Fortunately for those Sellers who are trying to sell homes for less than 500K in Sabino Mountain, 4 houses that had been for sale have withdrawn their listings within the past few weeks. Now there are 3 houses for sale for under 400K and 5 houses for sale between 450K and 500K. Having so many non-custom listings for sale in the past 9 months has hindered price stabilization and the sale of these homes. Sellers that were testing the market to see if they could get their price only added to the glut. Most of the houses that are for sale now are reasonably priced, so hopefully the Fall market will bring them some offers.

Rates for Jumbo mortgages (financing over 417K) have finally dropped to about 7%, which is great; last week they were hovering near 8%. This is great news for those who are trying to sell homes over 450K.

Additionally, Conforming financing is down to 6.5%. If a Long listing is purchased and the purchaser users Long Mortgage, the first year rate will be one percent less; hence will start at 5.5% for Conforming and 6% for Jumbo.

Long Realty wants to give our Sellers the edge during this transitional market.

The house at 4458 N Sabino Mt Drive that is listed by Long (range priced from $979K – $1,049K)is under contract again. This luxury TRS built home had been under contract and fell-through, but is back under contract again. I predicted it would sell quickly after it was professionally staged and showed beautifully.

Interest rates have dropped this week and this probably helped with the sale of this house and will improve the market in general.

I was closely examining the market today and noticed that the neighboring community of Shadows @ Sabino has had a more favorable sales year than Sabino Mountain has had. Last year they sold 10 houses, and so far this year they have sold 8 houses. The prices are stable there and very much like last year. On the other hand, Sabino Mountain house sales of non-custom homes has suffered, with only one non-custom home being sold this year. I sold it — it is a 2,236 square foot one- story Pepper-Viner home on Ocotillo Canyon.

The main attraction to Shadows @ Sabino is that most of the homes have their own pools, or if they don’t, they have pool-size lots. Of the 8 that have sold this year at Shadows @ Sabino, 7 have their own pool. It is my opinion that this is the biggest reason why Shadows of Sabino has had a much better year for sales. Most of the non-custom homes at Sabino Mountain do not have room for a pool.

I have heard from some of the people who live at Sabino Mountain that they can not understand why this neighborhood does not do better since there are beautiful views and there is a community pool, spa and Clubhouse. Also having many higher priced homes in the community usually helps bring up the value. The current situation with the non-custom homes being harder to sell, underlines the important message that those who are going to market their Sabino Mountain homes need to price it right and have an excellent agent market the house.

Jumbo loans (loans in excess of 417K) have risen unbelievably to over one percent greater than conforming loans (loans under 417K) to about 8%. Because of this, many of the would-be jumbo loan buyers will now buy houses priced 450K or less or wait out the market until interest rates on jumbo loans stabilize. However, those houses priced at 450K and less should not be effected by the current mortgage market upheavel.

I noticed that 4458 N Sabino Mt Drive – priced at $979,000 had an apparent contract fall-through. (This home is listed by Long Realty.) It shows beautifully and the list price is aggressive, so I expect it will be under contract again soon!

Another house that has previously been on the market is for sale again –The owner of Outpost Builders has put his personal house back on the market–7525 E Crested Saguaro Place (located  at the end of “The Retreat”) at a list price of $2,595,000.  This house is listed by Coldwell Banker.

To find out more information on these two houses, click on homes for sale in Sabino Mountain in my website.

As I predicted, 4458 N Sabino Mountain Drive would go under contract shortly after it was professionally staged. The buyer got a good deal on this home that has incredible mt views and was list- priced at 979K by Long Realty; when it closes escrow you can check my website out to find the final sales price.

I previewed a beautiful Outpost resale that is listed by Coldwell Banker and is located at 4043 N Ocotillo Canyon Drive.  This is a floorplan I have yet to view from Outpost and is very customized to include an attached in-law suite with kitchen, living room and bedroom with a gorgeous view.  This one is model-perfect and list -priced at $1,150,000.  Do not hesitate to call me if you would like to see this beauty. (Since it is multiple-listed, the listing agent co-ops with all local area realtors.)