Home Ownership New Year's Resolutions

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  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

Did the Market Improve in 2010?



Northwest Albuquerque

 Year-in-Review,Albuquerque New Mexico Real Estate

Did the Albuquerque, New Mexico real estate market fare better or worse in 2010?  You be the judge. The headliner statistics summarized here are provided with kind permission of  The Greater Albuquerque Association of Realtors (GAAR) to help you decide.

January: Closed sales are up 7.72 percent from January 2009. Pending sales are up 28.60 from 2009 and increased 55.46 from previous month, December 2008. Average sale price is $205,624, down 4.30 percent from January 2008. Median sale price is $172,240 (down 1.58 percent from January 2009). Active listings number 766, down 10.23 percent from January 2008. It takes an average of 81 days to sell a house (down 3.57 percent from the previous January).

February: Home sales up 10.79 percent from February 2009 and 8.88 percent from previous month. Pending sales are up 46.98 percent. Rio Rancho shows significant improvements compared to February 2009 with 37.35 percent increase in homes sales and 104.11 percent increase in pending sales.

March: Significant increase in single-family home sale. They are up 36.34 percent from March 2009 and 66.84 percent from previous month. Prices are higher than in previous month but are still lower than in March 2009.

April: Highest number of single-family-detached homes reported sold in any April since 2007. Home sales pass the 1,000 mark second time this year. Median sale price of single-family-detached homes is holding steady at $175,000. The average sale price falls from $206,070 in April 2009 to $205,601 in April 2010. Compared to the previous month, March the average price of a home fell approximately $6000.

May: Highest number of May sales since 2007. Sales in some areas of Albuquerque are up 28.09 percent above May 2009 sales. For the same period, Rio Rancho sales rise 37.08 percent

June: Home sales increase 11.40 percent above June 2009 but decline relative to the previous month. Median sale price climb to $181,000, the highest monthly median sales price since August 2009.

July: Pending sales decrease 14.06 percent. Closed sales decrease 24.22 percent. The median sale price rises 0.54 percent. The inventory of homes for sale increase 5.97 percent. There are 5,083 single-family-detached homes for sale.

August: Home sales decline. Pending sales rise 2.3 percent from previous month. Median sale price declines 1.88 percent from previous year and month.

September: Compared to 2009, pending sales are down 28.82 percent, closed sales are down 2.52 percent, and average sale price is up 3.66 percent. Median sale price is also up 1.72 percent.

October: Pending sales are 1 percent lower than in September. Pending sale price sees year-over-year increase two months in a row. Average sale price is 7.66 percent and median 5.88 percent above October 2009 prices.

November: Closed sales up 2.85 percent; the first time since 2005 that sales increased from October to November. Median sale price shows year-over-year increase for third consecutive month. The average sale price is $220,453, up 5.36 percent from November 2009. The median is $177,500, up 1 percent. In all, 5,110 single-family detached homes are actively listed for sale, 5.71 percent more than in January 2009.  It takes an average of 79 days to sell a home.

December: Statistics are not yet available for December 2010 sales but we know that the December 2009 average sale price was $216,687 and the median, $175,875. Sales numbered 543 and properties pending sale, 476. Then, we had 4,630 active listings on the market and it took an average of 83 days to sell one of them.

Year-Over-Year: The current November median sale price is lower than it was in November 2008 when it was $189,000 but the average is higher. In November 2008 it was $212,088.

How did you decide?
The overall market trend seems set for the year. Ii is inconceivable that events or forces dramatic enough to significantly alter it could occur during the ten remaining days of the year. Was the Greater Albuquerque, New Mexico real estate market better or worse in 2010? Cast your vote on this site.

Eloise Gift
Gift Realty NM
(505) 363-5156

New Mexico A Human Rights State

In New Mexico, the Human Rights Act forbids discrimination in housing, public accomodation,  employment and the granting of credit.  Ten classes are protected, making it illegal to discriminate against anyone on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, mental or physical handicap, sex, ancestry, sexual orientation, gender identity, and spousal affiliation. The state probably has the largest group of protected clascitizens under the law. 

Celebrating the Holidays

As the holidays approach, I observe that generally, people are ignoring the unyieldingly scroogelike behavior of the economy to plan for the holidays and attend festive events. Calendars are filling up with private parties, new and traditional seasonal favorite events. Check out my Community Events Page.


But, hosts and hostesses, not unmindful of the less-than-booming economy, are making efforts to be mindful of the less fortunate. Many invitations are requesting that guests arrive with gifts of food for distribution to the hungry or with toys for homeless children. The Women's Council of Realtors (New Mexico Branch) is asking each party guest to provide five cans of non-perishables to be given to the Road Runner Food Bank for its ongoing food distribution to the poor. Both the Greater Albuquerque Association of REALTORS® and the Kirtland Air Force Base 377th Wing Division is asking guests to contribute toys for needy children.

Despite best efforts, not everyone feels the joy of the season. Even during times of abundance, I have known people who became uncharacteristically sad at this time of year. I, myself, used to be one. My sadness was triggered by memories of my mother's death on Christmas Eve. I dreaded the start of the Christmas carols and hated the memories of loss they re-wakened each season until I decided to change it. I celebrated my wedding on Christmas Eve and once and for all chased the holiday blues away, convinced that my mother in heaven would be pleased by my decision.

