There's a good real estate article in today's Wall Street Journal online that talks about, ' In Many Markets, the Outlook Varies Widely by Community'.
The article points out some of the things that make a particular community more desirable, and therefore more resilient to falling values in a declining real estate market, than neighboring communities.
And though the Tucson Foothills are not mentioned in the article, the similarities between the Foothills, and the communities featured in the article as holding up better than others, are unmistakable.
These are things that I have been chanting for a long time, both on this blog and to my home buyer clients.
The article is titled, 'Gauging Value In Real Estate As Prices Slide'
Here are some key points from the article that also apply to the Foothills,
- In this battered housing market, choosing the right neighborhood is more important than ever.
-One factor is well-known to home buyers: schools. Even if you don't have children, houses in high-ranked school districts generally retain their value better.
-don't overlook perhaps the most important variable of all: supply and demand. ...prices are tumbling hardest in places like Phoenix or Miami or Las Vegas, which were smothered in recent years by new construction. Yet it is apparent that some parts of Phoenix are substantially weaker than others.
-In many cities during the housing boom, developers ventured far afield to buy cheaper land, expecting that if they built it, buyers would come. And buyers did. But now they aren't so eager for two reasons: Gas is topping $3 a gallon, increasing their commuting costs, and the necessary infrastructure such as schools and retail and medical facilities often haven't sprung up yet.
-Just about anything sold in the hot market of 2004 and 2005, but now "it's location, location, location -- more than ever,"
In the Tucson Foothills,
-District 16, the school district for much of the Foothills, is considered by parents of school age children, to be a very good school district.
Many parents will only buy in District 16.
-the Foothills have not been plastered with new construction, there's been very very little, because there's no room to expand in the Tucson Foothills
-the Foothills are all about location, location, and an established community with a wide variety of housing that appeals to many different types of home buyers.
And in addition to it's natural beauty and lack of congestion, it's convenient to downtown Tucson, to retail, outdoor recreation, golf, hiking, dining, medical facilities and more.
One disclaimer. The supply of luxury homes in the Tucson Foothills and also other areas of Tucson, at about $1.3mil & UP, has gotten way ahead of demand. And I believe the luxury market has also crossed the line of buyer tolerance, as these homes are increasingly being built on less desirable home sites in the Foothills.
see TheFoothillsToday.com
to search for and learn more about Tucson Foothills Homes
