Rating:

0.0 (0 votes)

TUCSON - Continued wrangling of the fall over the fiscal cliff has dampened any economic optimism as we start the new year.
But new numbers just out indicate good news for the real estate market here in Tucson
Surprisingly the best buy right now is in new construction.
With home prices way down and many people underwater with their mortgages they have taken their houses off the market. According to the Bright Future Real Estate Research purchases of foreclosed homes has also slowed.

Housing Market Consultant, John Strobek, says this has created a shortage of available homes for re-sale and an opportunity for home builders, "We are not having near (the number of permits) like we used to back in the 2007-2008 time, but we are seeing an increase in the number of new construction homes and permits."

Strobeck added that back in 2007 Tucson was issuing between "700 and 1,100 new home permits a month".
Over the last 12 months, Bright Future Real Estate Research reports that permits have increased from 78 in November 2011 to 155 this past November. Not huge numbers but clearly an upward trend.

The sale of these new homes should help re-vitalize the real estate market and eventually encourage those who have stayed away to put their houses back on the market.

The average sale price for new homes in Southern Arizona is $255,000, up nearly $25,000 from just a year ago.