Real Estate, Free fall or Sellers Market? (Phoenix, Tucson: apartment, rental)

[Sable8484]

I am confused, as I look at fixer condos and mobiles. They are valued at less than 1/2 of the ones in Northern NV where I am now.
I look for info on real estate in general in Pima County and an article from the local news says, "Local housing movement is right now, "A Sellers Market." If I come down to look at a few fixers in about 4 weeks, will people be losing their properties to pandemic woes or what? Is some of this avail housing due to University shut down too?

[grmi66]

Don't know anything about mobile homes, but we just bought a fixer townhouse for a disabled family member to move into. The market for condos and townhouses is pretty hot right now along with regular houses. The impression I got from chatting with the HOA president of the townhouse we bought is that their little 35 unit complex is rapidly changing. Instead of older couples and older singles buying a townhouse, it is young families trying to build equity with any kind of real estate. It was almost impossible to find a townhouse to fix that you could tell had been owned by an old lady that just passed and the heirs are trying to unload it quick. Four years ago when we began looking to see what was out there, you could find townhouse like this all over town for $100,000. Now they are much tougher to find and will cost at least $150,000 if you can beat a rental company who wants to outbid you for it.

According to our real estate agent, people from out of town are also buying townhouses as a base to live for a year or two while they track down a house to buy.

We were looking north of the U of A and in NW Tucson. Situation might be different in other spots around town.

[Vic Romano]

Are you sure you can handle the weather here in Tucson?

https://www.city-data.com/forum/tucs...nada-wash.html

[Sable8484]

I lived in Phoenix. And Flagstaff before!
I hate snow and I totally regret moving to Northern Nevada. My partner guilted me into staying last winter and I left for 6 weeks in early Feb and went into CA and then Phoenix! If he hates AZ an just will not considering moving there ,
, I will do fine on my own. I had moved to Phoenix in late 2018 to stay and the housing fell apart when I was to work for rent. The guy turned out to be a dirty old man who required a woman to be his gf after making a work around the house only agreement before I came to Phx. I was really frustrated that I couldn't stay then. The only issue I have with Tucson is that the U is maybe 20 percent more expensive than I would prefer to pay to even just get a few odd ball courses I really want to take before applying for an online grad program I hope to do over the next handful of years .

[Black Picket Fence]

If I understand correctly, you have lived in Arizona during the winter months, but not during the summer, and especially not through the hottest months of summer, or the monsoons?

Before even thinking about buying any sort of permanent home in Arizona (or anywhere else in the desert Southwest), I strongly advise you to live there for a year to see if you can take the heat. A lot of people experience Arizona for the very first time during the winter, fall in love with it, and think they want to move there, only to get a really harsh reality check during their first summer. A couple of desert days over 100°F can seem okay if you're coming from a cool or very humid climate, but weeks on end of temps like that (and hotter!), with no respite, can really wreck you.

If you have the money to buy anything at all, and pay all of the bills that will inevitably come with it, then you definitely have the money to pay for a studio apartment, or to rent a room—no "housekeeping" arrangements with creepy guys (because let's be real, that's what those arrangements always turn out to be).

Or, buy a small RV and snowbird it, if you hate cold winters so much. But I get the impression you can't afford to make any big financial mistakes with what money you've got. So before you spend it, do your due diligence and know exactly what you're getting into.

[Vic Romano]

Originally Posted by Sable8484

I lived in Phoenix. And Flagstaff before!
I hate snow and I totally regret moving to Northern Nevada. My partner guilted me into staying last winter and I left for 6 weeks in early Feb and went into CA and then Phoenix! If he hates AZ an just will not considering moving there ,
, I will do fine on my own. I had moved to Phoenix in late 2018 to stay and the housing fell apart when I was to work for rent. The guy turned out to be a dirty old man who required a woman to be his gf after making a work around the house only agreement before I came to Phx. I was really frustrated that I couldn't stay then. The only issue I have with Tucson is that the U is maybe 20 percent more expensive than I would prefer to pay to even just get a few odd ball courses I really want to take before applying for an online grad program I hope to do over the next handful of years .

I would suggest you do a lot more research before you move again. Since 2018, you said you have lived in Oregon, Albuquerque, Phoenix, Raleigh NC, Carson City (came to a city that snows even though you don't like snow and didn't even complain about the big earthquake) thought about going to Las Vegas, Las Cruces and Georgia...you don't stay in one place and have complained about EVERY place you have moved to. No wonder you have no money. You spend it on moving.

Originally Posted by Black Picket Fence

If I understand correctly, you have lived in Arizona during the winter months, but not during the summer, and especially not through the hottest months of summer, or the monsoons?

Before even thinking about buying any sort of permanent home in Arizona (or anywhere else in the desert Southwest), I strongly advise you to live there for a year to see if you can take the heat. A lot of people experience Arizona for the very first time during the winter, fall in love with it, and think they want to move there, only to get a really harsh reality check during their first summer. A couple of desert days over 100°F can seem okay if you're coming from a cool or very humid climate, but weeks on end of temps like that (and hotter!), with no respite, can really wreck you.

If you have the money to buy anything at all, and pay all of the bills that will inevitably come with it, then you definitely have the money to pay for a studio apartment, or to rent a room—no "housekeeping" arrangements with creepy guys (because let's be real, that's what those arrangements always turn out to be).

Or, buy a small RV and snowbird it, if you hate cold winters so much. But I get the impression you can't afford to make any big financial mistakes with what money you've got. So before you spend it, do your due diligence and know exactly what you're getting into.

Based on previous posts, she will move, complain for a couple months then post on some other city's forum.

[steiconi]

We bought our mobile on acreage three years ago for about $130k. Zillow now says it's worth $211k. Another RE site suggests a more believable value of $150k.

I'd like to move. Ideally, I'd sell now and rent in the new area until prices come down.

[Black Picket Fence]

Originally Posted by Vic Romano

Based on previous posts, she will move, complain for a couple months then post on some other city's forum.

Yeah, I looked at her posting history and there are clearly issues there, ones that I can't even begin to help her solve. You can move all you like, but if you keep dragging the same old baggage to each new place, even Paradise will seem like Hell. Been there, done that, and I get it, but oh man, am I glad I'm not putting myself through that any more.

But I don't like to see people walk into a potentially life-ruining mistake that they could have easily avoided had somebody thought to warn them. I never know how far people have managed to think things through, or whether they have the experience/knowledge base needed to even know what to ask. So I'll say my piece, and maybe it'll be helpful. If not, oh well.

And I don't even live in Arizona; I just got lured in here by javelina videos, LOL.

[remco67]

i grew up in Tucson and have been away for a dozen years now. i have been waiting until i hit 55 in a few years to move back giving me the option of buying into a 55 and older community. I have continually watched the market for the last few years. Prices have drastically increased during that time, just like about every where else. I have watched a number of homes in over 55 communities. Green valley and other Condos hold a consistent price for years at 40 to 50 k for a one bedroom. Those same units in a period of less than a couple years are starting at 80. Now 80k might seem cheap if you are just looking now but not when until 2 or so years ago they were at 40 or 50. Especially given that such communities have the required fairly high HOA requirements. Mobile Homes themselves are always fairly inexpensive but the lot rent is not, especially in parks that require income at 3 to 4 times the monthly lot rent to qualify. You are also at the mercy of the park owners not to sell or raise lot rents.