Owner: Tucson REblog URL:http://www.michaelkrotchie.com/blog/ Join Date: Sun, 01 Jul 2007 08:30:32 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: Tucson Real Estate blog discussing recent news, market data, and everything else relevant to the real estate market in Tucson, Arizona Site statistics:Click here
Tips to Beat the Arizona Heat 2007-06-30 15:18:23 Now that summer is in full swing and ninety degree weather would be welcomed with open arms (compared to what we’ve been getting) I thought it would be a good idea to talk about some ways to deal with the heat. Most of this is probably common knowledge to those of us living here but for visitors and potential Tucsonans it might be useful information.
Use sunshades in your car and crack your windows. With temperatures reaching more than one hundred degrees regularly the interior or your car can easily reach upwards of one hundred sixty degrees! Put up some sunshades to keep the heat down a little bit and leave a window slightly cracked to allow your air to breathe a bit. Unfortunately some people fail to understand just how dangerous that kind of heat can be and go and do something dumb like leave their animals in the car while shopping at the supermarket. Worse yet are the stories we hear every year about children being left in a hot, parked cars. Jay over at his PhoenixRealEs Read more:Arizona
Top 100 Reasons to Use a Real Estate Agent 2007-06-26 08:27:26 Lately it seems like news stories about For Sale By Owner (FSBO) homes vs. homes sold by real estate agents have been popping up more and more often. In many of the stories the conclusion is that FSBO homes are a better deal, financially, for the homeowner. Now I’m not saying a homeowner can’t or shouldn’t sell their own home, but I think it’s unwise to minimize the value that a good real estate agent provides. So I went ahead and made a list of the top 100 reasons you should use a real estate agent for everyone who is thinking of selling their home themselves. Enjoy!
The best research tool for home buying – According to the National Association of REALTORS®, real estate agents are listed number one (85%) for Information Sources used in Home Searches.
Saves you time – An agent knows clients lead a busy life with work, family and kids. A real estate agent takes the time necessary to ensure a smooth transaction with the least amount of intrusion into your li Read more:Reasons
, Estate
, Agent
, Real Estate
, Real Estate Agent
Linda Vista Cinemas - A New State-of-the-Art Theater in Marana 2007-06-24 09:39:30 Marana residents rejoice! For those of you tired of driving to the Foothills Mall to catch a flick good news is on the horizon.
Linda VistaCinemas
, a 12-16 screen digital image projection theater (first in Southern Arizona) is slated to open this fall. It will have stadium seating and 40-foot wide screens, and will be located on Arizona Pavilions Drive off of the Cortaro Road exit, just west of Kohl’s.
I snapped these photos the other day, two from the front of the theater and one from the backside. I actually got a screw stuck in my tire from the construction site while I was driving around. Grrrr.
Click to Enlarge
Features will include THX surround sound, a gourmet coffee bar and a video arcade. It was originally planned to have 18 screens but budgetary constraints forced developers to scale the project back a bit. I spoke with Andy Seleznov from Larson Baker LLC (the developing company) and he informed me the theater should be completed and open for business by October 200 Read more:State
Tucson’s Armory Park del Sol - “One of the Nation’s Top Ten Charming Communities” 2007-06-21 13:56:40 One of Tucson
’s best kept secrets has been recognized by &ldquo
;Cottage Living&rdquo
; magazine as of the nation’s top ten charming communities.
Located just steps away from downtown, Armory
Park del Sol
is a close-knit community of eco-friendly homes designed with beautiful architectural styles that reflect Tucson’s rich history. It is located at the northeast corner of 3rd Avenue and 16th Street and, when finished, will consist of 99 custom homes built by John Wesley Miller, whose company is nationally renowned for it’s dedication to environmental conservation.
This community has been all over the news over the past few months because of its dedication to preserving the environment and has been featured in such publications as the Wall Street Journal, Arizona Republic, and Arizona Daily Star.
Here are just a few of the standard features for new homes in this community: (from armoryparkdelsol.com)
13 SEER or better high efficiency heat pumps. Read more:Communities
, Top Ten
Palisades at the Pines - A New Marana Golf Community 2007-06-20 08:54:28 Located next to The Pines Golf Course in Marana, Palisades at the Pines is the latest golf community offering from homebuilder Standard Pacific Homes. Five different floorplans ranging in size from 2,114 sqft to 3,012 sqft are being offered with three elevation choices for each.
