When I called J.P.King – an organization which ran the Condo Auction, I was told that only 18 Units out of 58 had been sold. 16 of them due to the Developer’s commitment and only 2 more after that. The price ranged from $72,500 to $120,000, but Buyers had to pay extra 10%. In the adjusted numbers it become: $79,750 – $132,000.

Due to the outcome of the Auction, Developer is selling 10 Condos post-auction at $89,900+10% or $98,999 total.

Tucson MLS has it now as Listing #20909843:
7255 E SNYDER Rd, Tucson, AZ 85750 Active (03/05/09)
Beds: 3 Baths: 2
Sq Ft: 1209 Lot Sz: 7500sqft
Area: North Tucson
Year Built: 1995
Price/SqFt: 81.89
ONLY 10 UNITS AVAILABLE AT LOW POST-AUCTION PRICING OF $98,999/UNIT. THE AUCTION HELD ON APRIL 28 SAW VALUES AS HIGH AS $132,000/UNIT. Features: 2 & 3 bedroom floorplans * Quality, affordable living * Many units leased offering income potential * Excellent permanent residence, vacation home or rental investment opportunity! DEVELOPER WILL ONLY SELL 10 MORE UNITS. BUYER CAN PICK FROM REMAINING INVENTORY.
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The terms of sale include: 10% non-refundable down payment, 30 days closing time, Sold AS-IS and no financing available (except for private financing, if you can arrange one). The reason for no financing – the development doesn’t meet the guidelines of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

If you are interested in buying a Luxury Condo in Tucson and have cash for a low price tag of “Villas at Sabino Canyon” or interested in Tucson Foreclosures / Short Sales you can finance – give me a call at (520) 370-0700 Anjelina. I am licensed in Arizona Real Estate agent and I specialize in the Catalina Foothills area.

For many homeowners it is not over yet and might take quite a while for getting out of the woods. The reason is very simple. A lot of Tucson homes are changing hands in the short sale or foreclosure situation. Buyers are searching for the homes with built in equity and buying them way below the previous sales price. This means that many of the homes sold in March – April of 2009 are sold with 20% – 50% discount. This in turn affects any future sales in the area, due to the lower appraised value of the neighboring homes.

Still, the change is welcomed, as it takes some inventory off the market and encourages more buyers to leave sidelines and submit offers.

Even luxury market is picking up and I am getting busier every hour. Out-of-state Buyers, as well as locals search my website: http://foothillsinsider.com/ for Luxury Tucson homes for sale and http://foothillsinsider.com/tucson-foreclosures-short-sales/ for foreclosures and short sales in Tucson.

Out of 40 Condos presented, first two were bid up the most – both to $160,000. This however was the highest point of the auction. Steadily, the activity was drying up, with a few investors picking up handful of units that nobody else really wanted. The price ranged in between $122,500 and $145,000, though it is hard to pinpoint what was affecting the difference. Out of the five 3 BR Units (1,209 square feet each), the only upgraded one was sold for $160,000 (one of the above mentioned first two), the rest end up with the following prices: $140,000, $140,000, $135,000, $130,000 in the auction’s order.

During the auction, nine of the units came back (one of them twice), probably due to bidders’ inability to qualify or lack of the necessary paperwork / money. Overall, that cost the developer extra $52,500, as the consequent bids were lower in eight instances. For example, 2 BR/2 BA Unit 9-105 (1,017 square feet), described as “upgraded, private location, corner unit, fireplace” (auction sequence #22) was at first sold for $140,000. Yet, after it was re-auctioned, the final bid was $125,000.

Most of the vacant units were already completely renovated and upgraded by the developer and included granite counter tops, tiles in the kitchen, bathrooms and living area, new carpet in the bedrooms, new stainless steel appliances, bathtubs, sinks, etc… Two models even included flat screen plasma TV attached to the wall.

