November 29, 2007 by Donna Anderson.

Interest rates for conforming loans–those under 417K-have dropped to under 6%! No wonder I have seen so many people viewing my Foothills listing in the past week!   This beautiful house is priced below-market at 550K and has gorgeous mountain views on over 3 acres; it was built in 2002. Other features are 3 car garage, fireplace, silestone counter tops in the gourmet kitchen with island, pebbletec pool; it is gated and has 3,000 finished square feet.  The property is located at 7502 E Wandering Rd -  MLS # 20744464.  It is quick walk from the house to Sabino Canyon.  You can see its brochure on the bottom of the front page of my website: www.DonnaAnderson.com .

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November 25, 2007 by Donna Anderson.

I opened today’s newspaper and found headlines that said Forclosures are all over Tucson.  This simply is not so.  And unfortunately, for Realtors, as a result of this article we will get buyers asking to see these so-called multiple foreclosures in the Foothills.  There are very few and most that are in foreclosure are condos.  Buyers in the Foothills almost always put down 20%  and many put down more or pay cash.  I really do not know how to rectify this false report.  Real estate is always regional and in the areas of Pima County where there is a lot of new construction going on and that have the least expensive real estate, there are more than the usual number of foreclosures.  Many of these buyers were strapped to get into houses and in the past few years it has been way too easy to get loans with low documentation and poor credit scores. This year I had one Seller that was not in this situation, however, he had to pay a 10K prepayment penalty fee when paying off his loan. Some lenders were predatory and now the price is being paid by those who wanted a piece of the “American Dream”.  It is very sad, but now we will have most people who buy homes able to afford them.

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November 20, 2007 by Donna Anderson.

I have noticed that lately sales are picking up in areas that attract the snowbirds such as Ventana Canyon Golf Villas.  Usually the best time to buy is between Thanksgiving and New Year’s since there are fewer showings then and the Sellers feel more anxious.  So you snowbirds who are reading this, do not wait until February and March when many snowbirds buy: you want to be one of the few looking and buying houses and not be competing with the pack. This is good solid advice and it comes from lots of experience. Any buyers needing to view homes in the Foothills or Oro Valley, give me a call. I will be around during both holidays.

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November 12, 2007 by Donna Anderson.

Lately buyer traffic is picking up in the Foothills and stats prove the market here is stabilizing! Real estate is always local and the Foothills is faring much better than the surrounding neighborhoods. And if you don’t believe me —ask the buyers: there is not an over-abundance of  Foothills homes on the market now! In fact, many buyers are complaining that there is not enough “good houses” in their price ranges. Keep in mind  that even with all the national news negativity about the real estate market, one-half the markets are doing just fine. Interest rates are low; 6/14% for 30 year fixed conforming loan (less than 417K) and 6 3/4% for a jumbo loan (over 417K). The Foothills has never had many buyers getting interest- only loans or 100% loans, and most who buy here do not have credit problems.  Other factors that have helped keep the Foothills market from  faring poorly are that there has been very little building going on in the past 5 years; in fact, vacant land is almost non-existent; the best schools are located here, and this is where the most sought after golfing, shopping, art galleries, etc are located. The views are “Switzerland in the Desert”. The best time for buyers to purchase is now; the market always slows down during the holiday season and since the Sellers will see fewer potential buyers they will be more anxious to sell. So savvy buyers– get out there and buy your Foothills home!

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November 1, 2007 by Donna Anderson.

The highest sales price in Tucson is now 8 million and was recently sold by a fellow agent in my Long Realty Foothills office. The property is located in Ventana Canyon.  The Long Realty Foothills office sells more luxury Tucson real estate than any other real estate office in Southern Arizona.  We all seem to sell a lot of our listings right within our office.  It is a high energy office with tremendous networking opportunities when marketing luxury Foothills properties.

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