The master plan for this group of homes will actually consist of three communities: Palisades at the Pines, Overlook at the Pines, and The Greens at the Pines. At 129 lots Palisades at the Pines will be the first community offered with the other two following in the future. The grand opening was held on June 2, 2007, and there is no doubt these homes will sell quickly; now is the time to buy!
This community has a great location just off of the I-10 Cortaro road exit. As you travel west on Cortaro Road you can take a right on Arizona Pavilions Drive and Palisades at the Pines will be located on your left.
In the surrounding area you have numerous shopping and dining options including Wal-Mart, Kohl’s, C
Top 10 Reasons Why Your House Hasn’t Sold Yet 2007-06-18 12:36:28 10) Too cluttered - Nothing turns a buyer off more than walking into a potential new home and seeing it filled with stuff. If you really want to sell your home at least take the time and effort to put away, or better yet, dispose of some of your less useful belongings. That collection of McDonald’s plastic toys sitting on your computer desk might have been worth a chuckle when you bought them 3 years ago but c’mon.. get rid of them. Chuck it, stow it, or store it.
9) Too homey - This is hotly debated both ways with one side advising to keep it personal and the other side voting for “less is more”. If your house has an abundance of personal photos, knick-knacks, quilts, and those little marks on the wall from when the kids were growing up, it very well might turn off potential buyers. To help them try to envision themselves living in your house think about keeping the “this is my house” stuff down to a minimum while it’s on the market.
8) Lack Read more:Reasons
, House
Tucson I-10 Construction - 3 Years of Headaches 2007-06-14 22:11:28 I’ve already written an entry about the I-10 construction that is just now gaining momentum here in town and here is why I’m writing about it again: After speaking with several prospects/clients/friends I’ve come to the conclusion that most people either didn’t know about the construction, didn’t know the full extent of the expansion, or were misinformed about critical details. And because I think this construction will impact most Tucson
ans, I’m going to explain the What, When, Where, and Why… and I suppose the How, just to round it out.
What
A 2 1/2-year project that will expand I-10 from the current three lane to four lanes in each direction between the 29th Street and Prince Road exits. There will also be extra lanes for on/off ramps. Seven new bridges and underpasses will be constructed at the following streets: Grant Road, Speedway Boulevard, St. Mary’s Road, Congress Street, Granada Avenue/Clark Street, 18th Street and 22nd Stre Read more:Construction
, Years
Tucson Real Estate Market - May 2007 Analysis 2007-06-13 11:37:12 Alright everyone, the Tucson
Association of Realtors, (TAR),has just released their figures for last month, May 2007. Here is an excerpt of the important news, I’ve gone ahead and highlighted/bolded the important points:
Sales Analysis
Average Sales Price Increases
After falling from January to February 2007, average sales price has continued to climb, reaching $280,589 in May 2007. For the second month in a row, average sales price has increased in year-over-year comparisons. The average sales price in May 2006 was $269,217 - more than $11,000 less than the average sales price in May 2007.
Active Listings Decrease From Last Month
We have reversed an upward trend in active listings we’ve seen since the beginning of the year. The total number of active listings has risen steadily since January, but in May 2007 fell to 9,721. Active listings are up 15.41% compared to May 2006.
Days on Market
Reach Their Lowest Point of the Year
In good news for area sellers, the average time Read more:Estate
Fair Isaac Corp. Releases New Standard to Stop Credit Boosting 2007-06-07 08:29:03 Well some good news in the financial sector; Fair Isaac
Corporation, best known to most of us as the source of FICO credit scores, Tuesday announced it will be adjusting it’s credit scoring standards to take into account the common practice of credit ‘boosting‘. It will no longer take into account an authorized user status when determining your credit score.
A brief excerpt from a quality blog I frequent:
An authorized user is a person permitted by a credit account holder to use an account, typically a family member who is managing credit for the first time. Used legitimately, authorized user account information has helped both lenders and consumers by enabling lenders to use FICO scores when making credit decisions for consumers who are starting to establish a credit history. Fair Isaac’s research indicates that the next version of its FICO scoring formula will deliver increased predictive power without considering authorized user accounts.
