Long Realty Offers Relief to Hurricane Jimena Victims
Long Realty is responding to the devastation that took place in Mexico over Labor Day weekend due to Hurricane Jimena. Long Realty branch locations throughout southern Arizona and Mexico are banning together to quickly gather donations of non-perishable food, household goods, clothes and money for the victims of Hurricane Jimena in Guaymas, Empalme and San Carlos, Mexico. Donations are being accepted at any Long Realty office now until September 21 at 9 am. After this time, the collective items will be delivered to The World Care Organization for distribute to relief stations in the affected area within Sonora, Mexico. "Our friends to the South have incurred many challenges this year. This natural disaster is beyond what our region is use to thinking about for storm damage. This is a major event in the day and hearts of our friends in Guaymas and San Carlos. It is time to reach out and offer our helping hands," said Long Companies' CEO, Rosey Koberlein. Those interested in giving monetary funds can drop-off a check made out to The Rotary Club - San Carlos Relief and write Long Realty Donation on the memo line. The cancelled check will be the donor's receipt. For more information about this project, please contact Jim Larkin at 520-918-3807. A detailed list of needed items and photos of the area can be found at www.worldcare.org.
Tucson Housing Report for September 2009
As of August 2009 active inventory was 6,095, a 25% decrease from August 2008. There were 957 closings in August 2009, a 6% increase from August 2008. Months of Inventory was 6.4, down from 9.0 in August 2008. Median price of sold homes was $162,500 for the month of August 2009, down 12% from August 2008. Tucson is experiencing a significant increase in buyer activity, with new properties under contract up 52% from August 2008.
Get the full Tucson Housing Report
By Larry Olmsted, Special for USA TODAY
Tucson is Arizona's worst-kept second-home secret. Its population is less than a quarter of the Scottsdale/Phoenix metropolitan area, just two hours away, but to many, that's Tucson's appeal.
"Tucson is a larger version of Santa Fe, while Scottsdale is a smaller version of L.A.," Realtor Russell Long of Long Realty says. "We appeal to the well-educated, the artsy, golfers, and the athletic outdoorsy types." Home to the University of Arizona, Tucson is a college town, which offers buyers - many of whom come from the New York and Chicago areas - a dose of culture.
ARCHIVE: Find more second-home destinations
Tucson sits at a high elevation, and though summer is hot, the moderate season is longer than in other desert destinations. The Upper Sonoran desert is much greener and less barren, which fosters an active outdoor community and puts Tucson among the nation's best for road and mountain biking as well as hiking. The city is ringed by five mountain ranges and vast swaths of protected land, including Coronado National Forest.
"The desert is thick and lush, and skiing is just 45 minutes away," Long says. Less than 75 miles from the Mexican border, Tucson is also Southwestern in its food, art and culture, and its atmosphere appeals to many buyers from the East.
Most buyers choose resort communities in the mountain foothills north of the city center, which feature elevated views. "The foothills are most popular," Long says. "There are very nice new condos, villas and townhomes from $350,000 to $600,000." Typical for Tucson are large planned communities with developments at varied price points, along with golf courses and a resort hotel offering owners spa services and dining.
Buyers are divided about equally between those who split their year with a colder locale and those who come for weeks or weekends. Both will appreciate that median home prices have dropped 16% since last July.
A look at three Tucson neighborhoods
•Ventana Canyon: A 1,100-acre community in the foothills just north of the city, Ventana Canyon contains nearly 700 houses, three condo complexes, two golf courses, a tennis center, sports and dining facilities, and two hotels, the Lodge and the upscale Loews Ventana Canyon. "Buyers are usually golfers, but it abuts the National Forest, and once you go through the gates, you can bike, run and hike without ever going onto public streets," says Realtor Janell Jellison of Long Realty. "You can get a nice two-bedroom golf villa from under $500,000 and custom homes from $1 million" (ventanacanyonaz.com).
•La Paloma: One of Tucson's first second-home communities, La Paloma is close to Ventana Canyon and spans 790 acres with a 27-hole golf course and Westin hotel. The array of homes is very similar to Ventana Canyon. The turnkey golf villas are most popular with part-timers, Jellison says, but because there are fewer offerings, the prices are slightly lower, with villas from about $475,000.
•Dove Mountain: Tucson's hottest second-home enclave, this 6,200-acre development northwest of the city has 3,500 houses and condos. The most affordable section has townhouses and houses from $300,000 to $1 million. The Gallery is one of the nation's top golf communities, with two standout private courses and a limited number of golf cottages from $795,000 and houses at more than $1 million. Canyon Pass features houses on large sites from $1.7 million. The newest phase is The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton, a new luxury hotel with two golf courses opening in December (dovemountain.com).
| Existing home sales surge 7% in July as prices continue to drop |
By Alan Zibel, AP Real Estate Writer WASHINGTON - The U.S. housing market is rebounding quicker than expected, with home resales in July posting the largest monthly increase in at least 10 years as first-time buyers rushed to take advantage of a tax credit that expires this fall.
