Home sellers in Albuquerque experienced some fortune in 2019 with increased home prices and increased sales across multiple categories, according to initial data released by the Greater Albuquerque Association of Realtors.
The city finished the year with 12,454 detached home sales, a 4% increase from the previous year. Sales of attached homes were up too, with 1,275 sold in 2019, compared with 1,262 in the previous year.
Not only were total sales numbers up, but each month of 2019 had higher
median sales prices of detached homes than the same month in 2018. Albuquerque closed out the year with a median home price of $226,000 for a single-family detached home for December — a 7.6% increase from the previous December.
Sherry Fowler, GAAR president, attributed the growth in home prices and overall sales to a shortage of homes on the market.
With fewer homes on the market, sellers can ask for a premium price and well-priced homes are likely to be quickly bought, Fowler said.
"It's an awesome time for sellers to sell their home," she said.
The increase across multiple categories was good news for sellers, but Fowler said the growth is not unprecedented.
"It's something that hasn't happened in a long time for the Albuquerque market," Fowler said. She said the last time Albuquerque experienced a similar market was more than a decade ago.
The GAAR expects this upward trend to continue into 2020, according to the report.
The report attributed the activity to "low mortgage rates, low unemployment, and continued wage growth."
Mortgage rates ended the year 0.75 percentage points lower than a year ago, and the report says this helps affordability and can offset increased home prices.
Sales growth wasn't limited to the Duke City. The real estate market across New Mexico also had an increase in business for 2019.
Statewide, the median home price increased from $200,000 to $216,000, according to data from the New Mexico Association of Realtors.
