Albuquerque home prices continue upward march

Familiar themes continued to play out in the Albuquerque housing market in May.

The May housing activity report released this week by the Greater Albuquerque Association of Realtors showed that for starters, local single-family homes are selling at higher prices. Average prices increased 1.6% on an annual basis to $239,281; median sales price rose 5.1% to $210,000. Median means half of the detached homes, which includes a mixture of both resale and new construction, sold for a higher price and half for a lower price.

As has become the norm, the metro area's inventory of detached homes plummeted again in May, down 17.7% from last year, with just 3,035 homes on the market. That's about 600 fewer homes listed than a year ago, according to GAAR's report, which is based on Southwest Multiple Listing Services data and covers Bernalillo, Valencia, Sandoval and parts of Socorro and Santa Fe counties.

Albuquerque
Albuquerque Homes Aerial

Year to date, closed sales of detached homes were up nearly 6% from last year, with a total of 4,834 residences in the region changing owners, said GAAR.

The number of new residential listings in May (1,878) did increase some, up 1.1% from last year.

According to the same report, detached homes sold in an average of 40 days, four days fewer than the previous year.

A lower inventory of homes for sale and "multiple offer situations," especially for residences that show well and are priced well, are trends that real estate agents are experiencing as they move into the peak selling market, said Danny Wm. Vigil, GAAR president. Buyers need to remain watchful of new listings and to make their offers quickly, he said.

They may encounter a competitive market through the summer while mortgage rates gradually increase, he added. After retreating the past two weeks, mortgage rates resumed their ascent. According to the latest data released Thursday by Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed-rate average jumped to its second-highest level this year, rising to 4.62%.

Tribune Content Agency
Home prices Purchase Housing inventory Housing markets New Mexico
MORE FROM NATIONAL MORTGAGE NEWS