The National Association of Realtors said Friday that home sales rose 7.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.24 million in July, from a pace of 4.89 million in June. It was the fourth-straight monthly increase and the highest level of sales since August 2007.
Sales had been expected to rise to an annual pace of 5 million, according to economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters.
"The housing market, with today's strong rise in sales, has decisively turned for the better," said Lawrence Yun, the trade group's chief economist.
Sales of foreclosures and other distressed properties made up about a third of all transactions last month, down from nearly half earlier this year. In places like San Diego and Orlando, buyers are snapping up foreclosed properties at deep discounts, and real estate agents are pressing banks to release more foreclosures onto the market.
Those sales helped drag down the median sales price by 15% to $178,400.
First-time buyers must complete their sales transactions by the end of November to take advantage of a tax credit of 10% of the purchase price, up to $8,000. The real estate industry is lobbying Congress to get the credit extended.
"It would be unfortunate to see the momentum halted," Yun said.
The inventory of unsold homes on the market rose to 4.1 million, from 3.8 million a month earlier. That's a 9.4-month supply at the current sales pace, unchanged from June.
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|
2009 Tucson, Arizona Condo Statistics |
|
|
|||||
|
|
Total Sold |
Median |
Average |
|
Total Sold |
Median |
Average |
|
January |
18 |
$ 118,500.00 |
$ 118,811.00 |
|
5 |
$165,000.00 |
$ 156,400.00 |
|
February |
34 |
$ 132,500.00 |
$ 148,532.00 |
|
11 |
$180,000.00 |
$ 192,091.00 |
|
March |
34 |
$ 114,203.00 |
$ 125,534.00 |
|
10 |
$150,000.00 |
$ 157,705.00 |
|
April |
38 |
$ 109,900.00 |
$ 112,097.00 |
|
9 |
$150,000.00 |
$ 159,267.00 |
|
May |
47 |
$ 103,500.00 |
$ 108,489.00 |
|
13 |
$160,000.00 |
$ 155,954.00 |
|
June |
56 |
$ 101,500.00 |
$ 110,504.00 |
|
18 |
$149,500.00 |
$ 148,356.00 |
|
July |
45 |
$ 114,400.00 |
$ 126,483.00 |
|
14 |
$180,000.00 |
$ 169,174.00 |
Tucson, Arizona Condo statistics for the overall condo market and statistics for North Tucson (Catalina Foothills). Sales have begun to pick up, which should continuing into the fall and winter with the arrival of snowbirds (winter visitors) back into town.
James Servoss is an Associate Broker with Long Realty, Southern Arizona's leading real estate company. He specializes in selling luxury condos, townhomes and vacation properties in Southern Arizona
I am an Associate Broker with Long Realty, Southern Arizona's leading real estate company. If I can be of any assistance please feel free to contact me at jservoss@longrealty.com, 520-603-1549 or visit my custom website, www.ServingTucson.com
HOME SELLER: With over 80% of buyers beginning their home search on the internet it's essential that you hire a real estate broker who's aware of the latest technology trends.
I feature all of my client's properties on homes.com (deluxe membership), realtor.com (deluxe membership), longrealty.com (#1 Arizona real estate website), youtube.com, facebook.com, zillow.com, tarmls.com, craigslist.com, tucson.com and over 100 other top real estate website.
HOME BUYER: If you're in the market to purchase a new property allow me to save you valuable time and energy by helping you finding the perfect home. I have comprehensive Tucson relocation packages available as well as the ability to set you up on an automatic real estate search.
DESIGNATIONS:
ABR, Accredited Buyer Representative
GRI, Graduate Realtor Institute
CHLMS, Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist
Member Million Dollar Guild
ASP, Accredited Staging Professional
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Miami University (Oxford, Ohio)
ORGANIZATIONS:
TAR, Tucson Association of Realtors
AAR, Arizona Assocation of Realtors
USPTA, United States Professional Tennis Association
AWARDS:
Long Realty Company Chairman's Club
Long Realty Executive's Club
Long Realty President's Club
I work primarily in North (Catalina Foothills), Northeast, East, & Central Tucson. However, I have sold homes all over Southern Arizona.
I specialize in selling luxury condos, townhomes and vacation properties.
When not representing clients with the buying and selling of real estate I enjoy spending time with my wife and golden retriever.
After moving to Tucson in 2002 from Toledo, Ohio I accepted a position at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort as a USPTA tennis professional. A few months later I earned my real estate license and accepted a job opportunity with Long Realty, Southern Arizona's leading real estate company. My passion for teaching tennis remains, so I continue to teach tennis 1 hour a week on Saturday mornings at the resort.
