Tucson Association of Realtors (TAR) has released stats for February 2016. Average Sales Price decreased 4.80% this month to $206,128 from $216,510, while home sales pushed up 4.08%, according to the Tucson Association of REALTORS® Multiple Listing Service.

The Average Selling Price decrease of $10,382 compared to January, is $3,275 less than a year ago ($209,403) and the Median Selling Price decreased slightly ($1,000) to $168,900 since January.

Total sales volume of $218 million increased 4.80% over January ($209 million), and year-over year 11.22% higher (+$22 million) than February 2015 ($196 million).

The increased month-over-month, 1,055 homes were 9.33% higher than January (965 homes) a 12.83% increase when compared to February 2015 (935 home sales).

The highest activity was in zip codes 85629 (Sahuarita area), 85710 (East Tucson), and 85742 (Northwest Marana area).

Highlights from TAR’s Residential Sales Report:

• Fewer new listings this month, a decrease of 6.95% from January. Most new listings are found in the Northwest area (562).
• Total active listings are 5,078, a slight decrease of .33% since January’s 5,095.
• Newly under contract for the month increased 19.72%, with 2,282 still under contract at month end.
• Average days on the market decreased from 66 days in January to 65 days. One year ago, average days on market was 69 days
• Conventional loan sales accounted for 33.6% and exceeded Cash Sales of 30.1%

Please refer to full February sales report for graphs and additional information at

Full Tucson MLS sales report:  https://www.tucsonrealtors.org/docs/default-source/Stats/statsfeb2016F23DE40039CF.pdf?sfvrsn=0

Tucson Rental statistics: https://www.tucsonrealtors.org/docs/default-source/Stats/statsrentfeb201673095E0D8C85.pdf?sfvrsn=0

Tucson-based, HSL Hotel Opportunity Fund III (Omar Mireles, manager) bought the Radisson Suites Tucson at 6555 E Speedway Blvd in Tucson for $7 million ($23,411 per room) from the lender AIG Life Insurance Co and American International General Life Assurance of Los Angeles, CA and The United States Life Insurance Co of New York.

The 299-suite hotel had been returned to lender in February 2003 and was being sold in an REO sale in this transaction.

The hotel is located at Speedway and Dorado Boulevard, only a short drive away from the airport, the University of Arizona and many area businesses and attractions.

The Radisson Suites Tucson is a convenient choice for Tucson events, conferences, and business functions. Situated in an upscale neighborhood on the city’s east side, guests have access to a wide array of nearby restaurants, numerous shopping options, museums, and world-class golf courses. With over 20,000-square-feet of indoor and outdoor meeting space within the 202,358-square-foot hotel makes it ideal for both large and small events.

Amenities include an outdoor swimming pool with a sundeck, Breeze Patio Bar & Grill with delicious foods for guests and locals to enjoy, a fitness center, secure parking, and free Wi-Fi.

In addition to multifamily housing rental properties, HSL Properties currently owns and manages multiple hotels, offering a total of more than 900 hotel rooms including Hilton El Conquistador Resort in Oro Valley, Best Western Plus Tucson Airport in Tucson, Casa San Sebastien in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, La Quinta Inn & Suites – Reid Park Hotel in Tucson, and Doubletree Suites by Hilton in Tucson.

HSL hotels focus on excellent service and top-quality accommodations in well-situated locations that appeal to both business and pleasure travelers.

2015 was a banner year for the US lodging industry and experts say sector fundamentals have never been stronger and at this juncture hotel property values have generally exceeded prior peak levels in most markets across the country.

During 2015, the US lodging industry achieved a noteworthy milestone with the number of available rooms surpassing 5 million per night. Lodging construction is now surging with more than 100,000 new rooms scheduled to come available this year. Generally while sector growth is a positive sign, it should be noted that new supply can raise individual room rates, even if they are at peak occupancy.

To learn more, see RED Comp #3583.

Historic Rancho Los Amigos, a mobile-home park that began as a citrus grove, at 600 West Orange Grove Road in Tucson was bought by Alta Vista Communities (Roger Karber, manager) recently for $4.8 million ($282,353 per acre). The property sold for land value and is located just west of the intersection of Orange Grove and Oracle Roads. Approximately 10 acres of the total 17 acres is zoned for retail, office or other commercial use.

The seller was Rancho Los Amigos MHP, LLC of Tucson (James Horvath of Town West Realty, manager).

Alta Vista plans to develop a 232-unit rental community with eight-units in each two story buildings, ranging from one- to three-bedrooms. The units will have over-sized patios and balconies.

The company has contracted with Mesa-based management company, NTH Property Management, to help transition residents into different mobile-home parks.

With 70 tenants in the 108-unit park when it sold, residents were recently given the required 180-day notice for redevelopment and an August 1 deadline to move, said manager Neal Haney, of NTH.

Haney, with over 35-years of experience in mobile home park management, has probably more experience than anyone in the state with relocation of mobile home park residents.

He explained to us, the personal property tax paid on mobile homes each year has a portion build into it that goes to a ‘relocation fund’ established since the 1970s. This state fund helps pay the costs associated with relocating mobile homes to another park, or to private property when redevelopment occurs.

The fund will pay residents up to $5,000 for the move and installation of a single-wide and $10,000 for a double-wide mobile home, Haney said. Tenants must show proof of ownership of the mobile home to be eligible for assistance. People renting mobile homes are not eligible.

He said one meeting was held to explain the program and give the forms needed to file with the State of Arizona and a second meeting with residents and Haney to answer questions. Haney said they will start to bring in other park operators that have vacancies to discuss their park amenities at the next step.

Haney said they work to make the stress of moving as easy as possible for the residents and was pleased say that ten of the residents had already indicated they have made moving arrangements.

There is a lot of history that goes along with this old ranch. It was one of the first developed ranches in the Tucson area, and it eventually became the heart of the citrus industry in Tucson. Rancho Los Amigos has been a quiet desert oasis enjoy in Tucson since the 1920s,.

The redevelopment can be done with existing zoning, Karber told us. “The infrastructure there is very old and will have to be removed. It was put in place without much planning back in its day. The long driveway onto the property will be kept in place, as will the lush vegetation,” said Karber.

Karber added, “The project is kind of a deviation from our rental casitas, but works well for this property. We like the country/rural feel of the property and the amazing palm trees, but it is in poor condition and in need of updating with modern amenities.” The name of the new project has not been chosen yet. “I like the name and the history of the property,” he said. “And, we want to put some of the citrus trees back and replicate the historic citrus grove atmosphere.”

If all goes as planned, units will be available for move-in by late spring or summer 2017.

For additional information, Neal Haney should be contacted at (480) 649-3531.

To learn more, see RED Comp #3596.