2021 rewind: A look back at Tucson's wild housing market this year
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We are sharing Arizona Daily Star reporters' and photographers' favorite work from 2021.
While most housing experts predicted a housing crash at the beginning of the pandemic, the opposite happened.
A mix of Tucsonans working from home who wanted a home upgrade and transplants from the east and west coast sent prices surging.
As a result, home sellers saw cash offers for their homes of up to $50,000 over appraisal and developers of rental units were able to command never-before-seen rents of $3,000 and $4,000 a month.
Even lucrative student-housing projects have started to flip to market-rate units because the demand is so high.
The run-up has posed a challenge for keeping housing costs affordable in the Tucson market and with the Fed's insistence of keeping interest rates low, there is no clear end in sight.
Arizona Daily Star reporter Gabriela Rico covered all of the twists and turns. Check out her work from this year:
(8) updates to this series since Updated
While many of the national homebuilders have focused on more amenities into smaller spaces to keep new home prices down, the median cost of a new home still rose to $322,015 in 2020.
The plan would allow for buildings up to 14 and 16 stories tall, with affordable housing, along two miles of Broadway, known as the Sunshine Mile.
High demand and limited supply of rental property in the the Tucson market has one developer converting a student housing complex to traditional apartments.
The desire for mobility and maintenance-free living is driving the demand.
Tucson home prices hit new heights, driving up rent prices, tooFor Star subscribers: The average price of a new home in the Tucson market has reached an eye-popping amount not seen here before.
For Star subscribers: As students flock to high-priced housing near campus, outlying complexes that served them are switching up their clientele.
For Star subscribers: Nearly 200 rentals are opening for Tucsonans in need, but it's a fraction of the demand for affordable housing across Arizona.
For Star subscribers: A new complex aims to fill the void for those who can't afford luxury apartments but don't qualify for affordable housing.
Gabriela Rico
Reporter
For Star subscribers: A new mobile clinic in Tucson will offer primary care, COVID-19 testing and vaccines, and psychiatric care and counseling.
Described as "a rare residential expression of modern architecture," this Tucson home's primary living spaces surround a glass-walled atrium and courtyard.
For Star subscribers: Get ready, more Krispy Kreme goodness is coming to Tucson.
For Star subscribers: A downtown Tucson hotel built in the 1960s has been sold and will be converted into a 210-unit apartment complex.
For Star subscribers: Four national homebuilders are erecting homes in Star Valley, an area once considered to be "out in the boondocks."
For Star subscribers: As national companies build hundreds of homes at a time, these Tucson brothers are developing small lots in residential areas.
For Star subscribers: The majority of home sellers in Tucson got 100% of the asking price for their home — often substantially more.
For Star subscribers: A Tucson townhome community that was developed in a mostly-preserved pecan orchard is now on the National Register of Historic Places.