Tucsons Real Estate climate getting sunnier

July sales stats from the Tucson Association of Realtors just came out. This is what our president of the MLS had to say (abreviated & edited):

"July was a very good month - Our listing inventory dropped below the 8,000 mark for active listings, not seen since March of 2006. New listings are also down by 19.86%.This is just another sign that we are continuing to see a market improvement. July has historically been a slower month with sales decreasing from June. Last year the drop was 21.72%. This year the decrease was only 9.53%. There is virtually no change in the median sales price, it appears to have stabilized currently at $199,900"

To read the entire narrative as well as see all the stats & graphs: http://www.tucsonrealtors.org/tar-v2/stats_july.pdf

As we know, Real Estate is local. If we want to get a sense of where the Real Estate market in a geographic area is headed, we know to look for the employment figures as a key indicator.

So how are we doing in Tucson ?
Pretty good - the roof is not caving in and we are well below the latest July figures for the entire U.S. that averages 5.7% unemployment - see below link for Tucson stats.
http://www.workforce.az.gov/admin/uploadedPublications/2053_tucue.pdf

Too see how the different sectors in Tucson are performing:
http://www.workforce.az.gov/admin/uploadedPublications/1173_TUCgraphs.pdf
Notice how "Natural Resources and Mining" are forecast to add jobs in the double digit % - fairly well paid jobs.

Conclusion: The Tucson Real Estate market is undergoing a slow recovery. The job market has slightly cooled but the numbers are well within the envelope, since 2000. Our economy is not relying on auto manufacturing or finance services. Instead We are first and foremost a place to where boomers retire - besides our predominant industries are well centered in research and development within aerospace, medical and other high tech venues. Add to that an established Airforce base employing upwards of 12.000 on a federal payroll as well as a major university, currently with the highest number of enrollments ever: https://admissions.arizona.edu/profiles/2011/default.aspx

Expect some slowdown in the Real Estate market as the slower fall/winter season kicks in. Prices may fall a couple of percent, but this is no longer something to wait for as "well below market" deals are abundant.

All the best - Tom Nielsen