Rich Cederberg's Albuquerque Real Estate Blog: Rich Cederberg- Albuquerque RE/MAX Finest Agent (RE/MAX Finest)

After my open house today I decided to stop by and look at the model homes at The Legends at High Desert. The Legends is a luxury gated community located in Northeast Albuquerque near Tramway and Academy.

As you can see, Tramway and Academy is very near the Sandia Mountains and their are some nice views at the Legends.

The exterior of the homes features extensive sultured stone detail, synthetic stucco with complete Tyvek stucco wrap, membrane roofs and really cool copper garage doors.

The homes are nicely appointed on the inside too, with Gourmet kitchens featuring Sub Zero 42" Refrigerator/Freezers with wood or stainless steel panels, Wolf 36" stainless steel 6 burner dual fuel range, solid granite countertops and backsplash and above and below cabinetry lighting.

Stacked stone is also used inside the home along with Acrylic Variance Wall Finish. There are 8' solid wood doors throughout the home and all doors are 3' wide.

Yes, those stairs lead to the basement. All the homes have climate controlled basements. In case you don't know, basements are very rare here in Albuquerque. They are only found in about 3% of the homes here.

There are 29 homes in phase one at The Legends ranging in price from $600,000 to $920,000.

There are many more upgrades in the absolutely beautiful homes. You can visit LegendsofAlbuquerque.com for more information, or call me at 505.803.5012 and I will set up a tour of these beautiful homes in a gated Albuquerque community.

Would you like a nice home in a gated community on a more affordable budget? Check out Albuquerque NM Gated Homes on my website.      

"The next chapter in space transportation is being written right now in the State of New Mexico. Forward-thinking pioneers are developing both vertical and horizontal launch vehicles using the power of free-market enterprise." Visit SpaceportAmerica.com

Spaceport America may be launching ordinary people (well OK, really wealthy ordinary people) into space before we know it.

I know some Albuquerque Realtors I'd like to launch into space!

One of the first things people relocating to Albuquerque notice about Albuquerque homes for sale is that they rarely have basements. To give you an idea just how difficult is to find an Albuquerque house with a basement consider this: Out of over 5,000 homes for sale, there are only about 100 homes with basements for sale.

View Albuquerque Homes for Sale with Basements

Great uses for basements:

• Home Office
• Kids Play Room
• Media Room
• Workshop
• Teenager bedroom

No matter why you want a basement understand that while they are a rare find here in New Mexico, there are some available.

Follow the link and register on BeautifulNMHomes.com and you'll be able to view Albuquerque Homes for Sale with basements and 60 other saved searches that you won't find anywhere else.

Here's the latest video presentation of the Albuquerque Real Estate Report for June 2010. This report is provided by the Greater Albuquerque Association of Realtors.

Here's a brief recap:

• Closed sales were up 11.40%
• Pending sales were down 21.86%
• Average sales price was down 1.11%
• Median sales price was down 2.58%
• Average days on the market was down 20%

No doubt at least some of the June closings were due to the first time home buyer tax credit, so we're likely to see a drop off in sales in July as the market returns to more normal conditions.

Remember that real estate is hyper-local. In other words, market conditions can vary not only from town to town but from neighborhood to neighborhood.  To fully understand the market conditions in your neighborhood and the effect the conditions may have on your home value contact me, Rich Cederberg, Albuquerque Realtor, for a free home valuation report.

If you're thinking of selling and you should read more about my plan to help you sell your Albuquerque House. 

Ready to buy your new home? Search residential real estate in Albuquerque NM or search MLS real estate in Rio Rancho 

Happy past clients are the reason I enjoy being an Albuquerque Realtor.

That's because I'm not in this job for the money, I'm in Albuquerque Real Estate because I want to have the opportunity to help people. Nothing brings me greater joy than meeting new clients and watching them change before my eyes from skeptics to raving fans when they realize that they can trust me, that I am watching out for their best interests and that I'm not just trying to make a quick sale.

Here's a testimonial from two of my happy homeowners in Albuquerque's Tanoan neighborhood:

"Rich was not only knowledgable and very professional, he was also patient and kind.  This combined with his sense of humor and good nature turned a potentially daunting task into an enjoyable event.

I house hunted in New Mexico while my husband sold our old house in Colorado. This was not easy but Rich was a trusted ally in this lofty endeavor.  He tolerated last-minute travel plans, participated in coffee-shop conference calls, helped make house videos, and shared contracts via email.  Rich made a concerted effort to ensure my husband felt like a valuable part of the search.  His hard work resulted in our finding a great house that my family now calls home.

We would recommend Rich to anyone who wants the ultimate realtor to help in their relocation."

I am so thankful for the people who will take a few minutes after their transaction is completed to write down a few nice words about me and the job that I have done for them.

I am humbled and inspired by testimonials like these. Humbled that I was given the chance to help them, inspired to continue doing business the right way, always keeping my clients best interests in mind.

