Tucson MLS – Most Closed Transactions for October Since 2006
November 4, 2009
Post Tags: closed transactions up , Inventory down
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
Tucson MLS 1022 Closed Residential Transactions for October 2009
Bridging the Gap between buyers and inventory
The number of closed residential transactions for October far exceeded anyone’s expectations. In October of 2008 there were 846 closed transactions; in October of 2007 884. There were no high expectations the number would go above 900 this year. But as the week progressed the sales blew right through the 900 mark.
Tucson MLS Data Pull
The data was pulled this morning for the October Statistics report. As usual we expect there to be some late sales entered into the system. This is pretty common even at $250 a pop. The number of late entries have slowed since the fine was imposed for missing the deadline to have transactions entered, but it still amounts to between 10 and 20 sales per month. Yes, that is enough to make a statistical difference.
Here is the quick rundown.
1022 Closed Transactions
93 Short Sales
341 REO Sales
$195,743 Average Sale Price
$158,950 Median Sale Price
The number of Short sales and REO transactions make up just over 42% of the total transactions for the month. This removes even more of these homes from the active inventory.
Tucson Market Trend Indicators
I’ll be looking to see what the number of active listings are going into November. I’m also interested in the Absorption rate for the various areas of Tucson. I know it is getting hard to find exactly what buyers are looking for. (I’m not just talking price either) The number of homes on the market has declined significantly this year.
The fact of a falling inventory seems to have been lost in the media. It has focused instead on foreclosures and the lack of new construction. The number of homes available for purchase and move in have been reduced to a point not seen in several years.
The last thing I want to see which is the other indicator of the direction of the market is the number of Pending contracts going into November.
Positive Signs for Tucson Real Estate Market
There are a lot of positive signs in this market and if I were a builder I’d be thinking strongly about getting some new homes ready for purchase. It looks like there will be buyers in the market going into 2010 and there aren’t a lot of homes ready for them to purchase.
November 4th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
Thanks for the update, Dave. Well, even though the number of closed transactions is really good, a lot of it has to do with the expiration of the tax credit in Nov. I was reading something about it being extended till April of next year, but I’m not sure if it’s a fact yet… The percentage of short sales and REOs is disturbing; however, at least they’re getting out of the market. I noticed something else – there used to be a lot of houses for rent in the paper. Last few days there have been a handful. I believe one of the days I didn’t see a single house for rent in the SE part of town and the asking rent for the fewer than a dozen available throughout the city appears to be higher. The conclusion I’m drawing from it is that hopefully not all REOs are being bought by investors/speculators (since they don’t come back on market as rentals)…
November 5th, 2009 at 6:58 am
Concerned,
The tax credit hasn’t been extended yet. A proposal to extend it has passed the Senate. Included is a $6,500 tax credit for anyone buying a home not just first time home buyers. First time home buyers still receive up to $8,000. Not it goes to the house then to the president, we will see.
I do think a lot of investors are buying the REO homes. Some to rent some to flip. The available inventory is way down in the SE part of town.
I don’t think you have to worry much about speculators. Most have had their wings clipped by loosing money (many of the REO homes are from speculators) or because they simply can’t get financing in today’s economy. Which is a good thing.
Stable neighborhoods are achieved when they aren’t filled with vacant homes. Getting these properties off the market and maintained will be good for the entire community.