ResalesAlbuquerque, New Mexico Home Prices Surge
Local Realtors in Albuquerque are reporting rising home prices, and multiple offers on homes in many areas as the city enjoys a surging seller"s market.
"The median price for single-family homes in Albuquerque has jumped by 8.3 percent from May 2003 to May 2004," says Realtor Laurie Balmer. "The average price for a single family home in May 2003 was $169,235. In May 2004 it jumped to $183,288! For townhouses and condos the median price from May 2003 to May 2004 jumped 11.5% percent. The average price in May 2003 was $107,127 and in May 2004, it was $119,488! A record number of sales was reported for the first quarter of this year in the Albuquerque area, 2040 homes. This is higher than the first quarter of 2003 by 0.79 percent."
Says Realtor Barbara Gregus, "Local housing statistics are not yet in for the month of May, but the Albuquerque housing market continues to be very aggressive for sellers particularly in North East Albuquerque. Southwest Albuquerque is a slower sellers" market for resale due to the large amount of new construction in the area. The East Mountain (Tijeras, Cedar Crest, Sandia Park,Edgewood) area has brisk home sales. Expect sales cycles to be two to four months."
"Albuquerque and Rio Rancho are the number one and number two largest cities in New Mexico," says Realtor Archie Saiz. "Within the boundaries are bedroom communities providing a slower rural lifestyle adjacent to all the amenities of a metroplex."
Saiz explains, "Certain areas of Albuquerque (Far NE, NE, NW Mid) are experiencing a market where homes are selling in mere days and with multiple offers situations, with buyers paying above list price for the homes. The number of sales reported by SWMLS for April 2004 (921) was the largest number ever reported for the month of April in the Albuquerque area and is much higher than the numbers reported in each of the first three months of the year (10.6 percent higher than the 833 sales reported in March, which was the highest number of sales in a month reported in 2004).
"The number of sales reported from the beginning of the year (2,961) is higher than the same statistic reported in 2003 (2,872), an increase of 3.1 percent," he continues. "Interest rates continue to inch upward with the rate now averaging 6.25 to 6.5 percent. Still an excellent rate - just not at the historical lows of a month ago. The average and median prices for an a single-family home continued to rise compared to the corresponding values in April 2003, although the median price remained the same over this time period. The average price of an multi-family home increased while the median price decreased in April 2004 compared to the data reported from April 2003."
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