2017 Tucson Market Update: Growth on the Horizon

Here’s a quick recap on 2016 and some insight into what Tucson’s 2017 real estate market will look like.   

There are many great Tucson area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call us at 520-544-5555 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Now that 2017 is underway, I wanted to bring you a quick update on the Tucson real estate market. 

As it turned out, 2016 was actually a great rebuilding year. Our average list price is up about 4% and our average unit sales are up about 3% from last year. Things are looking pretty positive, and we are still in a recovering economy, which means the market is recovering as well.

On the other hand, we have seen a large decrease in inventory. The active listings in the MLS are down to about 4,000, which is a 20% decrease from last year. As supply goes down, prices go up, which means we should see continued upward movement in prices in 2017. This is great news for sellers, but buyers need to be prepared to move fairly quickly to purchase a property. 

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Growth in Tuscon will bring a great year for real estate.

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Last year, our average days on market was 60, and today it’s 47. Homes that are in the right areas and priced right are selling very quickly. In fact, 68% of our sales happen in the first 60 days. If you are looking to buy, make sure you have met with your lender and are ready to jump on a property. 

2017 is going to be a great year for real estate based on a few things that are happening here in Tucson. Raytheon, one of our largest employers, just got a $2 billion government contract and will be hiring somewhere close to 2,000 people over the next couple of years. Caterpillar, from Peoria, Illinois, is moving some of their management level people here. The University of Arizona will be opening a graduate veterinary school in Oro Valley which will bring in 500 students initially, then grow to 800. Roche Medical is also continuing to expand. All of these factors will be great for our market growth.

If you are looking to buy or sell a home or if you have any questions, please feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you! 

Buying a Home May Be Cheaper Than Renting One

If you’ve been renting a home, you’ve been paying too much. In Tucson, it’s actually cheaper to buy your own home than to rent one.

There are many great Tucson area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call us at 520-544-5555 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Today I want to talk to renters who are considering buying a home. In the past four years, rental rates have gone up at a dramatically higher rate than home values. Rental rates are skyrocketing right now, so we are going to talk you through a few statistics when it comes to renting vs. buying.

The median sale price last month in Tucson was $173,000. If you were to buy that house with 10% down, your monthly payment would be right around $900. If you were to rent that same house today, your payment would be around $1,360 per month.

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It’s a great time to take a serious look at becoming a homeowner.

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As you can see, you are paying a premium for renting. I strongly suggest that renters reach out to a real estate professional or a lending professional and have them explain the details to you. I’m sure you will find that buying is in your best interest.

I suggest you talk to someone soon. Interest rates are still at record lows but housing prices are starting to inch back up as the market recovers. It’s a great time to take a serious look at becoming a homeowner, no matter what your situation.

If you have any questions, give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

How Residential Purchase Contracts Work in Arizona

The residential purchase contract has three contingencies in it to protect buyers and ensure they are buying a home without any surprises.

There are many great Tucson area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call us at 520-544-5555 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

When you make an offer on a home in Arizona, you will present a home seller with our residential purchase contract. The primary point to that offer is what you are physically offering – the financial side of things. 

This includes your down payment, your earnest money, and your pre-approval if you’re buying with financing. We put all of this together and submit an offer so it’s taken seriously. The purchase contract contains three contingencies, which are in there to protect you as a buyer.

The first contingency is the inspection period, which gives you 10 days to order and complete any inspections on the home that you choose. We then send the inspection report to the seller with a list of items that we want them to repair. If they don’t respond in the way you want or you can’t come to an agreement, you are then free to cancel the contract. At the same time, we use a title company to make sure the home will be easily transferable if you choose to proceed.

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We have never lost a penny of our clients’ earnest money.

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If you and the seller come to an agreement on the repairs, it’s time to move on to the next contingency – the appraisal contingency. Your lender is going to order the appraisal for an appraiser to come up and inspect the property and confirm the property is worth what the offer is. This ensures you don’t overpay.

The final contingency is the loan contingency. Through the entire process, the lender is going to give the seller updates on how the loan is proceeding. If something were to happen in the middle of the transaction that resulted in you not being able to afford the home, you won’t be forced to buy the property. 

If you manage the transaction properly, your earnest money is never at risk. We have never lost a penny of clients’ earnest money in 16 years and we don’t plan on starting now.

If you have any questions for us or would like to take a look at a copy of our purchase contract, give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you.