I am very pleased an Read more:Standard
Marana Spectrum - A Huge Retail “Power Center” coming in 2010 2007-06-06 10:07:31 Adding to the explosive growth in Marana, AZ is the steady progress of a new 1.3 million square foot retail shopping center dubbed Marana Spectrum
. It will be located at the southeast corner of Camino de Manana and Linda Vista Boulevard (east of I-10 between Cortaro and Avra Valley) and will cover nearly 170 acres. Estimated to have roughly 100 stores, Marana Spectrum will carry 3 &ldquo
;anchor stores&rdquo
; of at least 100,000 sqft, making the total square footage approximately equal to that of the Tucson Mall. That’s HUGE! Take a look at the proposed layout below:
(CLICK TO ENLARGE)
The ball started rolling about one and a half years ago and plans have been released by the company in charge of the construction of the center (Kimco Developers Inc.). A brief excerpt from their site on what they do:
“Kimco Developers pursues the development of quality open-air retail shopping centers with national tenants, both on our own and through joint Read more:Retail
, Center
Fox Tucson Theatre - A Neat Piece of Tucson History 2007-07-05 11:35:16 For a neat piece of Tucson
history and a nostalgic fieldtrip of the mind, stop by the Fox Tucson Theatre in downtown Tucson. Located on Congress Street just west of Stone Avenue (17 West Congress), the Fox Tucson Theatre sports a glittering “FOX” marquee that takes us back to the 1930s when it was the hoppin’ place in town. A brief excerpt from the Fox Tucson Theatre website:
“For 44 years the theatre showed films primarily, but also offered occasional live entertainment until it closed in 1974. The Fox Tucson Theatre is one of a dwindling number of historic theatres still in existence in the United States and is the finest example of its kind in Arizona. In light of this exceptional status, is has been designated as a Nationally significant building on the National Register of Historic Places.”
I remember driving back and forth past this place for several years wondering when (and if) they were ever going to finish the restoration project everyone kept ch Read more:History
ARMageddon Looms… Will You Be Ready? 2007-07-09 14:22:51 This topic has been on my mind the past several months. When the housing market exploded a few years ago and homebuyers squeezed into homes with Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs) with seductive initial interest rates, I said to myself, “In 2 or 3 years when those ARMs come due, there are going to be a lot of unhappy people.”
The recent follies in the sub-prime mortgage market were an omen of trouble on the horizon and in a few more months that trouble will burst onto the mortgage scene with reckless abandon. According to this latest article from CNN.com more than 600,000 homeowners will be affected by the resetting mortgage rates.
“Delinquency rates will probably peak by the end of the year,” said Doug Duncan, chief economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), “and foreclosures in 2008.”
Lenders approved many borrowers who had little chance of being able to afford the payments two and three years out. They approved applications without any Read more:hellip
Tucson Pool Laws - What You Need To Know 2007-07-09 11:11:13 Since the start of 2007 there have been 2 deaths and 9 near deaths by drowning in Tucson
. In just the past week there has been one death and 2 near drownings: 1-year old Daniela Parra drowned in an above ground pool in her backyard while friends and family were inside. A two-year old girl slipped past adults and nearly drowned in a backyard pool while other children were swimming. And a 5-year-old girl nearly drowned while swimming with adults and children. Every year we see heart-breaking stories like these that could be easily prevented and I thought it would be prudent to go over Arizona state pool laws for everyone.
In 1991 Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S) § 33-1681 was passed, requiring enclosures around pool areas. This is an Arizona state law but each city or county may implement additional, more restrictive laws. Check your local laws here. Here are the basics of the statute (from Arizona Department of Health Services - Residential Pool Safety Notice):
POOL ENCLOSURE REQUI
Tucson Real Estate Market - June 2007 Analysis 2007-07-16 09:35:56 Good Morning everyone, the Tucson
Association of Realtors, (TAR), has released the Tucson Housing Market
sales statistics for last month, June 2007. Here is a summary of the important points:
Sales Analysis
Average and Median Sales Price Increases
Average and median sales price both increased in June 2007. Average sales price jumped to $298,477 - up 9.05% from June 2006 and up more than $17,000 from last month! Median sales price also rose $5,500 from May 2007.
Active Listings Continue Declining
Active listings have been falling slowly since April 2007, reversing the increases we saw between January and April of this year. The number of active listings is now lower than it was at the start of 2007.
Days on Market Rises Again
Average time on market continues to fluctuate month-to-month, with 64 days being the average time for June 2007, up three days from May 2007.
Home Sales Snapshot
Home Sales Volume
Decreased 12.27% from $417,120,100 in June 2006 to $365,932,899 in June Read more:Estate
Colossal Cave Mountain Park - An Enjoyable Tucson Tourist Attraction 2007-07-24 13:44:28 Colossal Cave Mountain
Park is just the place to go if you want to enjoy some of Southern Arizona’s natural beauty or if you want to spend quality time with your family! Abundant in wildlife, Colossal Cave Mountain Park is a natural sanctuary to hundreds of species of birds, reptiles, mammals and infinite butterflies, beetles, moths and numerous other invertebrates! Some of the mammals that can be spotted in the park include Pack Rats, Spotted Skunks, Ringtails, Foxes, Bobcats, Raccoons, and Mountain Lions and of course, bats…hundreds of bats!
