Pima County, Sahuarita lead in building permits

So far this year, Pima County and Sahuarita lead the pack in the number of single-family home permits issued, according to John Strobeck of Bright Future Business consultants. While total permits issued everywhere in Pima County through May were just a little more than half of what they were by this time a year ago (1,537 vs. 2,596), Strobeck said 59% of them were issued in Pima County and Sahuarita.

In his June 2008 issue of the Southern Arizona Housing Market Letter, Strobeck said Pima County has issued 509 permits through May, followed by Sahuarita, with 404 permits. So far this year, the City of Tucson has issued 319 permits, southern Pinal County had 118, Oro Valley reported 108 and Marana trailed with 81.

Despite this year's lag in building permits compared to 2007, Strobeck thinks there will be a steady increase through the year and that total permits will reach 4,000 by the end of 2008.

Strobeck noted a continuing slide in average and median sales prices for both new and resale homes. The new home average sales price in May was $262,877, dropping nearly $43,000 from the average sales price of $305,824 in May 2007. The median new home sales price in May was $232,963, down more than $16,000 from the median new home price of $249,526 in May 2007.

Resale homes fared little better in May. The average resale price was $245,548, down more than $20,000 from the average resale price of $266,831 in May 2007. And the median resale price in May dropped to $195,000, also down nearly $20,000 from the median resale price of $214,000 in May 2007.