Tuscon: A Town of Excitement Jan 10^th – Feb 30th

Southern Arizona is packed with fun and exciting things to experience. All you need to do is know where to look and have good company. January and February of 2010 start the year off with a bang. Listed here are just a few of the interesting things you can do in Tuscon.

Something that the whole family can enjoy is the “Meanwhile Back at the Ranch” exhibit held at Tohono Chul Park, beginning January 14, 2010. This exhibit was inspired by a cowboy rodeo and will include real-life cowboys and cowgirls. After all, nothing says “fun in Arizona” like warm weather and a rodeo. Even Cowgirl Hall of Fame photographer Louise Serpa’s exhibit will be there! Best of all this event is free! You can find out more information about the rodeo by clicking here

Another fun, no-cost activity is being held at the Paradiso Bar and Lounge. They have started having “Free Concert Thursdays,” starting January 14, 2010. All of these concerts will start promptly at 8 p.m., every Thursday night. This will include tributes to rock and country legends such as Elvis Presley, Aerosmith, and Tim McGraw. More information about these concerts can be found by clicking here: Paradiso Bar and Lounge

On the other end of the music spectrum, the musical “Legally Blonde” is making its way to the Tuscon Music Hall starting January 19, 2010 through January 24, 2010. Based off of the 2001 hit movie starring Reese Witherspoon, Tuscon Music Hall is offering quality entertainment at an affordable price. This family show is selling tickets for as low as $29 a ticket. This is definitely a show where everyone can find something to enjoy, even if it’s just the idea of a dog named Bruiser, running around in a musical. All the information you will need to purchase tickets will be found by clicking here: Legally Blonde Musical.

February brings about a brand new type excitement, starting off with the “Carnival of Illusion” that opens on February 5, 2010. This will be held at the Doubletree Hotel in Reid Park until late May. Roland Sarlot and Susan Eyed will be performing their exclusive parlour show each night. This extraordinary experience will include a 2-for-1 dinner special and a night that you will never forget. Hurry and purchase tickets because they only allot space for 35 guests per show! You can find out more information and purchase tickets at: http://www.carnivalofillusion.com. This is an absolute great show in Tuscon!

On a more romantic note, you can celebrate Valentine’s Day with that special someone or those whom you love at the Valentine’s Day Homecoming Concert on February 13, 2010. This will be held in the Westin La Paloma Ballroom and tickets are selling for $35-75. Both grammy-winning Diana Schuur and the Jeff Daniel Band will be performing to set the right mood for the evening. What better way to swoon your loved one than with some drinks and sexy music? And for the full resort experience you can stay at the The Westin La Paloma for only $149 a night.

February ends with the “Walking with Dinosaurs” exhibit at the Tuscon Convention Center. It is the only show of its kind where you will get to be in an arena with life-size dinosaurs! This exhibit is a little boy’s dream come true! You can find more information on this exhibit at Walking with Dinosaurs 

Tuscon is a wonderful place to visit which contains plenty of adventure for its guests. Please come back to see our Feb – Mar picks for fun soon!!

Short Sales in Tucson

Although there are no actual figures recorded for the number of short sales done each year, many thousands of short sales occur annually. Many short sales are completed in the Tucson, AZ real estate market. Since a short sale is recorded just like a normal individual to individual sale rather than a foreclosure where legal title is transferred to a bank, statistics on the number of short sales completed each year cannot be compiled; however, one knows this number is high with current market conditions, perhaps almost as high as the number of foreclosures.

From an investor standpoint, buying short sales in Tucson, AZ is in many ways preferable to buying foreclosed properties. A short sale has many of the same advantages to an investor as a foreclosure; a short sale allows an investor to buy a property with all of the original owner’s equity wiped out, in addition to the bank generally taking a loss on the face value of their loan, as they do with a foreclosed property. Short sales in Tucson, AZ can be an excellent investment vehicle. Moreover, a short sale is generally in better condition than a foreclosure. Since the current owner of the property must consent to a short sale, and it is a ‘peaceful’ transfer of the asset rather than a ‘hostile’ transfer like with a foreclosure, the owner generally leaves the property in better shape.

To a Tucson property owner in distress, a short sale of their property is highly preferable to a foreclosure. The simple fact is that foreclosure destroys credit. A short sale does not negatively impact credit.

