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Seems no one wants to write about real estate these days. Any guesses why this could be? You think it might have to do with the state of the real estate economy? Or is it just those Holiday blues making everyone lethargic.
It wasn’t the fact the figures for November were “Dismal”, which they were. Or the fact that the attention needed to those in financial distress as homeowners once again were passed over for attention for those making things with wheels. No, I’m not talking about mobile homes. It isn’t even the fact that the best laid plans by The National Association of Realtors contributed to one of the most uneventful Novembers in housing market history.
Believe it or not, please believe it, there are a few bright spots in the numbers. It took me so long to process these I can say that December will be a better month than November. Lower interest rates are contributing to this. The “wait for 4.5 interest rate” is over and buyers are picking up some very good properties and cleaning up some foreclosures and short sales that need to be removed from the market.
So without further complaining analysis, here are the numbers.
Tucson MLS Statistics Oct 08 – Nov 08 Summary
| Category | Oct 2008 | Nov 2008 | Diff. |
| Avg. Sale Price | $226,435 | $215,913 | - $10,522 |
| Total Units Sold | 823 | 635 | - 188 |
| Median Sale Price | $180,000 | $178,000 | - $2000 |
| Pending Contracts | 755 | 677 | - 78 |
| Active Listings | 7,988 | 7,996 | + 8 |
| New Listings | 2,032 | 2,032 | - 417 |
The year over year figures in some ways look much worse when looking at the average sale price and median sale price. The reduced number of new listings is a positive as it the number of pending contracts. Remember we are still in an apples to oranges situation on pending contracts. (Last year’s figure is all pending contracts in MLS at the close of Nov. This year only those that went “pending” during Nov. are included)
Tucson MLS Statistics Nov 07 – Nov 08 Summary
| Category | Nov 2007 | Nov 2008 | Diff. |
| Avg. Sale Price | $266,794 | $215,913 | - $50,881 |
| Total Units Sold | 810 | 635 | - 175 |
| Median Sale Price | $212,000 | $178,000 | - $34,000 |
| Pending Contracts | 993 | 677 | - 316* |
| Active Listings | 9,234 | 7,996 | - 1238 |
| New Listings | 2,224 | 2,032 | - 192 |
Part of the reason the average and median sales prices are so low has to do with the number of foreclosures and short sales in the mix. This has effected all properties sold but not to the level that would seem to be indicated.
The absorption rates for November didn’t fair very well either. I’ll have those posted tomorrow. Overall, Tucson is still one of the healthiest real estate markets in the country.