Overall, the auction was an amazing experience, worth even just to hear 120-125-120-125-125-125-120-125-120-125… with the speed of 120 words per minute or faster. It was though surprising for me to see starting bids of $89,000-$109,000 going up to $120,000-$125,000 almost immediately and then abruptly stop right there. Why wouldn’t the bidders get up there slowly? It might have saved them “a few bucks” at least in a few cases. However, looking at the face of the person opening the auction, one can strongly suspect that results didn’t meet Seller’s / Auctioneers’ expectations. Only time will show if this auction was a great buy for the investors or a timely escape for the Seller.

One thing is obvious. Those who were buying Condos to live in it have definitely won. They paid half of what was paid by their future neighbors just a few months prior. The location is definitely superior, considering proximity to Sabino Canyon, Ventana Golf and Racquet Club, Canyon Ranch Resort, etc… Moreover, those upgraded luxury condos are in the desirable by many School District 16, yet the new auction prices were still slightly better than many recently sold older non-upgraded condos in the TUSD school district. It was also much easier and safer process than buying short sales and foreclosures.

Good luck to those who won. Enjoy your new home!

Meanwhile, Tucson Multiple Listing Service is implementing some changes. On Monday, May 5th Tucson MLS will add “Cumulative Days on Market” in a new field showing DOM/CDOM. This will help agents to see total number of days the property has been listed without a 30 days break (regardless of any change of agent or brokerage). This information, however, will not be available on the public MLS site.

Long Realty agent’s tour:

MLS #:20816312: 5436 N Highpoint Ct, Tucson, AZ 85718. Promontory. $595,000.
MLS #:20811320: 4699 N Placita Ventana Del Rio, Tucson, AZ 85750. Ventana Del Rio. $649,900.
MLS #:20816130: 7365 E Autumn Dusk Pl, Tucson, AZ 85750. Ventana Reserve. $1,049,000.
MLS #:20813276: 7317 E Calle Alba Serena, Tucson, AZ 85750. Ventana Serena. $469,000.
MLS #:20815337: 5540 E Silver Mine Pl, Tucson, AZ 85750. Silverton. $749,000.
MLS #:20816763: 3614 E Kingler Spring Pl, Tucson, AZ 85718. Foothills Clusters. $499,000. Active contingent as of 05/08/08.
MLS #:20814755: 5651 N Paseo Niguel, Tucson, AZ 85718. Shadow Hills. $449,000.
MLS #:20814750: 5200 N Via Condesa, Tucson, AZ 85718. Catalina Foothills Estates. $749,000.

At today’s Long Realty meeting there was an announcement that from now on the appraisers will be allowed to use only 3 months sales history and not 6, as before (why didn’t they do it back in 2005?). In my opinion, this creates a serious hazard. In the current real estate market environment, any foreclosure in the neighborhood will have an immediate strong negative impact on all other homes in the area. This in turn will erode homeowners equity in the house and increase the number of short sales and foreclosures. The vicious circle will continue spinning, affecting more and more homes… It is easy to see who will suffer from the upcoming change and much harder to see who will benefit from it. Probably the appraisers themselves, charging multiple buyers for a low-ball appraisals of the same homes.

This post represents the opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of other Long Realty’s real estate agents, brokers and management.

Here are the properties on tour:

MLS #:20802712: 2230 N Wentworth Rd, Tucson, AZ 85749. La Cebadilla Estates. $1,750,000.
MLS #:20807052: 10252 E Shady Rock Ln, Tucson, AZ 85749. Tanque Verde Trails. $635,000.
MLS #:20805889: 9970 E Mount Pleasant Dr, Tucson, AZ 85749. Catalina Del Sol. $520,000.
MLS #:20808412: 6114 E San Cristobal, Tucson, AZ 85715. Country Club Estates. $799,900.
MLS #:20806716: 2920 N Cardell Cir, Tucson, AZ 85712. Monte Vista. $239,500.
MLS #:20803167: 4137 E Bermuda St, Tucson, AZ 85712. Catalina Farms. $160,000 – $180,000.
MLS #:20806177: 2827 E Monte Vista Dr, Tucson, AZ 85716. Miramonte. $300,000.
MLS #:20809161: 1824 E Spring St, Tucson, AZ 85719. $299,000.