To the bank, a short sale has many advantages over a foreclosed property. A bank may be inclined to take a deeper discount on a short sale in Tucson, AZ than on a foreclosed property because they are able to avoid the cost of taking title to the property and avoid the expensive legal and other costs associated with foreclosure.

Short sales can also become a lengthy process for the home buyer looking to get into a home right away sometimes taking up to 6 months to facilitate. Since most real estate agents are not trained properly in processing short sales the purchasing process can take even longer. For this reason ask your agent how many short sale transactions they have “completed” and what their success ratios are. An experienced agent should have a 45.5 day processing time from beginning to end. Tucson, AZ can be an excellent way to capitalize on current market conditions, as the area will continue to grow and Tucson will continue to be a popular choice among investors and homeowners alike.

First Time home buyer Tax Credit

Over the last several years real estate prices have been in a sharp decline. Part of the reason for this is the high valuations that were seen in 2005, as prices were climbing at some of the fastest rates ever. Now, with housing markets around the country facing large inventories of unsold homes means that there are very reasonably priced homes for the first time home buyer. To help improve demand the federal government is offering a program that will give first time home buyers assistance with purchasing their home, the first time home buyer tax credit. However, like all government programs there are various qualifications that must be met by all first time home buyers to be eligible.

First Time Home Buy Eligibility

To qualify for the first time home buyer tax credit, everyone must be purchasing the property as their primary residence. This is the residence that someone will be living in most of the time. It can include: condominiums, homes, co ops, houseboats and mobile homes. However, there is an exception to this rule, an individual can qualify for the tax credit if they own rental or vacation homes, provided that they can show that they these were not their primary residences over the last three years.

Limited Time

The first time home buyer tax credit will not always remain in place, instead the government is going to be phasing it out over the next two years. Currently, all first time home buyers are eligible for the $8,000.00 tax credit for purchasing a home until April 2010. At this point, the credit will be closed to the general public and will only be available to members of the military, intelligence community along with Foreign Service until April 2011.

Purchase

The maximum value of the property that can be purchased with the first time home buyer tax credit is $800,000.00.

Income

There are income restrictions to qualify for the tax credit. What happens is the credit can be phased out based on annual income; with the maximum limits being placed on those who make more than $125,000.00 per year individually or couples that make $225,000.00.

Clearly, the first time home buyer tax credit has many different benefits. Yet, there are various qualifications that must be met to be eligible for this program. It is through understanding the different qualifications that will help all first time home buyers determine if this is something they should be using to purchase their first home.

Tucson Real Estate 2009 Snapshot

2009 was a turbulent year for Tucson Real Estate, but we’re heading in the right direction. The Tucson residential housing market is showing general signs of improvement across major statistical indicators. Home sales have shown a 54.59% year over year increase from November 2008 to November 2009. Although the average sales price is down year over year from 2008 to 2009 by 12.45%, sales prices tend to follow sales volume. As volume increases, so does the average price. It’s the law of supply and demand. Especially since there aren’t many developers starting new projects these days, all of those condos and homes we heard about being new and vacant will be absorbed. People love the fun and sun of Tucson after all, they will still move here and the population will increase faster than most other regions. The Tucson Real Estate market will benefit from these demographic shifts. The Tucson Commercial Real Estate Market will likely take a little longer to recover. The commercial cycle generally lags behind the residential cycle by about twelve months. Decreased consumer spending in times of economic difficulty lead to retailers having difficulty as sales decline. Decreased retail volume leads to less demand for warehouse, storage and industrial space. These factors lead to decreased revenue for commercial property owners. As consumer spending increases again, the cycle reverses. Income to commercial landlords increases, and property values go up accordingly. Taking a look at the multifamily apartment market, average rental rates for one bedroom apartments were down 3.63%, to $547. The average rental rate for a two bedroom apartment remained flat, fluctuating less than one percent and hovering at about $750. Expect prices to climb in double digits next year and continue growing solidly for years to come as Baby Boomer couples retire and look to move away from their currently frigid locales to sunny Tucson. Two bedroom configurations are in high demand with retirees, as it gives them the flexibility of a second bedroom that is easily convertible to a den or home office. Developers will doubtless seize this opportunity to add some specialized communities, creating jobs and spurring consumer spending and helping to drive new economic growth for Tucson and Tucson Real Estate. All said, 2009 was an encouraging year with some positive signs of recovery and 2010 promises to be an exciting year for Tucson Real Estate!