ALBUQUERQUE, NM REAL ESTATE UPDATE FOR DEC, 2008

RATES DROP AND BUYERS FLOCKThe 30-year mortgages have dropped steadily as efforts are made to stop the national housing crisis. The Feds are talking about increasing the cap for jumbo loans which will free up buyers for those homes over $600,000 that sit for a long time in our market now. Fixed 30-year rates are below 6% for the first time in months and 15 year rates are hovering just over 5%. Listing prices continue to come down as sellers become more realistic in what the market sees as the worth of their home. The high assumed appreciation dreams have become realistic gains. We have and will continue to see actual home sales go up so no one is really losing value here unless the house has not been maintained. Whereas buyers used to see price reduction as a red flag indicating something was wrong with the home, now they see it as a positive indication that the seller is getting more realistic. What a great time to buy--- lots of inventory, low rates and realistic sellers! What else could one ask for?It’s actually a good time to sell to because buyers are out there looking with access to good loans and the inventory has not ramped up as it does in Spring. The number of homes that went under contract in January here was significantly increased over the last several months. As other parts of the country begin to show sales, we expect even more out-of-state buyers to come here.The new home market in ABQ has yet to sort out. Nationally the sales of new homes plunged by a record amount in 2007 and builders have huge backlogs of unsold homes. We are not much different here. Builders have pulled back and I would like to see them target the first time homeowners again. We’ll see.Click Herehttp://realtytimes.com/vnc/JudyPierson for newsletter in RealtyTimes.com or go to my website for local listings at http://www.judypierson.com/

New Mexico Bucks the Trend.

NM ranks #1 in the USA for home appreciation at 9% for 2007. Go figure. We also have seen a 30% drop in foreclosures which rose 58% nationally. Our rate was 1 in 395 households compared to 1 in 134 nationally. Our market has slowed but is quickly getting to a normal volume and rhythm now that investors are mostly gone. Homes are on the market 1-2 months and sellers have to be prepared to consider a lower price. The ole “assumed high appreciation” just isn’t what it was two years ago. But the prices are fair and have appreciated, and the seller who tests the market with a high price loses time and money in the end.The number of homes nationally that went under contract in November went up by almost 1% for the second consecutive month. The NAR predicted trend for next year is a gradual rise in existing home sales. This optimism is fueled by interest rates that are hovering just over 6%. And buyers aren’t stupid. They know that the inventory is still very high with sellers getting more motivated as each month goes by. One interesting fall-out in the real estate crisis is that remodeling is not worth what it used to be. Sellers are finding a lower return on their remodeling investment. Get some professional advice from your realtor before spending your money there. Give me a call at 505) 220-9193 or go to www.judypierson.com for more details on the area or to search all listings.. THANKS! Judy

Year End Real Estate Sales Numbers For Albuquerque

2007 saw the real estate market in Albuquerque end with a 2% gain in appreciation for December compared to December of 2006 for detached homes in the metro area. This while the number of transactions ended about 20% behind the previous year. The NorthEast Heights fared far better with sales for the year only off 12%.So despite the doom and gloom reported in the National news media Albuquerque has managed to hold on and even push ahead while the real estate market corrects itself to a more normal condition.

Mortgage Market Update

The average principal and interest payment on a $250,000 loan has dropped by $131.83 per month since August 3, 2007.1And, there’s more good news:The 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 5.87% with 0.4 points2The 15-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 5.43% with 0.5 points2The 5/1 ARM averaged 5.63% with 0.5 points2The 1-year ARM averaged 5.37% with 0.6 points2
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