You Can Sell a Home in Winter

In our high and dry southwestern climate, we sell homes all year round,and some of us agents have been known to have winter sales that surpassed spring and summer totals. There are several reasons for this.

1.      Because of the perception that winter is a slow month for real estate, several persons take their homes off the market thus reducing the competition.

2.      Our mostly pleasant, sun-filled days are comfortable for house hunting all-year round.

3.      Buyers looking for homes in the winter months are usually serious buyers who must find a home at the time they are looking. Some may be newly relocated from other cities, states or even countries. I know this from experience when my husband had no control over his relocation schedule. Transfers were always at short notice, and when we arrived in a city we needed to find schools and a home right away no matter the season.

4.      Homes decorated for the holidays add an extra layer of appeal. Buying is an emotional experience and a beautifully decorated home is emotionally appealing to buyers.

5.      Sight is not the only sense that persuades buyers. The aroma of freshly baked bread, pies, cakes, cookies that is one of the hallmarks of the fall/winter holiday season also attracts buyers.  I remember the time a realtor brought buyer with little notice into a home I was selling. A group of friends and I had just got up from the breakfast table and moved our our conversation to the living room. (I know. I was not supposed to be there, let alone with friends. If your REALTOR gives you permission it's ok.) The table was still not cleared and the aroma of muffins and hot coffee was thick. The buyer and her agent breezed in and out in under five minutes. They did not even enter the living area where I sat with my friends. I received an offer before the end of the day.

For this holiday season, don’t hold back. Put your home on the market for the holidays. Decorate it. Enjoy the season and the company of your friends. Trust your REALTOR and who knows, your holiday gift could be the biggest gift of all: a contract.

Home Ownership Matters

Home Ownership was recorded at its highest in 2008 and since then has been falling from state to state even though according to National Association of REALTORS®(NAR) research, 70 percent of Americans say home ownership is important to them. But current social and economic forces are not in alignment to encourage home ownership. Home owners continue to lose homes to foreclosure because unforeseen circumstances including job losses, pay reductions and unplanned high healthcare costs.  Others anticipated being able to refinance to escape the payment of crushing mortgage payments due to high interest rates but discover they are unable to take advantage of now dramatically low t rates because the value of their homes have plummeted and their properties cannot appraise for enough to satisfy loans taken out at the time of purchase of the property.

Unemployment is at 9 percent. No one in this group can take advantage of attractively low interest rates to achieve home ownership. (A job is a necessary requirement for a loan.) Among the employed, stringent lender requirements, an unwarranted backlash from the mortgage crisis stands in the way of their qualifying for new loans. New proposed legislation offers no hope. Portions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act like the Qualified Residential Mortgage requirement could solidify a requirement of a 20 percent down payment on all residential mortgages. Ironically, that requirement would immediately put home ownership outside the reach of a significant number of people. That group would include all the fully employed workers whose incomes have never and will not now allow them to save enough for any such down payment. Economic uncertainty keeps yet another group from embarking on one of the biggest financial undertakings of a lifetime because of the perceived greater risks than usual. So even though 70 percent of Americans value homeownership, home ownership remains in decline.

Home ownership was at 69.2 percent (the highest ever) across the nation in 2008. The rate has continued to fall since 2008 and currently the average is 59.9 percent, with some states recording percentages well below 50. But all is not yet lost. Consumers can still find reasons to be thankful. Strong advocates of the American dream exist even outside the group of would-be homeowners. The National Association of REALTORS®, since its inception has been an advocate that continues to champion the cause of home ownership as one of the foundational beliefs embedded in the Preamble to the1913 Code of Ethics.  REALTORS® should recognize that the interests of the nation and its citizens require the highest and best use of the land and the widest distribution of land ownership. They require the creation of adequate housing . . .

National Association of REALTORS® continues to champion the cause of home ownership by challenging laws oppositional to home ownership in the legislature. To build awareness and highlight the importance of  owing one's home, NAR has taken the issue on the road. The association is also supporting local associations as it visits offices on its bus tour across the country. The bus stopped at the Greater Albuquerque Association of REALTORS® office in Albuquerque in October.

#BAD11 Food - We Are What We Eat

It would have been appropriate for my husband to launch his change in eating habit on World Food Day, but he didn't. That is why I think it appropriate to share it today on Blog Action Day. I am not sure when he made the decision but it was about mid January of this year that my husband announced that he would no Ionger eat any animal product and was switching to a plant-based diet. He would no longer eat meat of any kind, no fish, no cheese, no eggs and no dairy products. This was startling news from someone who drank milk like water, loved cheese, eggs, steak and potatoes, on a daily basis.

