Rich Cederberg's Albuquerque Real Estate Blog

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 

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.

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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.

The May Albuquerque Real Estate Market Stats were just published by the Greater Albuquerque Association of Realtors. The report shows radical jumps in year over year closed sales in all areas of the Albuquerque Metro Area as well as a large increase in sales volume.

Here's the video produced by the local board for May 2010:

Summary

Closed sales were up 28%. The leading sales increases were found in Bernalillo (250%), Placitas (66%) and Rio Rancho (37%).

The average days on the market stat was down 15%, from 78 days last May to 66 Days this May.

Pending Sales were down a whopping 21%.

The average sales price was down 5%. The average sales price in May was $210,406.

The median sales price was also down 5%. The median sales price in May was $184,750.

I expected the numbers to look like this due to the rush of first time home buyers cashing in on the first time home buyer tax credit. I also think it's not surprising or alarming to see the decrease in pending sales (contracts written) in May. I think many buyers accelerated their timelines to get that contract written by the end of April and so many who may have signed purchase agreements on May were already done. Without the tax credit I expect to see sales to pick up only slightly over the next few months as many consumers are still wary of the economy in general.

Today I went on a real estate field trip.

No. it wasn't to see some beautiful million dollar houses or learn about some great new builder or some awesome new subdivision. Instead I went to an Albuquerque Foreclosure Auction.

The event was the county foreclosure auction held on the Bernalillo County courthouse steps (actually, it was held around one of the planters in front of the Bernalillo County Courthouse steps in downtown Albuquerque because people could set their stuff down on the planter, but I guess that's just a technicality).

I've read books and online articles that talk about the buying and selling of foreclosure properties on the courthouse steps, so I thought this would be a fun and exciting time.

The auction started at 10:30am. There were 7 or 8 people gathered around who all seemed to know one another. They were kind of rude to me, "the outsider." As the auction went on over the next hour or so some people came and went. I'd estimate there were as many as 12 people there at once.

The auctioneer showed up at 10:29am and took out a pile of about 50 small packets, one for each property. For the next hour or so he went through the pile, reading exactly the same legal language for each property except for the plaintiff name, defendant name, property address and the amount of the outstanding lien.

He seemed a little bored. He was speaking in a super fast, rather matter-of-fact voice while reading the legal notices from memory as he looked around at the comings and goings at the courthouse. I guess I can understand why he was bored since the poor guy had to read the same legal language 50 times.

Out of the pile of 50 I'd say 15 suits were postponed until a later date and 5 were canceled altogether.

The other 30 properties were auctioned off, but there was no bidding by anyone present. Every property was sold right back to the bank with the outstanding lien. 

I was so disappointed. I wanted to see some heated bidding. I wanted to hear about properties that were being sold for way less than they were worth and see people get some great deals.

Instead, what I saw was, frankly, very boring.

A very boring end to what was a very horrible situation for some Distressed Albuquerque Homeowners.

I was struck by the dullness and the coldness of it all. There were no excited investors waiting to get a great deal on a house. There weren't any teary-eyed homeowners wrenching their hands while their family's home was being sold. There were just a bunch of bank representatives standing around yucking it up while peoples lives were being changed forever. 

Why did I go? Did I really expect to have a fun and exciting time? No, I'm not that naive. I went because I'm not the type of person accept someone else's description of how something works. I need to see things for myself. I'd never seen a courthouse foreclosure auction. Now I have.

So I may have learned a little bit more about the foreclosure process today, but mostly I'm just sickened by the whole thing. 

Click here to view Albuquerque NM Foreclosed Homes for Sale

It's common knowledge that  distressed property sales continue to impact our Albuquerque market, including the Paradise Hills Real Estate Market, so I thought it would be interesting to look at the exact number of bank owned home sales, short sale home sales and HUD home sales in the area.

Of the 27 sales that closed in March 2010 in the Paradise Hills area, 4 were short sales and 4 were bank owned home sales. There were no HUD homes sold in the area during the month.

Here's a chart that shows regular sales, short sales, bank owned sales and HUD home sales: 

Distressed property sales comprised 30% of the home sales in the Paradise Hills area in March 2010, with an equal amount being bank owned home and short sale home sales. With nearly 1/3 of the home sales coming from distressed property sales, it's inevitable that these types of sales will continue to impact values in our neighborhood.

Albuquerque NM Foreclosure Real Estate 

Here's the latest video report from the Greater Albuquerque Association of Realtors.

Here's the highlights (All figures are year-to-date comparisons)

• Closed sales in Albuquerque were up 4.44%
• Closed sales in Rio Rancho were up 37.25%
• Inventory is down 8.26% market wide
• Pending sales are up 46.98%
• Closed Sales were up 10.29%
• New listings were up 6.05%
• Average days on the market decreased 14.58% to 82 Days
• Average sales price was up 1.37%
• Median sales price was up 8.09%

February was a good month in Albuquerque Real Estate. No doubt the first time home buyer tax credit is having an effect.

Here is my Paradise Hills (Area 121) Real Estate Report for February 2010.  Area 121 extends from Unser blvd east to Coors Blvd, Paseo del Norte north the Rio Rancho/Albuquerque Border and includes these neighborhoods: Stonebridge, Paradise Heights, Seven Bar, Paradise Meadows, Paradise Green, Crystal Ridge, Paradise Hills and Eagle Ridge plus others. 

Search Albuquerque NM Three Bedroom Houses

The graph represents a 5 year history of the total number of closed sales in the month of February.

This graph represents a 5 year history of the average home sales price in the month of February.

