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.

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.

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.

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.    

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.

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! 

Up until recently one could not find a nice single family home with a two- car garage and pretty views in the Tucson Foothills priced below $400,0000. But today there are many options.Two come to mind:  Sabino Springs and Sabino Mountain are both fairly new gated communities with incredible mountain and Sonoran Desert views. Sabino Springs is surrounded by the Arizona National Golf Course and is minutes to Saguaro National Park. Sabino Mountain is minutes from Ventana Canyon, LaPaloma and all the upscale shopping, restaurants and spas. HOA fees are low for what they offer–community pool, spa, security and a gated community with lots of pristine common area. Come consider a better life with clean air, clear starry nights, incredible beauty with a location in the valley surrounded by multiple mountain ranges,  and a mild, warm winter climate where you have recreational opportunities in abundance.

I get the NY Times every Sunday because I miss the cosmopolitan news that few US newspapers offer. On the front page is an article discussing how low -end homes in Phoenix are going like crazy. In fact, it is like the 2005 Seller’s Market is back. Well, the same is true in  the Tucson- Catalina Foothills; if you are looking for home list priced at 350K or less– small single family, townhome or condo in the Tucson Catalina Foothills, the market is red hot. If you stay on the fence, you will miss a great opportunity! Call me at 520-918-2410 if you want to explore this rare opportunity!

Wow! Today three homes closed escrow that were priced over a million:

$1,050,000 at Tucson Country Club

$2,100,000 at Pima Canyon

$1,350,000 at Palo Verde Ranch (NE Tanque Verde area)

and one home list priced at $1,385,000 in Catalina Foothills Estates went under contract today.

So the slowdown in sales for million+ homes is letting up!

Although the hottest segment of the market is in the lower price range below 300K, with each new week homes priced at 500K and above a seeing more sales. The prices are so reasonable that many who vacationed in Tucson during the Winter and have left, are now back to buy. Like those watching the stock market closely and guessing the bottom has already occurred, many see the Tucson Luxury Homes Market as having mostly bottomed. Jumbo loan interest rates are lower than they were last year. Most buyers in this price- range have no problem putting the necessary 25% down.