About Tucson's Sam Hughes

In its never-ending quest to provide better services for both agents and the public, the Tucson MLS has decided to change its MLS software to FlexMLS by FBS of North Dakota!

I, for one, am extremely happy with the decision - and I hope you will be too.  To take a quick peek at what it looks like from a consumer perspective, check out this search for property in the Sam Hughes area of Tucson:

Check it out - see what it is like & please feel free to leave your comments below!  The more feedback, the better...and if one of these catches your eye, I'm available to answer questions.

One of the benefits of living in Sam Hughes neighborhood in Tucson is that there are an incredible array of places to eat and have a little fun.

Located on the corner of Campbell Avenue & 6th Street, in the Sam Hughes Place shopping center, Championship Dining is a great upscale sports bar.  Before or after a University of Arizona Wildcats game, this place is packed! Get there early though for football & basketball games - even away games.  Part of the reason is that it is walking distance to all of the sports facilities, the other is its great food, atmosphere & drinks (don't ask what's in an Irish Trashcan - just don't have too many of them).

If the Sam Hughes Historic Neighborhood intrigues you, please read the entries below:

Decorative Gates - Sam Hughes Homes   Interesting Design Elements - Sam Hughes Homes   El Encanto - Historic Condos in Sam Hughes   Photo Tour of Sam Hughes Homes

Interested in buying or investing in a home, condo, townhome or multi-family property for you or for your student housing in Sam Hughes?

Sam Hughes Market Trend   Real Estate Trifecta  Sam Hughes Home 12 Month Sales Analytics   Sam Hughes 15 Year Analysis

After generating the April Market Condition Report for the Sam Hughes neighborhood, I noticed some interesting trends in the past year:

• Average listing price is down from the same time last year, but the actual sales price is a MUCH higher percentage than a year ago.
• Time on market is remarkably shorter than a year ago.
• Absorption rate has come back - exceeding the rate of last year, as we head into our "Summer Buying Season"

Take a look:

What does it mean?  Well, comparing the national trend with the Sam Hughes market conditions, you can see a parallel:

1. Homes last year were generally priced higher than buyers were willing to pay...so they stayed on the market longer.  Sellers had to "settle" for a significantly lower price to get their property sold.
2. As the listing average price went down, so did days on market...and the listing/selling price ratio went back up.
3. Selling activity slowed way down during the winter (which is normal in the Tucson real estate market to some extent), which reflects in the month supply of inventory on hand going up.  Another way to look at it could be:  as economic news got bad, confidence was down & buyers held back from making the decision to purchase.
4. When the news started looking a little better and interest rates went down and buyers are starting to get back into the market.

What anomalies did you spot in the statistics above?

• Numbers of properties on the market at any one time stayed pretty much the same in the past year.
• There is a disparity in pricing during the middle period - Sam Hughes has a very wide range of home sizes, and the smaller ones were the ones that sold during the winter, generally.
  

Conclusions?

• Sellers realized that asking prices were unrealistic & had to come down after watching other properties sit and sit on the market.
• Buyers realizing that value & opportunity don't always come at the same time are starting to take advantage of the situation.

If you are someone who is interested in seizing the opportunity in today's real estate market, lets talk about the values we can find together.  Analysis is a strength of mine - put it to work for your benefit.

Sam Hughes Neighborhood is located just east of the University of Arizona campus in Tucson, Arizona.
It is a vibrant, eclectic neighborhood favored by academics, professionals and students.  Properties are a blend of single family homes, condos, apartments and townhomes - with construction ranging from the 1920's to today.

Below are sales statistics for the past year (as of 4/1/2009):

Should you be interested in living in such a community or would like to see what some of the homes look like, please click here to see a slide show on the area.

If you are an investor and would like to see the performance of an investment in Sam Hughes Real Estate, please click here.

My name is Kent Simpson - I specialize in buyer representation in the Tucson Metro area.