Sonoita Arizona Real Estate Happenings

It will happen, won’t it? You know what I mean. The real estate market in Sonoita, Elgin and Patagonia will begin to act more normal. We’ve been waiting a long time, especially if you are trying to sell a parcel of land. But, I can honestly say it hasn’t happened yet.
Our housing inventory remains above 100 units when it should be less than 50. Interest in land parcels is excruciatingly soft. I personally have at least 4 listings of parcels that are great deals even in this market. They are all priced under what they would have sold for 5 or 6 years ago when the market was just starting to trend up at historically high growth rates.
What’s holding us back when we know that our feeder markets are improving? It is apparently the lack of sales in those markets that equate to the ability to purchase in the Mountain Empire. Our price range for most people is over $300,000 and less than $750,000. Our feeder markets are selling well at prices under our low end and thus those folks that would like to move here, but their home is in a higher price bracket, still cannot find a buyer. However, pent up demand and a better lending environment will soon prevail
So what happened this past month? Three homes sold, (I was involved in 2 of those sales), no land transferred and the total volume was $1,273,000. By comparison, last year there were 5 transactions which included one $60,000 land sale. The total volume was $1,023,900. (All statistics are from the Tucson Multiple Listing Service.) So, we had better volume in terms of dollars, but unit sales were down. As much as anything else, we need an improvement in unit sales to feel as if buyers are returning to our market.