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Best US Real Estate Markets for 2009 - Tucson in Top Ten
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Best US Real Estate Markets for 2009 - Tucson in Top Ten
Hottest Buyers Markets by Housing Predictor
The hottest buyers housing markets are places you may find comfort in the worst housing crash since at least the Great Depression. The top 10 buyers markets listed by Housing Predictor at mid-year are markets that aren't necessarily big arts and entertainment centers, mostly found in smaller communities.
Amarillo, Texas takes the first position as the nation's top buyers market in 2009 with the highest likelihood of housing inflation over the next few years. Austin, Texas and Tucson, Arizona are the largest metro areas to be named to the list possessing the highest probability of growing through the recessionary economy over the next few years. As a high-tech hub, Austin will have what it takes to not only sustain the downturn but see home values inflate.
All 10 markets hold the promise of prosperity in the near future. In the current economic environment there are few areas of the country that will see appreciation this year. The markets named here represent cities that are the most likely to experience housing inflation over the next few years, despite the downward economy and are the best places forecast to buy real estate to make a profit.
The financial crisis dealt a severe blow to the national economy that will take many years to overcome. Unlike any other downturn in real estate since the Great Depression, markets have seen home values decline at record levels. Times have changed as a result, and real estate inflation will take years to return in most areas. Investing for the long term, considered to be 10 years or longer is the best protection for those who choose to take the risk.
The following list of high potential real estate markets may not appreciate in the short term, but have the highest likelihood of long term appreciation making them ideal for purchasing investment property.
Listed from the highest forecast appreciation to the lowest:
#1 Amarillo, TX
#2 Sioux Falls, SD
#3 Biloxi, MS
#4 Logan, UT
#5 Bismarck, ND
#6 Bozeman, MT
#7 Baton Rouge, LA
#8 Austin, TX
#9 Casper, WY
#10 Tucson, AZ
This body of this article has been republished from Housing Predictor
Submitted on 10/05/2009
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AARP Rates Tucson #1
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Tucson is the top go-to place for simpler living, says AARP
By Jillian Berman, USA TODAY
Looking to live the simpler life? Look no further than Tucson.
AARP The Magazine's Best Places to Live a Simple Life list, out today, bestows top honors on the city of 541,000 in the Arizona desert. Demographers used statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau and other sources to evaluate towns and cities on a variety of criteria, says Gabrielle deGroot Redford, AARP's manager of magazine editorial projects.
Once they came up with a list of about 25 cities, editors at the magazine picked the top cities in different areas of the country to make sure that every region was represented.
With the economy struggling and readers looking to spend less money, Redford says, the editors wanted to compile a list of places with a low cost of living that offered a wide range of activities.
"We decided we wanted to focus on places you could live simply," she says.
FIND MORE STORIES IN: Tucson | Bob Walkup
Redford says demographers and editors looked for places that are affordable and still have relatively low rates of unemployment. She added that factors such as the ability to walk and bike to work and the availability of "outdoor amenities" such as farmers markets and hiking trails also gave cities extra points.
And to make sure life is really simple, the team looked at the stress index of the cities, a measure used by demographers, which combines "rates of suicide and crime and divorce and depression and other factors that play into how stressed people feel living there," she says.
Another plus: if the city is close to a college or university.
"We looked for places with great education, in particular, colleges because colleges tend to offer classes for adults and a lot of amenities," such as lectures and sporting events, Redford says.
That Tucson is home to the University of Arizona helped boost it to the top.
"It's quite an affordable city in part, but it also has a lot going on about it," she says. "There are a lot of ways to enjoy living there."
She adds that residents rave about the city's multicultural feel. "They just feel like it's one of those great melting pots."
Mayor Bob Walkup, the self-proclaimed "mayor of paradise," says he wasn't surprised to hear his city topped the list.
"I believe that Tucson has the highest quality of life of any city in the country," he says.
Tucson's temperate climate and low crime rate make it an ideal place to live, he says.
"It - no kidding - has an abundance of sunshine year round."
Submitted on 08/21/2009
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Do Condos Really Appreciate Slower Than Houses?
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Do Condos Really Appreciate Slower Than Houses?
Ever since I started in Tucson real estate in 2003 I have heard agents say that condos do not appreciate as well as houses. Just the other day I heard an agent in my office telling a client that they should not purchase a condo because it won't appreciate. I have listened to agents telling clients that condos won't appreciate for years, but have been unable to find data proving or disproving this statement. So I figured it was about time I did my own research to get to the bottom of the condo appreciation question.
Tucson, Arizona's median sales price of a condominium in 2003 was $90,000 and the overall median sales price was $143,000. For the first seven months of 2009 the median sales price for a condominium in Tucson was $109,900, a 22% increase in value. While the overall median sales price for the first seven months in 2009 has been $167,000, only a 17% increase in value. So during the past 6 ½ years Tucson condominiums have appreciated better than the overall market.
Median Condominium Sales Prices in Tucson since 2004
2003: $90,000
2004: $94,000 a 4% increase in value
2005: $138,000 a 47% increase in value
2006: $117,500 a 15% decrease in value
2007: $155,000 a 32% increase in value
2008: $137,000 a 12% decrease in value
2009: $109,900 a 20% decrease in value
Median Sales Prices in Tucson since 2004
2003: $143,000
2004: $152,000 a 6% increase in value
2005: $209,000 a 38% increase in value
2006; $219,000 a 5% increase in value
2007: $218,000 a ½% decrease in value
2008: $190,000 a 13% decrease in value
2009: $167,000 a 12% decrease in value
Looking at the statistics for the past 6 ½ years Tucson condominiums have appreciated and depreciated inline with the overall market. The slight discrepancies in the data can be attributed to apartment buildings being converted into condos.
In 2006 when the overall market appreciated, the median sales price of condos went down in value. This difference in value can be attributed to 25% of the condos sales for 2006 being sold in one complex (Sunset Foothills Condos) with a median sales price of $89,000. Removing the 93 sales in this West Tucson subdivision leaves the median sales price for condominiums in 2006 at $136,700.
In 2007 the overall market was flat in relationship to 2006 while condominiums saw 32% appreciation. 984 condominiums sold in Tucson in 2007 fueled by the condo conversion craze. Luxury apartment complexes in the Catalina Foothills (Pinnacle Canyon, Ventana Vista, Skyline Villas, Tierra Catalina), University of Arizona (Campus Walk & Casa Club) and Boulder Canyon Condos in Oro Valley all converted into condominiums and experienced tremendous sales success.
Since the peak of 2007 condos sales have slowed and values have come down. Current complexes (Rio Del Sol & Boulder Canyon) still being represented by the developer have dropped prices making it more difficult for Sellers on the resale market to command the prices they paid in 2007.
Like the rest of Tucson's market, condominium sales have begun to pick up. AARP Magazine and Business Week recently named Tucson, Arizona the number one retirement destination in the United States. With 76 million baby boomers nearing retirement I expect Tucson's condo market to continue to appreciate inline with the overall market, if not beat it!
James Servoss is an Associate Broker with Long Realty, Southern Arizona's leading real estate company.
Data was pulled from the Tucson Association of Realtors Multiple Listing Service.
Submitted on 08/21/2009
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Tucson Condos Website
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http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tucson-AZ/Tucson-Condos/93163673266
Submitted on 08/21/2009
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