I decided to humor him, expecting that he would soon get tired of his experiment while  I secretly hoped he was serious and would no longer be bring home slabs of Muenster, Swiss and cheddar that I had difficulty resisting.

It has been nine months since the announcement.  It turns out, switching to a vegan lifestyle was not a passing fancy. My husband does not compromise on the types of food he eats.  I have learned how to use egg replacer instead of eggs for baking. I know at least six alternatives to dairy milk and I am delighted that our house is rid of artery-clogging cheeses. I know where the vegan restaurants are in our town. When we travel, we call ahead to find out which restaurants serve food he can eat.
Apart from not eating meat and other animal products, my husband maintains his customary lifestyle of daily biking, swimming and working out at the gym. He eats three meals per day with snacks in between and is two sizes smaller and twenty-five pounds lighter than when he started. His doctor confirms that his body is undergoing significant positive changes.

Therefore,  it is true. We are what we eat. How else to explain how eliminating certain kinds of food can change one's appearance and improve health? It is interesting that bread, a metaphor for food in general, is universally referred to as the staff of life. Food maintains life. Without food we die, abruptly or slowly. How ironic, then that eating food could be dangerous to ones health! My husband says his only regret is that he did not read T. C. Campbell’s The China Study earlier.
Eloise Gift
Gift Realty NM

Voting Day



Balloons Over Albuquerque

I always like to take advantage of the opportunity to vote early, meaning before the  actual day of the elections. If I don't, on election day everyone and everything seem to conspire to keep me away from the voting center until it is too late. Few things are more upsetting than discovering that election day ended and you did not get to cast your ballot.
Today, October 4, 2011, as the International Balloon Fiesta continues, it is municipal election day in Albuquerque. I did not get to vote early so I gave priority to getting to the voting center as soon as possible after 7:00 AM when the polls opened. I was impressed at the steady stream of people entering and leaving the Ventana Ranch Elementary School to participate in the type of election that traditionally has a low turnout.
In this election, all voters get to vote on bond issues, gross receipts tax  revenues and a referendum on the Traffic Light Camera Program while residents in even-numbered districts also get to choose their city councilor. Every issue is important.

Based on my observation, either the importance of the issues or the newly established Consolidated Voting Centers that allow residents to vote anywhere in the city must be influencing voter turnout. If what I observed has any validity, turnout will be significantly higher than in the last municipal elections.
Eloise Gift
Gift Realty NM

Rio Rancho -- Each Day A Surprise

Rust Medical Center

The New Presbyterian Hospital in Southeast Rio Rancho adjacent to Cabezon  is not yet complete and already a flurry of new  activity surrounds it.  Across the street, what appears to be flood control construction is almost complete. Adjacent, the sign announcing medical office pads for sale is gone and earth movers are sitting on land scraped bare of vegetation alongside stacks of long, blue, cylindrical tubes.
On the corner, a new pharmacy opens next door  to another also recently opened. All this, where just a year ago ago, acres of tumbleweed and scrub land existed. A quarter mile up the road, in anticipation of all the new employees who will soon be in and around the Rust Medical Center, restaurants and entertainment spots are springing up.



I have reason to travel along Unser Boulevard frequently -- several times per week.  I am constantly surprised by the changing skyline.  Rio Rancho, at least some parts of it, seem to be unaware of the real estate downturn. Residential and commercial construction continue to change the skyline. The city may deliver before too long on the prediction that it will surpass Las Cruces and Albuquerque in growth.

Lift Off -- International Balloon Fiesta 2011

The 2011 International Balloon Fiesta is off to dashing start. The weather was perfiect. The rain stayed away, the wind did not wake up and it was not not even cold enough for mittens at 3:30 AM, the reputedly coldest time at the foot of the of the Sandia mountains.
Cars, some full of spectators, rolled in steadily from the opening of the gates at 3:30 AM. Morning patrol, with intermittent lights, took to the skies in the pre-dawn hours and mass ascension of varying shapes and sizes of balloons drifted aloft as dawn spilled over the mountains. later in the day I learned that more than 425 balloons floated off within an hour to create a new entry in the Guiness book of Records.

The Changing Face of Rio Rancho



New Rio Rancho Cinema

Rio Rancho’s mayor, Thomas Swisstack, likes to jokingly remind audiences that Rio Rancho is not a suburb of Albuquerque. Knowing the history of both cities, helps us understand the reason for this perception.

