Improving Neighborhoods of Tucson

Buying a home in an improving neighborhood offers the opportunity to find a lower priced home that can, in some situations, skyrocket in value down the road. The dynamics of the Tucson real estate marketplace is always changing, but there are some neighborhoods we think will be very demanded in the next five to ten years. Most of these neighborhoods are already seeing surges in demand and interest.

What makes a neighborhood improve?

1. Improving schools due to investment or change of policy within the school system. Homes that have multiple bedrooms in highly rated school districts always tend to do better than those in lagging school districts. Look for this as a signal things are changing.

2. Neighborhoods and areas constrained by lack of buildable land. In Tucson, we see the Catalina Foothills as simply out of easily developable land. In the next thirty years, that should equate to sizable home price increases there. In real estate, land availability is the most important factor in determining pricing. Where supply is restricted, any meaningful increase in demand can escalate price dramatically. Other areas of Tucson we think could, to a lesser extent, also see land being constrained and higher prices are: Downtown Tucson, inner NW side of Tucson, and the east side where most of the homes have been developed for 40+ years.

3. A Starbucks being built. Starbucks studies the demographics of the neighborhoods they are going to build stores near. Once they find the right site, it has been proven that homes within a 1/4 mile radius of the new Starbucks (or within the proximity of any Starbucks) appreciate faster than the surrounding neighborhoods outside of that radius. In new studies, we have also found that homes near Trader Joe's and Whole Foods also experience the same sort of bumps in pricing due to their proximity to these storefronts.

4. Neighborhoods with natural terrain. This is something that we have not proven yet, but in our experience representing buyers we find that many prefer be in neighborhoods that don't feel like mass production housing tracts. They especially like mature landscaping, greenspaces, hiking trail access, etc. Going forward, we feel that Tucson neighborhoods like this will experience a revitalization as the price points for home builders to duplicate these neighborhoods will simply be out of reach. We think neighborhoods like El Encanto, La Reserve, Oro Valley Country Club, Starr Pass, and many other older neighborhoods that have been overlooked the last twenty years will become extremely popular again. We think this is about to change or is already changing and these homes will skyrocket in value as the cost of neighborhood development continues upward. These neighborhoods have a tremendous amount of value in their lot sizes, mature landscaping, excellent locations, and the lack of density even for close in locations.

5. Aged neighborhoods that are in key locations. These neighborhoods have homes that are past their economic lifespan and, in general, need improvement. However, they are in locations that are hotbeds of activity and growth. Areas like this surround the University of Arizona, Downtown Tucson, as well as sections of mid-town Tucson. Another area ripe for renovation are all the older, smaller homes that dot the Catalina Foothills. Home owners that modernize and/or enlarge their current homes in these areas stand a chance of doing extremely well on the sale of their property.

Improvements such as new roads, schools, employers, and/or political decisions can completely alter a neighborhood. In the Tucson area, some of the best neighborhoods are those mentioned above. We are also monitoring other neighborhoods that we have identified as the next group to be highly demanded.

As a service to our clients, we study Tucson neighborhoods and have a wealth of information about them. We can assist you in identifying the next up-and-coming neighborhood that you may never have considered. On the other side of the coin, we can also give guidance on neighborhoods and districts that we think are possibly about to be less demanded and should be avoided. In those areas, we usually see the exact opposite of the demanded neighborhoods which is abandonment of homes, closing of businesses, blight, and other negative neighborhood distinguishers.

If this is the type of knowledge you would like to have working for you to identify and analyze the best possible combinations of home, neighborhood, and surrounding area, contact us today! As mentioned, we do a deep analysis to make sure our clients understand all their options prior to spending the large sums of money required in real estate purchases.

Contact us today and let's start determining which options may be best for you and your family!