One of the reasons Colossal Cave Mountain Park is so popular with everyone is because of its remarkable diversity in such a small area. The reason for such variety in flora-fauna and wildlife can be attributed to the Park’s location. Situated in the “Sonoran-Chihuahuan transition zone,” the park has a large number of desert species that can’t be found anywhere else in the entire Tucson
valley.
Fortunately for us, the P Read more:Attraction
Tucson Real Estate Market - July 2007 Analysis 2007-08-13 10:15:03 The Tucson
Association of Realtors, (TAR), has not officially released has released the Tucson housing sales report for July 2007 (should come out in a couple of days) and here are the numbers for last month:
Sales Analysis
Average and Median Sales Price Decreases
Average and median sales price both decreased in July 2007. Average sales price fell slightly to $269,227- down 1.7% from July 2006 and down almost 10% from last month. Median sales price also decreased $11,200 from June 2007.
Active Listings Continue Declining
Active listings have been falling slowly since April 2007, reversing the increases we saw between January and April of this year. The number of active listings fell 3.1% from June 2007, to 8,614 active listings in July.
Pending Contracts Up Over July 2006
Pending contracts in July 2007, totaling 1,777, rose 63.18% when compared to last July’s total of 1,089. While down from last month, July still had the second largest amount of pending contracts for the year - Read more:Estate
, Market
First Magnus Financial Corp. Files for Bankruptcy - Will I Be Affected? 2007-08-21 14:57:52 A headline from the Arizona Daily Star’s “Breaking News” section - “FirstMagnusFinancial
Corp. has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the company announced today.” The seemingly overnight meltdown of First Magnus last week was just the latest consequence of the loose lending practices by banks the past few years. Now, there are whispers of Countrywide Home Loans having financial issues and Capital One just closed their wholesale mortgage unit yesterday.
How did this happen, you ask? Here is the short and sweet of it: When banks began loosening their lending standards several years ago, allowing “no-doc” loans and option ARMs and Interest Only mortgages, everyone was happy. After evaluating a potential buyer’s ability to repay the loan, and if the lender’s criteria were met, the buyer was given a loan. The primary lender may then hold onto the loan itself in it’s portfolio, but more commonly they sold the loan on the “sec
A Word on the Subprime Market From a Local Tucson Loan Consultant 2007-08-24 09:48:16 Sub Prime Market
and Margin Calls
How did we get to where we are today?
We all know about the collapse of the sub-prime market and the tidal wave effect it has had on the mortgage industry as a whole. Here is a brief synopsis. Over the last few years, Wall Street investors had fallen in love with the returns on sub-prime (lower credit ratings) mortgages. They paid a premium for these loans in large quantities. The demand of this sort of product in turn induced the lenders to lower their underwriting standards and make more of these loans.
After these portfolios started to mature, the true rates of delinquencies and losses was recognized to be higher than predicted. Aside from having homeowners who were never financially qualified, buyers were put into risky loans such as option ARMs that they did not entirely understand. At this time, the investors started buying these loans at a discounted rate instead of a premium because of the increased risk associated with these securities. The Read more:Subprime
, Local
, Tucson
, Consultant
FEMA Revising Flood-Plain Maps in Pima County 2007-08-30 09:47:39 The Arizona Daily Star published an article today detailing an effort started in 2005 by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that is just now coming to fruition. The bottom line is that many areas in the Southwest US (including Pima County
) that are currently designated as “safe” in terms of flood protection may be re-designated as flood plains.
How are they deciding what is a flood plain?
“Marana Mayor Ed Honea received a letter July 20 from FEMA stating that the agency had done an overview of the area and determined that various structures within the town’s limits fall under the definition of a levee.
Brann said FEMA issued similar letters to all parts of the Southwest U.S. around the same time, starting a 90-day clock, by thee end of which each jurisdiction must supply FEMA with proof of which levees have provisionally accredited levee agreements.”
I’m curious to see just what a “provisionally accredited levee agreement” mea Read more:Plain
New Construction in Gladden Farms - Lennar Slashes Home Prices! 2007-09-20 13:43:26 If you are looking to buy a new construction home, now is the time! Lennar has just slashed home prices up to $50k in their Gladden Farms
community. These homes will not last long, please contact me if you would like more information or are interested in purchasing a new home.
Below are the three floorplans currently available.
