Tucson Housing Market Report - October 2023

U.S. sales of existing homes recently fell to a 13-year low, dropping 2.0% month-over-month and 15.4% year-over-year as of last measure, according to the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), as surging interest rates and elevated sales prices continue to make homeownership unaffordable for many prospective buyers. Purchase activity is down significantly compared to this time last year, but rising interest rates are also keeping many current homeowners from selling, causing inventory to remain at historically low levels nationwide.

New Listings increased 0.7 percent for Single Family but decreased 3.4 percent for Townhouse/Condo. Pending Sales increased 22.3 percent for Single Family and 18.3 percent for Townhouse/Condo. Inventory decreased 19.8 percent for Single Family and 32.3 percent for Townhouse/Condo. 

Median Sales Price increased 5.2 percent to $395,000 for Single Family and 4.0 percent to $260,000 for Townhouse/Condo. Days on Market increased 30.0 percent for Single Family but decreased 20.0 percent for Townhouse/Condo. Months Supply of Inventory remained flat for Single Family but decreased 16.7 percent for Townhouse/Condo properties.

Total housing inventory going into October was at 1.13 million units, up 2.7% from the previous month but down 8.1% compared to the same time last year, for a 3.4 months’ supply at the current sales pace, according to NAR. The shortage of homes for sale is making it harder for buyers to find a home to purchase while at the same time pushing sales prices higher nationwide, with the median existing-home sales price rising 2.8% annually to $394,300, the third consecutive month of year-over-year price increases.