By Gabriela Rico | Arizona Daily Star
As existing homeowners cling to their low mortgage rates, homebuilders are getting renewed attention.
New home sales in April were down 6%, compared to April 2022, but it was the first time this year the decline was in single digits.
Meanwhile, the average new home price is again approaching the $500,000 mark in the Tucson market.
Existing home sales, on the other hand, are down 38.7% through April, compared to the same time period last year.
“It would take a rather compelling reason for a current low interest rate mortgage homeowner to decide to sell into a high interest rate marketplace,” local housing analyst Jim Daniel said. “The Tucson resale market continues to underperform due to the lack of new listings, mortgage rates and the complete disappearance of institutional buyers.”
“We have seen a greater volume of clients coming in to talk about Tuscon land-use issues. I think that may even accelerate with the latest announcement on Maricopa County water.” Omar Abdallah, land-use and zoning attorney, who handles some cases in Tucson, Pima County, Marana and Oro Valley.
