2008 - The year in review!

Posted at 2:38 PM, Jan. 27, 2009

 One thing is certain: 2009 did not end up the way it started - or the way anyone would have wanted. In fact, this past year is about the worst market since I arrived 10 years ago although it was not my lowest income year. So here are the basic facts, with all statistics from the Tucson MLS: We had 107 total transactions (buy side and sell side, and land and homes) amounting to $33,000,000. For comparison, in 2007 the numbers were: $65,300,000 spread over 214 transactions - almost exactly twice 2008! I doubt if anyone in this market started the year with that as their forecast.

Where are we headed? The trendline for total listings is about flat; the trendline for under contracts is trending up; and the trendline for solds is also trending up. That is all very positive news for this market! There are currently 270 properties (land and homes) on the market about the same as in the previous 2 years. The median for sale price is $247,000 up slightly from 2006 ($239,000), but down 10% from 2007 ($272,950). The down trend in the median price from last year is most likely due to the softness in land prices.

Bottom line: And I don't want to sound like a broken record, but now is the time to buy. We will never know when we hit the absolute bottom in a market until we look back and see it has already happened! We are close enough now (if we haven't passed it) to be fairly certain that this is a great buying opportunity!