I also work with the following charities:
CLIENT TESTIMONIALS
Dear James,
Thank you for being such a fabulous real estate agent. I simply could not have accomplished our goals without you. I am so glad you were at that open house when our friends visiting Tucson became acquainted with you. They were doing a "pre look" for us, and were very impressed with you. Now, John and Eva have been in the building and development business their entire lives, and have worked with hundreds of realtors over the years, so I was impressed with the way they praised and recommended you. Before I even arrived in Tucson, you were at work for me, gathering info from both ends. When my daughter and I arrived you totally worked into our schedule, and were tireless at showing us new listings that my husband was constantly sending on to us, and updating your fabulous booklets that helped incredibly with remembering, and narrowing down. Being "strangers" you were so accommodating about driving us everywhere and giving us invaluable advice, hints, and directions. Knowing that my daughter knew nobody in the area, you so kindly invited us out to meet your wife and sister so she wouldn't be a complete stranger. We were so grateful! Then, since we couldn't make it back for the closing, you literally handled everything for us, other than sending the money. When the bank was late, you kept your cool and handled it again. Your negotiations with the other parties have totally benefited us in every way. You have helped me set up all my services, and have taken charge of hiring outside people in our absence. I feel that our real estate buying experience, because of you has been better than my family and I ever expected. I will recommend you, with the highest of praise, to anyone we know who would be in need of an agent, and, hopefully, we will be able to upgrade down the road and sign on with you again.
With heartfelt thanks,
Doug, Karen and Liz E.
James Servoss was diligent in scheduling open house events and professionaly marketed my home to qualified buyers. He used comprehensive real estate market information to get my home sold fast and for the highest price. James far exceed my expectations and easily outperformed my past realtors.
Thank you James for your well planned super realtor service, which sold my home.
Edward L.
If I could, I would buy a house every year to have the pleasure of working with James Servoss.
Nikki J.
Dear James:
Thank you again for all of your hard work in getting two of our properties in the Tucson area sold. In this trying real estate market, we fully believe that just 'any' Realtor would not have gotten our properties closed and that it took you, as a truly exceptional and knowledgeable Realtor, to understand the market and to be able to implement a solid marketing plan.
The communication and follow-through that you provided was extremely important to us, as out-of-state owners, and at no time during the transaction did we have any concerns in placing our listings in your capable hands. We appreciate all of the 'extra' things that you did such as meeting home inspectors, getting roofing quotes, obtaining a painter for touch-ups, etc., etc., etc. These are things that we would not have been able to do while out of state and we were impressed at how efficiently you expedited everything for us.
Both Sandy and I wish you continued success and again, thank you for everything!
Mel & Sandy W.
Dear James:
We are writing to let you know what a pleasure it was working with you during our recent home purchase in Tucson. You exceeded our expectations in every way during the search for our property and also after closing. As out-of-state purchasers, it was essential for us to find an agent whom we could trust to operate on our behalf when we were out of town. Your professional integrity and deep knowledge of the real estate market was second-to-none. Even after closing, your continued help in recommending high quality contractors to carry out renovations to the property was of tremendous value and your dedication to personally overseeing the work was more than we could have possibly expected. We strongly recommend you to any prospective clients and we look forward to working with you again for our future purchases in Tucson.
Darcy and Rick M.
Dear James,
Now that it's all done, Barb and I wanted to thank you once again for all that you did for us during, and after, our recent purchase of a home in Tucson. As you know, we are from the East coast, and knew very little about Tucson, other than we had visited several times, and knew we wanted to sooner or later buy a place out there to use as a second home and/or investment property.
We had, on past visits, spoken and communicated with several realtors in Tucson, but none of them seemed to have their fingers on our pulse, so we planned to eventually spend several months renting a place out there, and take our time finding the right place to buy.
However, from the time we first met you, when we spontaneously stopped at an "open house," even when we were "just looking," and not planning to buy, you served as a tireless source of information and guidance, with an incredible breadth of knowledge. You really know the Tucson area, and offered immensely helpful advice and assistance with a wide range ot topics from the best places to eat, to where to buy furniture, to who can we use as property managers, and beyond. You were always available, both by phone and email. You quickly responded to our needs and requests without being intrusive or having to be asked. You listened closely, and were always honest and straightforward in answering our questions, without equivocating or trying to give us answers you thought we were looking for. Since we did this from 3000 miles away, you even acted as our surrogate homeowner, and were there to receive deliveries of home furnishings necessary to set up home. Your broad knowledge of real estate and real estate transactions was helpful in facilitating a 1031 like-kind exchange, and you prepared everything for our purchase without us having to travel to Tucson for closing. Most importantly, we never felt you had any agenda other than to be of the utmost help, regardless of our agenda. Plus, after the sale, you have continued to help us innumerable ways that make preparing our new place possible. I could go on and on, but just wanted to list some of your qualities for which we were appreciative.
Simply put, James if it were not for you, we would not now have a place in Tucson, and would have likely waited for some time in the future to acquire such a property. In addition, as you know, since this particular purchase was a like-kind exchange, such a postponement could have cost us tens of thousands of dollars in lost tax consequences. Due largely to your diligence, tenacity, knowledge, understanding, and guidance we found and closed on a place that was the perfect match for our needs and desires. We are thrilled with our new home, look forward to spending more and more time in Tucson, and plan to count on your expertise in the future, as we hope to add more properties to our portfolio. Please feel free to supply our contact information to any prospective client, as we would gladly provide the strongest of recommendations to anyone seeking your services in finding the right home or investment property. Thanks again.
Bob and Barb K.
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