Chesapeake, 1601 sqft, 3bedroom 2 bath, September closing - $187,000
Included Features:
* Corian kitchen courntertops with “double roundover” edge and Corian integral sink
* Maple cabinets with raised panel doors in toffee finish
* Corian Vanity top with backsplash and integral Corian vanity bowls at master bath and bath 2
* General Electric appliance package in Bisque finish
* GE “Spacemaker” over-the-range microwave oven with exterior venting
* GE Built-in dishwasher with “Quiet Power” sound insulation package
* GE self cleaning smooth top electric convecion oven or self cleaning gas range (gas may not be available at all c Read more:Construction
, Prices
, Home Prices
Learn About “Points” and Save Money on Your Mortgage 2007-08-31 11:29:11 Everyone is familiar with the term “paying points”, but do we really know what this is and the different effects it can have on a mortgage loan? Traditionally, this means paying 1 percent of the dollar of the loan amount in order to get a lower rate. This is commonly referred to as “buying down the rate”.
Here is an example. The Jones’ family purchases a home for $300,000 and puts 20% down. The loan balance is $240,000. The current rate on a 30 year fixed loan is 6.25%. Financing $240,000 for 30 years at a fixed rate of 6.25% makes a payment of $1,477 (principle and interest). Suppose the clients decide to “buy down the rate”. In this scenario, paying .00625 of the loan balance upfront ($1,500) will lower the interest rate by 1/8th of 1%. The payment is now $1,458, a decrease of $21. Quickly dividing the $1,500 by $21/month gives us a breakeven point of just under 6 years.
Translation: If you think you will stay in the house more than 6 years, it is worth paying points. T Read more:Money
, ldquo
, Points
, rdquo
, Mortgage
Tucson Real Estate Market - April 2008 Analysis 2008-05-13 08:57:46 Good Morning everyone, the Tucson
Association of Realtors, (TAR), has released the Tucson Housing Market
sales statistics for April
2008. Here is a summary of the important points:
Sales Analysis
Average and Median Sales Price Increases
Average and median sales price both decreased in April 2008. Average sales price decline to $253,729 - down 8.91% from [...] Read more:Estate
Sabino Canyon - A Great Tucson Retreat 2008-05-12 21:33:37 Being in Tucson
and missing out on Sabino Canyon
is a tragedy. Sabino Canyon is a natural desert oasis located in the Coronado National forest and is home to numerous eco habitats, rare species of trees, animals and birds. It’s a perfect place for a family picnic or maybe you can quench your thirst [...] Read more:Great
The Rise of Tucson “Power Centers” - Good or Bad? 2008-05-15 09:21:22 In today’s Arizona Daily Star, there is an article about the final gasp of the De Anza Drive-In to make way for another big-box “Power Center”. A short excerpt:
A developer is finalizing a deal to buy the De Anza Drive-In, at 1401 S. Alvernon Way, and has already started marketing it as a retail complex.
Evergreen [...] Read more:Tucson
Tucson Real Estate Market - May 2008 Analysis 2008-06-12 10:28:55 Good Morning everyone, the Tucson
Association of Realtors, (TAR), has released the Tucson Housing Market
sales statistics for May 2008. Here is a summary of the important points:
Sales Analysis
Average and Median Sales Price Decreases
Average and median sales price both decreased in May 2008. Average sales price declined to $250,803- down 9.98% from May [...] Read more:Estate
Tucson Short Sales - Part 1 - What are Short Sales? 2008-06-14 11:27:53 Since the real estate boom of 2003-2005 the Tucson
real estate market has been flooded with homes going into foreclosure, short sale homes, and bank-owned homes. Many consumers aren’t completely clear on what a short sale is, but the easy explanation is this: Whenever you are trying to sell your home for less than what [...] Read more:Short
, Sales
, Short Sales
Tucson MLS needs new designations 2008-06-30 11:26:57 Since the influx of short-sale and bank-owned homes I have been waiting for the Tucson
Association of Realtors (TAR) to get on board and add specific designations in our MLS system to address these items. It is entirely too cumbersome to search the Tucson MLS on keywords in the description fields when looking for a [...]
TDOT Map Center - One of the Coolest Tools Ever 2008-06-25 08:38:24 I was recently introduced to a tool offered by Tucson’s Department of Transportation (TDOT) that I have used numerous times since: The TDOT Map Center
. This website is so amazingly useful I had to share it with everyone.
First, a couple caveats. You have to use Internet Explorer to view the site and you have to [...] Read more:Tools
Recommend Site To A Friend