Albuquerque, founded in 1706 as a Spanish colonial trading post along the Rio Grande River, an almost three hundred years start to becoming the largest city in New Mexico when some developers thought to acquire and develop lands northwest of the city. By then Albuquerque's population was well on its way to its current 545,852  to make it the 32^nd largest city in the United States.

The first homes in the community that was to become the city of Rio Rancho were built in 1962 in the then Rio Rancho Estates. They were mostly for retirees from New York and other East Coast cities. Almost twenty years later in 1981, the city of Rio Rancho was incorporated with its population at 10,000. In the meantime, the city continued to share many Albuquerque City resources.  

Fast forward thirty years. Increasingly independent, Rio Rancho developed its own school and library systems and began to attract small and large businesses beginning with semiconductor chip manufacturer, INTEL that first moved to the city in 1981 and has since increased its commitment with the building in 2004 of what was then its largest and most advanced semiconductor fabrication plant.

Presbyterian Rust Medical Center

Rio Rancho City Center

During the last ten years many other businesses have moved to this Sandoval County, largest city as residential construction boomed. Newer employers include Wal-Mart who moved in 2006; Hewlett Packard, Sprint, UNM and CNM that are part of the New City Center Development project; Presbyterian Health Care that has supplied services to the city for several years but this year (2011) is contributing to changing the skyline with its just completed Rust Medical Center, a new hospital close to the Albuquerque city line in southeast Rio Rancho. In this area, along Unser, up to Southern Boulevard, spate of business including a 14-screen, 2,600-seat cinema and several eateries have suddenly sprung up changing the face and the skyline of Rio Rancho.

In less than one quarter of the time that Albuquerque has been existence, Rio Rancho has grown to be the third largest city in New Mexico, outranking Santa Fe, the capital. It continues to be one of the fastest growing cities in the nation and is expected to catch up and surpass Albuquerque and Las Cruces in the near future. The 2010 census places Rio Rancho’s population at 87,521.

One has only to take a ride along Unser from the Albuquerque border past the City Center and the Mariposa residential development to Highway 550 to get an idea of the beginnings of the new Rio Rancho. It is no suburb of any other city but a proud  city developing city with its own urban and suburban areas. Watch out Las Cruces and Albuquerque!

How is the Market Doing? -- May 2011 Update

In the Greater Albuquerque Metropolitan Area of New Mexico, real estate recovery remains tentative. Report results continue to be mixed. In May 2011, average and median sales prices, number of closed sales, and sales volume (in dollars) were all lower than in May 2010. Both average and median prices have declined approximately 5.5 percent. In May 2011, the average sale price of a home was $198.091 and the median $165,000. The number of days it took to sell a home increased by 27 percent from a year ago. It took 84 days to sell a home in May 2011 compared to 66 days in May 2010.

The number of pending sales for May was 1 percent lower than in April 2011 but still 32.6 percent better than May 2010. Prices continued to slide but were still higher than ten years ago. In 2000, the average sale price of homes in the Greater Albuquerque  area was $156,965 and the median, $130,000.

Closed sales increased in Placitas, Bernalillo and Rio Rancho. Closed sales declined in Albuquerque, Corrales, and the Valencia County area. Greatest percentage decline was in Corrales where three homes sold compared to 6 last May. Placitas had the greatest percentage increase with 7 homes sold in May 2011 compared to 5 in May 2010.

New listings entering the market declined 6.8 percent since May 2010. A total of 1,380 were added to keep the total number of detached homes listed for sale at 5,068. Lower than in May 2009 and 2010, this is a good indicator, showing a shrinking inventory. The area has a ten month supply of homes for sale and approximately 6 homes for every buyer.

Statewide

The statewide market report also reveals a market still in transition. Half of all the local associations around the state reported gains in sails. Half reported a loss. The real estate market remains wobbly even though housing affordability, these past few months has been at its highest since tracking started in 1971.

Summary

The trends in this report are not unique to the Greater Albuquerque Association of REALTORS (GAAR) Southwest Multiple Listing Service (SWMLS) market area. It is much more widespread. And it is significant that an increase in pending home sales (homes under contract) is not reflected in an increase in closed sales. Indications are that contracts are not getting to closing as lenders continue their ultra conservative response to the mortgage crisis precipitated by their previous reckless lack of restraint. Lawrence Yun, National Association of REALTORS (NAR) Chief Economist remarks, A robust economic and housing market recovery cannot occur as long as banks continue to hold onto huge cash reserves.

