By Mike Sunnucks | Rose Law Group Reporter
The Tucson housing market is seeing a summer slowdown in home sales.
Steven Hensley, advisory manager for real estate research firm Zonda, said new home sales in the Tucson metro area dropped by 33% from May to July and are down 41% compared to July 2020 and 32% from July 2019.
Hensley said the Phoenix housing market has also seen sales demand drop this summer.
That comes after the summer of 2020 saw unprecedented home sales volume with historically low mortgage interest rates driving sales in the midst of the COVID pandemic.
But demand for homes has softened in Tucson and Phoenix with prices up, supplies of homes for sale and new subdivisions limited and some buyers feeling priced and pressured out of the current market.
“Active community counts are down 13% compared to a year ago,” Hensley.
He said builders were also limiting monthly sales to help their pipelines of homes keep up with demand. There are also traditional summer slow downs in sales that are typical of the Tucson and Phoenix real estate markets.
Prices have also risen in Tucson which can challenge entry level and first time buyers who drive a significant portion of the local market.
Hensley said the median base price for a home in the Tucson area stands at $395,000 — up 22% from a year ago.
He said new home prices grew by 2.9% each month from May to July even with the slower sales demand.