The SP/LP ratio shows that even though inventory is high and sale are low, that most houses are still selling for very close to lost price. Right now houses in Paradise Hills are selling for 4% below lost price on average. This chart busts two myths: 1) low-ball offers work , and 2) buyers will just offer significantly less than list price on a home that's overpriced. Buyers rarley make offers on overpriced homes.

90 Day Forecast

Buyers are very active right now. Visits and property searched on my websites are up like it was May or June. Buyers who feel they almost missed their chance to get their $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit are determined to not let it happen again.

Let's not forget how strong sales were in September, October and November. Then look how the numbers crashed in December when buyers thought the credit would be gone. Of course it got extended, but I believe sales will follow a similar pattern again in April, May and June as the current extension nears expiration. Activity may plummet after that.

It's important to understand local market conditions when you are looking to buy or sell. When you hear real estate news on the television remember that market conditions can vary greatly from state to state, city to city and even neighborhood to neighborhood. Contact me if you'd like to receive a free market analysis for your current home.

Please call me on my cell at 505.750.1846 if you want to work with a Realtor who is familiar with Real Estate in Northwest Albuquerque and Rio Rancho.

Here is my Ventana Ranch (Area 120) Real Estate Report for February 2010. Area 120 encompasses Ventana Ranch, Ventana Ranch West, La Scala, Vittoria, Rio Vista, Seville, Paradise Skies, Los Suenos, Sundance Estates and all other Albuquerque listings west of Unser Blvd, North of Paseo del Norte and south of the border with Rio Rancho.

The graph represents a 5 year history of the total number of February closed sales. The total number of sales has continued to decrease each year in Ventana Ranch.

This graph represents a 5 year history of the average home sales price in the month of February. Average home prices continue their decline in Ventana Ranch.

The 5 year history of sales price to list price ratio shows that in spite of sales being slow that most homes are still selling within 2-3% below list price. In other words prices have decreased and low ball offers are not working any more than they did in 2006.

 90 Day Forecast

Buyers are very active right now. Visits and property searched on my websites are up like it was springtime. Buyers who feel they almost missed their chance to get their $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit are determined to not let it happen again.

Let's not forget how strong sales were in September, October and November. Of course the forst tiem homebuyer tax credit was extended, but I believe sales will follow a similar pattern again in April, May and June when the current extension expires. Then activity may plummet.

Real estate is hyoer-local. It's important to understand local market conditions when you are looking to buy or sell. When you hear real estate news on the television remember that market conditions can vary greatly from state to state, city to city and neighborhood to neighborhood.

Contact me if you'd like to receive a free market analysis for your current home.

Please call me on my cell at 505.803.5012 if you want to work with a Realtor who is familiar with Real Estate in Northwest Albuquerque and Rio Rancho.

Search Ventana Ranch Homes for Sale

Here is my Paradise Hills (Area 121) Real Estate Report for January 2010.  Area 121 extends from Unser blvd east to Coors Blvd, Paseo del Norte north the Rio Rancho/Albuquerque Border and includes these neighborhoods: Stonebridge, Paradise Heights, Seven Bar, Paradise Meadows, Paradise Green, Crystal Ridge, Paradise Hills and Eagle Ridge plus others. 

Search Albuquerque NM Three Bedroom Houses

The graph represents a 6 year history of the total number of closed sales in the month of January. 

This graph represents a 6 year history of the average home sales price in the month of January. 

90 Day Forecast

Buyers are very active right now. Visits and property searched on my websites are up like it was May or June. Buyers who feel they almost missed their chance to get their $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit are determined to not let it happen again.

Let's not forget how strong sales were in September, October and November. Then look how the numbers crashed in December when buyers thought the credit would be gone. Of course it got extended, but I believe sales will follow a similar pattern again in April, May and June when the current extension expires. Then activity will probably plummet when it's over.

It's important to understand local market conditions when you are looking to buy or sell. When you hear real estate news on the television remember that market conditions can vary greatly from state to state, city to city and even neighborhood to neighborhood. Contact me if you'd like to receive a free market analysis for your current home.

Please call me on my cell at 505.750.1846 if you want to work with a Realtor who is familiar with Real Estate in Northwest Albuquerque and Rio Rancho.

Here is my Ventana Ranch (Area 120) Real Estate Report for January 2010. Area 120 encompasses Ventana Ranch, Ventana Ranch West, La Scala, Vittoria, Rio Vista, Seville, Paradise Skies, Los Suenos, Sundance Estates and all other Albuquerque listings west of Unser Blvd, North of Paseo del Norte and south of the border with Rio Rancho.

The graph represents a 6 year history of the total number of January closed sales. 2010 sales did not increase over 2009 closed sales.

This graph represents a 6 year history of the average home sales price in the month of January. Average home prices continue their decline in Ventana Ranch.

 90 Day Forecast

Buyers are very active right now. Visits and property searched on my websites are up like it was springtime. Buyers who feel they almost missed their chance to get their $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit are determined to not let it happen again.

Let's not forget how strong sales were in September, October and November. Of course it got extended, but I believe sales will follow a similar pattern again in April, May and June when the current extension expires. Then activity will probably plummet when it's over.

It's important to understand local market conditions when you are looking to buy or sell. When you hear real estate news on the television remember that market conditions can vary greatly from state to state, city to city and neighborhood to neighborhood. Contact me if you'd like to receive a free market analysis for your current home.

Please call me on my cell at 505.750.1846 if you want to work with a Realtor who is familiar with Real Estate in Northwest Albuquerque and Rio Rancho.

Search Ventana Ranch Homes for Sale