Those of you who know me - know that I'm a junkie when it comes to statistical information. I devour stats like George Will devours baseball history.
One thing I've noticed is that very few market reports make it easy for the consumer to see information on homes that are eligible for FHA and VA loans and which require conventional financing - so I thought I'd try to make it simpler. In Pima County, Arizona (Tucson), the FHA loan limit is $316,000, so I limited the data to those.
FHA & VA loans have more stringent property condition guidelines, and may require a longer escrow period, so some (not many) sellers don't want offers that use these types of loans.
Here's what is available as of this evening in the Tucson Metro Real Estate Market:
(Including REO Foreclosures & short sales)
| Currently Active Listings | Overall | Accept FHA | Accept VA |
| Single Family Homes |
2324 | 2269 | 1593 |
| Townhomes | 442 | 310 | 286 |
| Condos | 380 | 123 | 118 |
To give you an idea of what has sold or come under contract this month so far:
| Pending/Contingent/Sold 10/1 to 10/26 | Overall | Accept FHA | Accept VA |
| Single Family | 1585 | 1079 | 1041 |
| Townhomes | 143 | 107 | 91 |
| Condos | 76 | 36 | 32 |
(Active Capa is not counted in these stats, since that term is most often used in short sales & only God knows when or if those will ever close)
*When looking for a home, you want to make sure you know what type of financing you will be using BEFORE you start looking at properties - sometimes you may fall in love with a house that has a seller who isn't in love with your financing, or the property itself doesn't qualify.
**Other factors to consider too - just because a property falls into the price guidelines of your budget doesn't make it eligible for your loan. The property may need repairs that disallow the property from your type of loan, or require you to get a different variation of that loan i.e. - FHA 203k Streamline & FHA 203k. In Tucson, most condos on the market are not FHA approved...even if they might say so in the listing.
***Knowing your loan type and its property parameters are CRITICAL to helping make sure you are looking at the right properties. A good agent will know most of the guidelines already - and keeping good lines of communication open between your loan officer, your agent and you will help make finding you the right property easier & more hassle-free!
Specializing in Buyer & Seller Representation in the Tucson, Arizona real estate market.
All original material written by Kent Simpson unless attributed to source.©2012,2011, 2010, 2009,2008,2007
"Never forget - Real Estate Is About People"
