Arizonians say Southern Arizona is among the best places for retirees and other people looking for a place to live, but many of them do not relish the statement that many like to retire in their state because of large numbers of affordable listings of foreclosure homes.
Forbes.com has named Pima County as one of the country’s ten best places to retire partly because of its high affordability. The ranking explained that the subprime crisis led to thousands of affordable foreclosure homes in Tucson and surrounding areas.
But Arizonians insist that the relatively high number of foreclosure homes is not the main factor why retirees are moving to Tucson and other parts of Southern Arizona.
They even say that the foreclosure factor cannot be used by the Tucson Chamber of Commerce or the Metropolitan Tucson Convention and Visitors Bureau in their advertising campaign because people would just poke fun at the ads.
Even so, Arizonians admit that home prices across the state have become more affordable. In April 2006, the median price was $220,000, according to data from the Tucson Association of Realtors. Last month, the median was down to $164,000.
But home prices have been declining in nearly all housing markets nationwide. Besides, Tucson has not been battered by foreclosures as sharply as in Las Vegas, San Diego or Phoenix.
Based on RealtyTrac’s foreclosure data in April, one unit in every 238 homes received a foreclosure filing in Pima County. One unit in every 136 homes was hit with foreclosure in Maricopa County while Pinal County had one unit in every 92 homes hit with a filing.
Marshall Vest, a University of Arizona economist, explained that retirees are not basing their relocation decisions purely on the prices of foreclosure homes.
Jack Camper, chief executive of the Tucson Chamber of Commerce, said the foreclosure reasons cited by Forbes.com in its ranking are not to be embraced because there are large numbers of foreclosure homes across the country and not only in Tucson. He argued that there are more foreclosure houses in California and in Florida.
Camper stated that the major factors why people want to retire in Tucson are beautiful outdoors, cultural events, arts centers, a good university, golf resorts and opportunities for continuing education.
Lastly, Camper added that he has considered enjoying his older years in Tucson because of plenty of amenities, and not because of foreclosure homes, which can be found in all places nationwide.
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