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Great News! Home Prices Increasing
...or maybe not if your a buyer who's been sitting on the fence, time to get moving
Photo by Jim Gross
March 24--The pace of sales and median price for single-family homes in New Mexico in February increased compared to a year earlier, reflecting a continuing recovery in the state's residential market, according to the Realtors Association of New Mexico.
The number of homes sold last month increased 7.4 percent, from 1,083 sales in 2015 to 1,163 this year. The busiest counties for home sales in February were Bernalillo, up 17.2 percent; Sandoval, up 11.1 percent; Santa Fe, up 1.1 percent; and Dona Ana, up 24.2 percent.
The median sales price last month increased 3 percent statewide from $165,000 in 2015 to $170,000 in 2016, the highest in seven years. Median means half of the homes sold for a higher price and half for a lower price.
In the four most active counties for home sales, the median price climbed 3.4 percent to $181,000 in Bernalillo; shot up 14.7 percent to $184,500 in Sandoval; rose 14.4 percent to $352,245 in Santa Fe; and edged up 4 percent to $155,000 in Dona Ana.
As always, real-estate markets are local and vary considerably around the state, said Steven Anaya, CEO of the Realtors Association. Thirteen counties reported sales increases over February 2015 and 15 counties reported an increase in median price.
"Local job markets and general economies continue to play a big role in every housing market," said Anaya. "Any area where you see any kind of job growth, we generally see good sales volume," he added.
"A good start to the year for the housing market is always good news for New Mexico -- not just for us, but home sellers and the New Mexico economy in general," said Patricia Fell, 2016 RANM president. Monthly volume totaled $249.8 million, up 16 percent from last year's figure of $215.4 million.
Nationally, home prices are rising three to four times faster than wages, said Anaya. And while credit conditions are easing somewhat, the silver lining for the housing market has been low mortgage rates.
"New Mexico is looking forward to a slow but steady growth in the housing market this year," said Fell. "Year-to-date figures have grown gradually each year from 2009's seven-year low of 1,438 sales. The year-to-date median price is the highest since 2009 when the median reported was $174,000.
While inventory is limited and some sellers have been entertaining multiple offers, especially in the $200,000 range, Anaya and Fell expect that to change once the peak selling season begins and homeowners put their properties on the market.
Nationwide, sales of existing homes fell 7.1 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.08 million, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday. For existing homes, the median home sales price was $210,800 in February, a 4.4 percent annual increase from a year ago, while the number of listings fell 1.1 percent from a year ago.
Article from Acquire Media Published in Albuquerque Journal 3/24/2016