 Statistics provided by GAAR and RANM.

 

Greater Albuquerque Market Update, April 2011

April 2010
April 2010 was a record-breaking month which posted 678 single-family, detached home sales - the highest number of any April since 2007; pending sales passed the 1000 mark for the second time to increase to 52.03 % above the number posted for 2009 and 18.1% above the preceding month’s record. The average price of single-family detached homes was falling ($227,281 in 2008, $206,070 in 2009 and $205, 601 in 2010); but the median was holding steady at $175,000 for the second month in a row.

April 2011
The story is different for the month of April, 2011. The only positive percentage change in the Greater Albuquerque residential market was reflected in the “number of days on market”, and that change had negative implications. A change with positive implications would have been a decrease in the number of days on the market to indicate homes were selling more briskly.

On the other hand, negative percentage changes in two of the other key areas of the month’s report could possibly be interpreted as having positive implications depending on one’s point of view. The number of active listings fell by 1.74 percent and the number of new listings entering the market fell 23.81 percent below last April’s. The reduced number of listings could be interpreted as good news that our inventory is diminishing. If, however, sellers are withholding homes from the market, that news is not as good, especially with the results for days on the market, average and median prices.

Active and New Listings
There were 4, 981 detached and 530 attached active listings compared to 5,069 detached and 582 attached one year ago. In April 2010, 1,869 active detached new listings and 202 attached entered the market. However, despite the reduction in new and active listings, pending sales closed sales, average and median prices were all down. It took an average of 16.22 percent more days to sell a home. April 2010, detached homes sold in an average of 74 days and attached homes sold in an average of 96 days compared with 86 and 71 respectively in 2011.

Listings Pending Closing
For the month of April, 903 detached and 82 attached homes were under contract awaiting closing compared with 1,271 attached and 164 detached, April 2010.

Sold Listings
The month had 576 closings of detached and 37 of attached homes compared with 678 (the highest of any April since 2007) detached and 79 attached, April 2010.

Average and Median Sale Price
April 2011, the average sale price for a detached home was $196,321 and for an attached, $139,154. April 2010, the average price of a detached home was $205,601 and for an attached, $154,508. The median for April 2011 was $165,000 and for the attached, $129,90o, down 5.71 percent from last year’s $175,000 and $142,000 respectively for detached and attached.

Summary
April 2010, the market was powered by continuing low interest rates, lower prices and the motivation of buyers to take advantage of the last month of the availability of Federal Homeowner Tax Incentive dollars. Although prices have fallen and interest rates continue to be attractively low, the tax incentives ended and it is generally accepted that interested buyers are challenged by ca backlash of crippling lender requirements. The current state of the residential real estate market suggests recovery is still elusive. (Statistics provided by the Greater Albuquerque Association of Realtors)
Eloise Gift
Gift Realty NM

 

Sellers Take Note

Supply of homes for sale is greater than demand. Unlike three to four years ago, far from receiving multiple offers on the first day on the market, sellers generally have to wait longer to sell and expect closer scrutiny from picky buyers.  Besides being patient, sellers need to make an effort to make their homes attractive to buyers. Fortunately there are affordable do-it-yourself projects that can increase value and lead to quicker and more valuable sales.  

As reported by National Association of REALTORS®, each of the following projects cost a maximum of $500 - $600 depending, of course on the size of your home and how much you can accomplish yourself. Each promises a   return of close to or more than $2000.

As a REALTOR, I routinely encourage  seller clients to consider these projects because they greatly impact resale success.

• Clean your house from top to bottom. Declutter by, storing, giving away or selling items not in use or no longer needed. Clear counter and table tops, store personal items, organize drawers and closets. 
• Brighten your home by washing windows inside and out. Polish doorknobs, light and other fixtures. Be sure light bulbs are working. Remove large furniture or other items that block windows. Stage your home, using if possible, items you already own. It may be necessary to bring in fresh items to give a fresher, updated look.
• Landscape improves curb appeal and encourages buyers to take a closer look. Trim shrubs and hedges. Tidy up xeric and grass landscaping by remove dead and dying plants; add pine bark mulch to flower beds and borders.
• Repair electrical and plumbing. Drips and broken circuits can be out of the way. Repair dripping faucets and shower heads. Clean up mildew. Make sure electrical is up to date and conforming to code.
• Replace or shampoo dirty and outworn carpets. It may be time to update the old, worn carpet in the kitchen and bathrooms with more practical tile. 
• Is your home older than fifteen years? Did you defer maintenance? Are you feeling overwhelmed and not sure where to begin? Start by ordering a  pre-sale home inspection that includes  inspection for termite and flying insects. Use the results to help you organize projects.

