Tucson Real Estate News - from Mikey Girard

06/01/09

11:43:29 am Tucson Arizona Office Space good Retail not 

Depspite Tucson Arizona job decline, commercial real estate market for office space is expected to do well the reset of 2009. Tucson is doing better than national average for office but not so for retail. Retail vacancy will reach 10%, even with 70% decrease of new retail coming on line this year. In 2008 we saw 2.1 million sf built and only 650,000 is due to be built in 2009.
inside tucson business
June 1, 2009

11:26:53 am Oro Valley (just north of Tucson Arizona) Condos go to foreclosure 

La Reserve Villas in Oro Valley Arizona, a 240 unit apartment complex was bought for $28.65 million and will go to auction at trustee sale for $12 million. Trustee sale is scheduled for August 18th.

11:20:16 am Slow down in falling Tucson Arizona prices 

Prices are down 11.6% March 2009 compared to March 2008.
Prices were down 12.5% February 2009 compared to February 2009.

05/18/09

01:02:52 pm Tucson Arizona Sellers starting to see multiple bids on home sales 

Some homes listed below market value in Tucson Arizona are getting multiple offers. Sellers who have had their homes on the market for sometime are getting tired, therefore dropping prices to the point of finally getting Buyers attention.
Other homes getting a great deal of activity are the lender owned homes, where lenders list below market just to get the property sold. These hot properties are mostly in the $100-150 range. Buyers are getting great deals, lowest interest rates and tax credit. What more could one ask for in this market?
Inside Tucson Business
Joe Pangburn
5/18/2009

Mikey Girard, Long Realty
520 918 2432

05/12/09

08:52:46 am Tucson Arizoan new-home market edges closer to equilibrium 

Tucson Arizona builders stgarted 381 homes first quarter 2009 which is down 22% over same period 2008. Job losses coupled with a period of overbuilding has created extremely difficult market. New construction is down 18-49% in all areas of town. Metrostudy monitors the new contruction inventory and states that we've seen a decrease since 2006 and we are down to a 2.5 month supply... which is one of the lowest in the country. New home prices have dropped 7% first quarter 2009.

Any questions or comments can be directed to mikey@mikeygirard.com

08:43:10 am Nova Home Loan in Tucson Arizona will make mortgage payments for mortgagee 

Nova Home Loans in Tucson Arizona will make mortgagee's mortgage payments for six months at $1800/month if mortgagee loses job involuntarily. Nova will unveil this mortgage protection plan this week. Plan is called SafeHouse Mortgage Protection Plan and is believed to be the first offered in Tucson. The plan is in conjunction with RainyDay Foundation based in Washington DC that promotes responsible home ownership.
Inside Tucson Business 5/11/2009

Any questions or comments can be directed to mikey@mikeygirard.com

05/03/09

02:14:50 pm $15 million in Rancho Vistoso lots go to Foreclosure (Tucson Arizona) 

On July 22, 57 lots in Rancho Vistoso are to be sold at trustee sale. Default is on a $15 million loan for lots 49-105. Defaulting party is Vanderbilt Farms LLC which is owned by the Wolfswinkel brothers Brandon and Ashton. These same brothers developed most of Rancho Vistoso. In the middle of the property lies the Hohokam settlement that was established around 456-600 A.D. which is to be protected by Town of Oro Valley.
Contact Mikey Girard, Long Realty 520-918-2432 if you have any questions.
5/3/2009

02:08:40 pm Ritz-Carlton More Affordable in Tucson Arizona 

Like many other developers, it looks like the Ritz-Carlton will also be reducing their prices to attract Buyers in this down economy. Development; Villas at Seven Saguaros has homes ranging from 1950-2700 sf range for $1.2-1.7 million and each home has views of Catalinas and Tortolita mountains. Incentives now include $87k discount, golf membership, and $75k in "Dove Mountain Dollars" that can be used towards options, upgrades, electric vehicle, club credits.
For more information contact Mikey Girard at Long Realty 520-918-2432 or email her at mikey@mikeygirard.com.
5/3/2009

10/28/08

03:03:36 pm Mortgage crisis worse than expected 

Every day from July to September 2700 americans lost their homes to foreclosure, up from 1200 a year ago, indicating that any programs that have been put into place aren't working. More than 4 million home owners were at least one month behind in house payments. Why is problem difficult to fix?
*Crashing home prices due to investment bubble that burst. Homeowners wanted investment and not just a home to live in. Prices are down 9% from same time last year and down 17% since all time high.
Some will chose to live in their home, others are mailing keys to lenders and lenders foreclose.
*Investor speculation. These buyers have no emotional attachment and simply walk away. Investors purchased 20% of the homes in 2005... that equates to a lot of foreclosures. No more flipping and investors took advantage of risky loan products and often put very little down.
*Complex Investments. At the beginning of the decade, the Federal Reserve started cutting interest rates and investors took advantage of the situation and pour an obscene amount of money into the housing market. Subprime went from $200 billion to $600 billion. Lenders stopped worrying about credit worthiness and found products for everyone.
*Job losses. Still number one reason for not paying your mortgage is job loss.
*Falling behind.
Arizona Daily Star
10/27/2008
Mikey Girard
Long Realty
Mikey@mikeygirard.com

02:48:13 pm Pima County (Tucson Arizona) to buy part of Sopori Ranch 

Pima County is buying this 10th ranch and this one is 4135 acrea for $18.5M. Ranch is located near Amado. Voters approved $201M in county open space bonds and the county has already bought 9 ranches of which they have used $56M. Sopori Ranch dates back to the 1700's and was owned by Warner Brothers until the early 1990's. Sopori is probably taken from Sobaipuri Indians a tribe that no longer exists.
Arizona Daily Star
10/27/2008
Mikey Girard
Long Realty
mikey@mikeygirard.com