If you're looking for an Albuquerque Realtor, won't you please call 505.803.5012 and give me a try?

Click here to see more testimonials for Albuquerque Realtor Rich Cederberg or click here to start your search for residential real estate in Albuquerque NM.

Buying your first Albuquerque home is as easy as 1-2-3!

1. Meet with a lender. Not all lenders are the same, pick someone that is friendly, helpful and will take the time to answer all your questions. Once you find that person you'll need your last two years tax returns, paycheck stubs and W-2's, so start looking for those things now. Be sure to ask them about the MFA loans that require as little as $500 to get into a home.
2. Shop for homes. Find a buyer's broker who knows how to help you with all the latest internet tools   like the Albuquerque MLS Client Portal. Identify homes you want to see online, then go see them with a buyer's broker. 
3. Make an offer and get ready to close.Once you find the home you want, make an offer, then let your Realtor help you get to the closing table 30-45 days later.

Oh yeah, step four? Get the keys and start moving in! Search the Albuquerque MLS 

If you're a first time home buyer the process can seem complicated, but really it's as easy as 1-2-3. To make it go even smoother make sure you find your own Realtor to represent you. You wouldn't go to court without your own lawyer and you shouldn't buy a home without your own Realtor! The one with the sign in the yard is working for the seller-not for you!

Read my Albuquerque First Time Home Buyer Guide

I have just finished publishing my Northwest Albuquerque monthly real estate stats for Ventana Ranch, Taylor Ranch and Paradise Hills NM. Although the final numbers aren't in for the first time home buyer tax credit, it would appear that the results in June of 2010 in Northwest Albuquerque anyway, were less than stellar.

***Search Residential Real Estate in Albuquerque***

Ventana Ranch Real Estate Market Stats

• Total sales were down slightly
• Average sales price was down -5% YTD
• Average market time was down
• Average price per Square Foot was down

Taylor Ranch Real Estate Market Stats

• Total sales were up slightly
• Average sales price was down -2.5% YTD
• Average market time was down
• Average price per square foot was down

Paradise Hills NM real Estate Market Stats

• Total sales were up slightly
• Average sales price was down sharply -8% YTD
• Average Market time was down
• Average price per square foot was down sharply

Summary

Housing values in Northwest Albuquerque are continuing their decline in spite of slightly increased sales. 

This doesn't mean necessarily that your property value is down. These market reports are very general and the only reason that I publish them to indicate trends in the real estate market.

To get a bettter idea what your home may be worth call me at 505.803.5012 and I will be happy to estimate your house's value.

Tired of searching through hundreds of listings online trying to find the great deals on Albuquerque Homes for Sale only to find out they’re all short sales? Well, you're in luck, because I have hand-picked through all of the current Albuquerque Homes for Sale and found about 40 homes that are priced to sell and under $80 per square foot. THAT'S UNBELIEVABLE! These are not difficult to buy short sales, they are regular listings and much easier to buy bank owned homes.

Click Here to view GREAT DEALS UNDER $80 PER SQUARE FOOT

Why should you buy a home right now?

• Affordable prices. We’re at the bottom of the market!
• Incredibly low interest rates. They can only go up from here!
• Motivated sellers. They want to sell now!

These are the cheapest of the cheap, visit my website if you want to view more afffordable real estate in Albuquerque, or if you are interested in Albuquerque Foreclosed houses.

Call me at 505.803.5012 to schedule viewings of any of these properties

CALL 888.629.8852 and enter EXTENSION 101 to learn how you can BUY A HOME WITH ONLY $500 DOWN 

With more and more short sale homes and bank owned homes coming on the market here in Albuquerque, I thought it would be interesting to see what percentage of closed sales in June were distressed property sales.

Of the 581 total sales that have been reported in June 2010, 83 were bank owned listings and 49 were short sale listings. Together that's 29% of total sales. Bank owned homes made up 18% of June closed sales, and short sales made up 11% of June closed sales.

29% doesn't sound that high, but let's look at it another way, 29% means almost 1 out of 3 closed sales were distressed property sales. These numbers are for the Albuquerque market as a whole, and some neighborhoods have fared better than others. 

Read more about Ventana Ranch distressed property sales, Paradise Hills NM distressed property sales and Taylor Ranch distressed property sales.

With short sale homes selling for 10% below market value, and bank owned homes selling for even less, distressed property sales are definitely having an impact on housing values in Albuquerque.  

Tired of searching through hundreds of listings online to find homes for sale in La Cueva High School district? La Cueva High School is Albuquerque's most popular high school. 

Today there are over 300 three bedroom homes in La Cueva HS district for sale, and 229 four bedroom homes for sale in La Cueva HS district.

There is a wide variety of home styles available from more affordable La Cueva homes under $250,000, to more expensive custom homes. 

If you've seen a home online and you want to check the schools for that address, go to the Albuquerque Public Schools website and look for the "Find a School" search on the home page. Visit their website to learn more about La Cueva High School.