New Mexico February 2011 Market Update

Greater Albuquerque Area

Several indicators in the February 2011 real estate report for the Greater Albuquerque area point to a recovering, not a recovered market. Median sales price, average sales price, closed sales and dollar volume of closed sales were all higher than in February 2010. However, median sales price  although higher than in February 2010, was lower than in January 2011. It is significant to note that price increases seem to be consistent. Average price at $220,299, reflects an increase of 6.60 percent above last February’s average and is higher than the annual average for 2006 (the  third highest recorded since the peak in 2007.

The number of pending sales (homes with contract awaiting closing) were lower than in February 2010 but higher than in January 2011. Also, the inventory of homes for sale was down to 4,791 in January 2011 but was up again to 4, 823 and closer to the February 2010 level of 4,929. The highest selling price ranges were $119,000 and $249,000, indicating that homes in the upper price ranges seem to be still sitting out the downturn. Some stars only, not all, are aligned for market recovery. The increased inventory and average number of days (up from 81 to 89) it takes to sell a home, continue to help shape and define the market Distressed properties sold as foreclosures and short sales also remain a part of the equation.  

 (Statistics, compliments of the Greater Albuquerque Association of Realtors)

State of New Mexico

According to the REALTORS® Association of New Mexico, the February 2011 report for the entire state of New Mexico is somewhat different than that of the Greater Albuquerque area. Statewide, half of the counties McKinley, Los Alamos, Sierra, Bernalillo, Santa Fe) saw sales increase while half saw a decrease, resulting in overall February sales that were lower than sales in February 2010 even though year-to-date sales of 1600 were 1 percent higher than year-to-date 2010. Also, across the state, the median price of $165,000 in February was 1.8 percent lower than $168,999 reported for February 2010. The trend is consistent with the National Association of REALTORS national survey that reveal REALTORS® and homeowners expect prices to  remain the same or decline in 2011. (Information supplied by Realtors Association of New Mexico.

Gift Realty NM

REALTOR® Magazine-Daily News-More Americans Confident About Home Ownership

If you are one of those ambivalent about buying real estate these days, read the opinion expressed in a publication of the largest trade association in the country.

REALTOR® Magazine-Daily News-More Americans Confident About Home Ownership

Industry practitioners are in the trenches everyday and as a result develop tremendous insight. They are constantly talking and interacting people. Industry experts conduct intreviews and crucch number.

Albuquerque New Mexico Fourth Quarter 2010 Sales Update

In the fourth quarter of 2010, new listings of single-family detached homes In the Greater Albuquerque area numbered 3,053. Attached (townhomes and condos): numbered 338, reflecting a decrease of 7.88 percent from the fourth quarter of 2009 .

Closed sales numbered 1,470 single-family detached homes and 164 attached, a 25.83 percent decline from the fourth quarter of 2009 when sales numbered 1,982 for single-family detached and 209 for attached homes.

In the fourth quarter, the average sale price of single-family detached homes was $220,365 and single-family attached, $147, 364. The single-family detached average home price was higher than in both 2008 and 2009. In 2009 the average price was $210,840 for detached and  $149,514 for attached. In 2010 the overall average price increase was 4.64 percent.

In 2010, the median for detached homes was $179,000 compared with $175,000 in 2009, an increase of 2.29 percent. The median price of attached homes at $141,669 reflected an increase of 1.26 percent above the 2009 median of $139,900.

For the quarter, the average number of days it took to sell a home increased from 76 in 2009 to  81 in 2010 (6.58 percent).

It is generally agreed that the continuing availability of distressed properties (short sales and bank-owned properties) continue to weigh down a market that is struggling to make a break free of restraints. It will be interesting to see if the first quarter of 2011 and the promise of spring provide a stimulus.

Statistics provided by Greater Albuquerque Association of REALTORS.

Analysis by Eloise Gift

Home Ownership New Year's Resolutions

• 

  A Financial Plan for Your Home

  Your home is probably your biggest investment. To manage it, create a financial plan that takes into account repairs, upgrades, mortgages, insurance, and taxes. Read

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Copyright 2011 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

Eloise Gift, REALTOR, CRS