at www.DonnaAnderson.com and look at the bottom of the first page for more details including color brochure. This one is what you have been looking for if you find all the newer homes are on small homesites and you want privacy, land and views everywhere. It will be held open tomorrow–Sunday, October 7th from 1-4 PM.

There was an article in US Today yesterday stating the Tucson market is doing very poorly. At the bottom it sites its reference as Remax International.  I keep wondering why they did not use the Tucson Board of Realtors Multiple Listing stats. Tucson Mulitple Listing Service has these stats on- line and  one can get the monthly multiple-listed real estate stats for the last 4 years, hence for instance you could compare  August 2007 with August 2006, etc.  To me, these would be the most accurate stats. 

 Several weeks ago a local news TV show showed photos of a street with many for sale signs– one house for sale right after another. In the Foothills seeing many houses for sale right next to each other  is a very rare event, and in fact, I have never seen this!  It is a buyers market, but I wish they would paint a more accurate picture. Also different areas are faring better than others–the Foothills has lower inventory and less depreciation than Marana, Oro Valley, Vail or other parts of Tucson, but those who are out of town, especially, do not get the correct picture of the real estate market from the news media. The only thing I can do is keep informing everyone I meet, you included.

We should see interest rates for Conforming (under 417K) fixed -rate loans stabilize down to 6%, which is better than we have seen all year. Now is a great time to buy since the inventory is good and rates are great! Hopefully, as a result, Jumbo loans (those over 417K) will move down to 6.5%; they have been about 7% in the past week or so.  However, many luxury home buyers pay cash or put more than 1/3 down and are less influenced by interest rates than mainstream borrowers. This gives a shot in the arm to the housing market which is stabilizing but slows down seasonally at this time in Tucson.

One of the most aggravating things I run into as a Realtor is seeing so many over-priced listings. Why is this? Is it because there are still too many inexperienced realtors that do not have the expertise to advise their Sellers properly? Every experienced agent knows that  the proper listing price is a major factor in bringing in an offer quickly and nets a higher price. It is real estate 101. I have seen so many houses that have waited too long to get real and now they are paying the price! Now their listings are stale and lack the appeal of a new listing and they could have been long gone at a higher price if they were priced properly to begin with. A good agent is constantly updating the competition and keeping the Seller informed if it is necessary to make price changes as well.

Equally hard to understand is why some homes are listed at prices like $449,900. When it is priced this way you totally lose the buyer who is running a home search for $450,000 and above.  When a house is listed at $450,000, it will get the buyers looking at let’s say $400,000 – $450,000 and the buyers who are looking at $450,000 – $500,000. It is our job as realtors to direct the Sellers to the best marketing strategy.  I have always felt that if you do the job well, you deserve to be compensated well; however, some of these agents are not doing any favors to their Sellers.

Time to mention another few pet peeves. I can not tell you how many houses I view that do not have a brochure. I always do a brochure listing all the features of the house with color photos so that the buyers will have a chance to review all the features they may have not noticed when they have viewed so many other houses.  Houses that show well should always have a virtual tour, but not many do. Additionally some of the photos taken of the house that are attached to the multiple listing (that is many times the first thing the potential buyer looks at) can be deplorable. It is especially disheartening when you see a nice house with a great view and photos that are not representative. If the agent can not take good pictures, hire one who will!  

There is just too much talk in the media about home price declines for the first time in a long time.  The Foothills market has stabilized; a price decline of less than 1 per cent just is not very notable.  Of course,  the prices in Tucson have not gone down in years. This is because prices never went up as much as they did in Spring 2004 – Spring 2006.  What goes up so much, so fast, can not last. Interest rates are at a 3 month low of 6.5% for conforming, 30 year fixed financing and jumbo financing is finally at a desirable 7%. Inventory is good, but certainly not flooded. It is a very good time to buy and not a bad time to sell either. We are not like most of Arizona! The Foothills has pretty much held its value, or gone down a little bit.  Those of us that bought 3 or more years ago can make quite a nice profit if we sell, and Buyers have a nice choice of desirable homes, unlike the past few years.

Great news! Conforming loan interest rates are now 6.5% and jumbo loan interest rates are 7%.  These are for fixed rate 30 year financing.  (Conforming loans are under 417K and  Jumbo loans are over 417K).  Additionally if you buy a Long listing and utilize a Long Mortgage lender, the first year will be brought down 1%; so for loans under 417K, it would be 5.5% the first year and for higher loans would be 6% the first year! I am so happy I work for Long since it offers such innovative programs that serve its clients so well.  Keep in mind this mortgage buydown is only offered through September 15th.   What  a great time to buy a  Long listed house!  These low interest rates are pretty much the same rates we saw a year ago.  What a difference a week makes!

Jumbo mortgages cost a little over 1 percentage over conforming financing as a result of the credit tightening going on in the lending industry.  A year ago a buyer who wanted a jumbo mortgage (financing over 417K) would  pay about 1/4% over the conforming loan amount (loans under 417K).  During the next few weeks, if you purchase a Long listing,  Long Mortgage will discount the first years’ interest rate by 1%.  So don’t wait to buy; call me if you are interested in viewing homes for sale.

 In the Foothills area, there are a fair amount of buyers who finance through jumbo loans since house prices are higher than the rest of Tucson.  This increased percentage rate for Jumbo Mortgages — this weekend was just a little less than 8%— will likely have a little negative impact on the sale of houses that are list priced over $500,000.  It may take longer to sell and it is likely to cause more concessions by the Sellers.  On the other hand, for those buyers who are looking to originate mortgages of less than 417K (conforming loans), there is good news: rates have dropped. This weekend you can procure a fixed rate mortgage for 6.625%. And as mentioned above, for a very limited time only if you buy a Long listing  and use a Long Mortgage Lender, the first year will be 1 percent less or 5.625% (this weekend rate– Keep in mind rates change daily.)  Long Realty is working hard to keep our inventory moving and keep our clients happy.

Tucson Multiple Listing Service has published its July stats.  The number of sales YTD in North Tucson is down about 25% from last year at this time. The number of new listings is about 3.5% less than this time last year.

 I always keep up with the market and am constantly previewing new listings and am amazed that in this market (with so many homes for buyers to chose from), that houses are not staged better.  Many have too much furniture which makes the house look small or have too many personal pictures everywhere. When there are too many personal pictures, it is hard for a buyer to imagine themselves living in the house.  More than a few are priced too high.  I always wonder if their agent is not giving them good advice or if they stubbornly do not listen to the advice their agents give them.

 It is apparent that the market is not real poor for Sellers, but they really have to make the effort to make their houses, inside and out look as good as possible to stand out from the crowd.

The subprime market debackle has little or no affect on the Foothills market.  Most buyers in the Foothills have good credit scores and put a minimum of 10% down. So although you will hear a lot of negativity about the huge affect this situation has on the marketplace, we are lucky enough not to be very affected.