I know that getting married during the holidays is not an option for everyone but what was most important was the decision to take control to create a positive outcome for an unwelcome situation. The act of sharing and offering gifts, not necessarily of material things, is another way of taking charge and escaping feeling victimized by circumstances and situations. Especially in times of economic challenge, gifts of time and talent can be invaluable in bringing joy to both giver and receiver.

Many opportunities abound to give non-material gifts. It is the type of giving that has the capacity to draw us out of ourselves and turn our thoughts outwards as we focus more on the needs of others than on our own. It allows us to discover that seemingly small expenditures of thoughtfulness can bring tremendous comfort.

If you have not tried it, consider helping a food bank distribute food, visiting a homeless shelter to feed the hungry, or volunteering to help a child learn to read. What are your talents? How about going caroling to cheer up some shut-ins? In attempting to help others we often end up surprised with how much we help ourselves. 

Happy Holidays!

New Mexico Housing Market Update 2010 Year-end

Review

As the year winds down and we review successive housing market updates we arrive at the realization that predictions of recovery of our real estate market in 2010 may have been premature. The home buyer tax credit along with low interest rates kept the market going especially with respect to the sale of lower priced homes. But the tax credit stimulus was not sustainable although interest rates remained low, and prices kept falling as inventory increased.

More restrictive lending practices made it increasingly difficult for buyers to qualify for loans. Also, job losses, income reduction, and underwater loans leading to short sales and foreclosures all continue to have an effect on the real estate market not just in New Mexico but across the nation.

Revised recovery projections for New Mexico, based on favorable reports of progress in states we trailed into the downturn, are now set to begin mid 2011. It is also predicted that process will be slow and it may be a few years before we see significant improvement in sales volume or price increases.

Given the new scenario, the question then becomes, how best can individuals prepare for the real estate journey of the next few years? Recommendations abound. The ones most in alignment with my philosophy are the views expressed in CNN Money by Amanda Gengler. How we face and manage the upcoming year depends on our circumstances as seller, buyer, investor, underwater homeowner, or home owner with no immediate relocation plans.
Recommendations
1. Seller: If you are a seller and you don’t have to sell, sit tight for a few years. If you do decide to sell, price your home for quick sale, which means pricing it just below market value. Otherwise, you may find yourself chasing the market downward as prices decrease and you end up selling several months later at or below the price you could have received when you first put your house on the market.

2. Buyer: If you are a buyer and you find the house of your dreams, don’t try to time the market. You may lose the home to someone else and if prices don’t go up, interest rates may and will set off any savings you may make by a lower price for the home.

3. Owner: If you are an owner who has no plans to move and are staying put for the long haul, consider refinancing. These days 1 point less than you now pay on your mortgage is considered worth your while to refinance. I know homeowners who not only refinanced for a lower rate but for shorter terms of 15 or 10 years for significant additional savings.

4. Underwater Homeowner: If you are struggling to keep up with your mortgage payments, the value of your home or other circumstances don’t allow you to refinance, and you are unable to sell it for enough to pay off the mortgage balance, you still have choices. Avoid the temptation to remain passive and do nothing. Call your lender and seek to renegotiate or restructuring your loan. Be careful of scams. Go online to www.Hud.gov to learn about programs available to help you negotiate a solution and avoid foreclosure. Foreclosure is not your only choice.

5. Investor: If you are an investor, bear in mind that the current economic situation will not last forever. The availability of short sales and foreclosures will ebb and flow and may not always be the best deals. According to the economists, the recession officially ended back in 2009 and we are simply waiting for the economy to catch up.

Looking Ahead

Here in New Mexico, if we look hard enough we might just be able to see the beginning glimmer of the light at the end of the tunnel. I get reports of several states including one of our neighbors to the south that are in strong recovery with strong resale and new housing starts. That state had a big housing bubble that burst several months before we were even aware of bubbles, let alone a downturn. If they are thriving again, our full recovery cannot be too far behind.
Eloise Gift
Gift Realty NM

Fall Bosque

Yellow is the predominant color of fall in Albuquerque. In fall, the ribbon of trees (called the bosque) that defines the path of the river through the city changes from green to yellow, leaving no doubt that all the trees as far as eyes can see, are cottonwood. From the Westside of the city of Albuquerque, the bosque is a ribbon of gold against the backdrop of the mountains.
I wouldn't be surprised, if from a distance in ages past, the fall colors along the bosque misled seekers of more precious, brilliant yellow minerals than mere sand on the banks of a river.

State of the City - Albuquerque is on Track

In his State of the City address delivered Thursday at a luncheon organized by the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, Mayor Richard Berry updated residents on the plan he outlined a year ago when he took office.

Highlights of Mayor Berry's address relating to achievements during his first year in office:

• Despite the challenges of the current economic downturn, the city was able to balance the 2010 budget without furloughs or layoffs.
• Property crime in the city was reduced nineteen percent
• In support of the efficiency, stewardship and accountability goals set by the administration, the City of Albuquerque website is a model of transparency.
• Improved animal care has led to significant reduction in euthanasia.
• Transportation is improved with ABQ Rides and progress on North-South Connectivity. Completion of the Unser north-south corridor is expected in six months.
• Goal for 2011 includes the establishment of long range plans of up to 25 years for others to build on.
• Construction of a downtown event center is put on hold for the time being.

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