July median prices, single-family home sales up
The July 2017 median sales price and the number of single-family home sales reported to the Realtors Association of New Mexico continue to outpace those numbers reported in 2016.
The reported median price of $195,000 is just over 4 percent higher than the median reported for July 2016. The association said there were 1,933 sales statewide for the month.
July’s sales volume of $489.7 million reflects a 9 percent increase from the July 2016 number due to higher median prices and more sales, according to an association spokesman.
On a month-to-month comparison, June numbers were stellar compared with July. The association said 2,143 single-family homes changed hands statewide in June.
According to RANM CEO Steven Anaya, “Year to date (January through July 2017), numbers also continue to exceed those reported in previous years.” So far, the association has recorded 12,417 sales, compared with 11,337 transactions during the same period in 2016.
“While on a statewide average the number of sales continues to climb and median prices rise, the real estate market very much is tied to the local economy. Those areas experiencing job growth also report higher sales and prices. Low inventory — especially in the new home category — continues to be a problem in many areas across the state,” Anaya said.
Many homeowners are ready to sell, but their current low mortgage rates and a lack of moveup homes on the market are keeping them from listing their properties, Anaya said.
Renting retirees
Renting a home versus owning one is the same kind of topic as taking Social Security at 62 or waiting until full retirement age. There is no one right answer; it comes down to individual choice and circumstances.
However, in a survey of renters ages 55 to 65, the debt management company Credit Sesame found that 51 percent of those who responded said they rent because they cannot afford to buy where they live. Of those surveyed who can afford to buy, more than one-third nevertheless chose to rent due to the costs of homeownership (including not just mortgage but also upkeep and taxes), or the flexibility that renting affords.
The most surprising finding from the Credit Sesame study, however, is that nearly half of those polled, unless they own their homes outright, simply couldn’t afford to buy a home due to skimpy retirement income.
“About half of seniors rely on Social Security as their main source of income,” the Credit Sesame study noted. “The average Social Security monthly payment is just $1,360, and if a person budgets the recommended 30 percent for housing expenses, that’s a paltry $408 per month. That won’t buy much even in a great housing market.”
Homebuilding permits fall
The number of homebuilding permits issued last month for the Albuquerque area dropped — from 144 in June to 115 in July.
July’s numbers were also lower when compared with the same month last year, when 134 home building permits were issued, according to data obtained through the Albuquerque New Housing Market Letter, a monthly publication by DataTraq.
The numbers show most of the homes were to be built in Albuquerque’s West Side, followed by Rio Rancho.
The most active homebuilder was PulteGroup, which pulled 23 permits for residential developments on the West Side and in Rio Rancho. LGI Homes was next, with 18 permits issued in July.
According to DataTraq, homebuilders have pulled 947 permits since January 2017.