Pending sales of existing detached homes in the Albuquerque metro area during April shot up 23% from a year ago.
New data, compiled by the Greater Albuquerque Association of Realtors, showed pending sales are at a 14-year high, reaching 1,331 for detached homes. Pendings for townhomes and condos totaled 139, a 36% rise from the previous year.
Pending sales measures the number of signed contracts, but sales not yet closed, according to the association, which surveys the residential real estate market in Bernalillo, Valencia, Sandoval, Torrance and parts of Socorro and Santa Fe counties.
Inventory remains tight, interest rates remain at or near historic lows, average days on the market are declining and prices continue to climb in a slow, but steady, trend, according to the association.
In April, the number of detached home sales recorded in the metro area totaled 981 units, a 0.8% increase from a year earlier; the median sales price was $194,500, a 5% rise from a year ago, while the average sales price rose nearly 9% to $235,875.
The number of single-family homes available for sale last month in the region stood at 3,001, a nearly 25% drop from April 2016.
Houses that show well and are priced correctly have been selling quickly, often at higher prices than asking, according to association President Don Martindell.
While strong demand is a good problem to have, it creates an affordability issue for some buyers, especially first-timers, he noted.
