The Housechick Blog

I do quite a bit of business with people who are relocating to the Tucson area.  Many have never been to Tucson, or have only been here briefly.  It’s always my pleasure to help someone discover this fair city, and to teach people about the different areas of town.

This is an MLS map of Tucson, which divides the city into various areas: West, Central, East, Northwest, North, Northeast, Southwest, South, and Southeast.  There are farther, more remote areas, but those are the big nine.

Click on the image of the map to download the full PDF mapRight click on the map and select “Save Target As” to save the PDF to your desktop.

Each area has a different look and feel.  It is a worthwhile investment to spend the time driving around the various areas of Tucson to find the place that feels like home to you.

Here’s some information for each area of town, for the last 6 months, single family homes only:

Northwest

• Average Sales Price is $336,266, Median Sales Price is $279,900
• Average Home is 3 bedroom, 2 baths, and 1970 square feet
• Northwest has had an explosion of new home construction over the past few years.  Oro Valley and Marana are part of what I consider Northwestern Tucson.  There’s a lot of good infrastructure here, with grocery stores, small shopping areas, and other nice amenities never far away.
• Find Northwest Tucson Homes

North

• Average Sales Price is $690,714, Median Sales Price is $548,000
• Average Home is 4 bedroom, 3 baths, and 2780 square feet
• North Tucson is a rather ritzy area, check out that average sales price!  North is bounded by the Catalina Mountains, and would be what people call the Catalina Foothills.  There’s a good amount of older housing on large lots, intermixed with the newer custom homes on the infill lots.
• Search for North Tucson Homes

Northeast

• Average Sales Price is $446,770, Median Sales Price is $387,500
• Average Home is 4 bedroom, 2 baths, and 2379 square feet
• Northeast Tucson seems more peaceful and laid back than the North, to me.  This is the Tanque Verde Valley, with mesquite bosques, gracious older homes on acreage, and a reasonable amount of new construction as well.
• Search Northeast Tucson Homes

West 

• Average Sales Price is $271,553, Median Sales Price is $220,000
• Average Home is 3 bedroom, 2 baths, and 1660 square feet
• When people think of West Tucson, they think of larger lots than what is found in other parts of the city.  The nice homes have city and mountain views.  West is a fairly small area, comparatively, because it is bounded by the Tucson Mountains.  West doesn’t have as much grocery shopping or dining, but it’s usually an easy trip to find those things.
• Search West Tucson Homes

Central 

• Average Sales Price is $238,815, Median Sales Price is $210,250
• Average Home is 3 bedroom, 1.75 baths, and 1483 square feet
• I’m a Central gal, a sucker for the 1950’s double brick ranch style homes.  Central is home to the University of Arizona, and housing in that particular section is pricey.  Otherwise, Central is characterized by older homes, good sized lots, and established neighborhoods.  Central is probably the least homogenous part of Tucson. 
• Search Central Tucson Houses

East 

• Average Sales Price is $252,249, Median Sales Price is $225,000
• Average Home is 3 bedroom, 2 baths, and 1752 square feet
• There’s something about East Tucson that makes people who live East, stay East.  Much of the East is an easy drive to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, and there’s a lot of cycling in the area.  East is a unique mix of older homes with smaller, infill neighborhoods.  There’s no huge master planned communities, but there’s a nice mix of housing. 
• Search East Tucson Homes

Southwest 

• Average Sales Price is $210,607, Median Sales Price is $198,450
• Average Home is 3 bedroom, 2 baths, and 1693 square feet
• The Southwest exploded with new construction about 3 years ago.  It’s a very affordable area of town.  Most of the new homes are on the far side of the Southwest area, but all of the new housing is sure to draw development of the infrastructure: grocery stores, shopping, and dining.
• Search for Homes in Southwest Tucson

South 

• Average Sales Price is $185,434, Median Sales Price is $185,000
• Average Home is 3 bedroom, 2 baths, and 1572 square feet
• South tends to be a mix of industrial and housing areas, and is home to the Tucson International Airport and a good portion of the railroad.  There are good buys to be had here, for occupying as well as investment property.
• Find Homes in South Tucson

Southeast 

• Average Sales Price is $258,706, Median Sales Price is $222,300
• Average Home is 3 bedroom, 2 baths, and 1779 square feet
• Southeast is also very close to Davis-Monthan AFB, and is largely homes built in the last 10 years.  Southeast includes the city of Vail, which is booming with new construction as the city pushes it’s way along the I-10 corridor.  Parts of the Southeast are well developed by retail and commercial properties, and some parts are still too new to have those amenities close by.
• Find a Home in Southeast Tucson

That’s my city, and the short version of the long tour around town.  Whatever brings you to Tucson, I’d love to show you the city and help you figure out your housing needs.