Housing market extends upward trend
Thanks to eager homebuyers, the Albuquerque metro housing market continued an upward trend last month, despite a short supply of single-family homes for sale.
Sales of existing homes rose 5.6 percent in February compared with the same month in 2017, a report by the Greater Albuquerque Association of Realtors shows. There were 693 singlefamily detached homes changing hands in February, up from 656 in the same month a year ago, according to GAAR, which tracks transactions in Bernalillo, Sandoval, Valencia, Torrance and parts of Socorro and Santa Fe counties.
Most notably, the 1,142 detached homes going under contract in February was a 22 percent increase over the same period last year, and the highest February month for pending sales since 2006, the latest figures show.
Demand is driving up prices. Data from GAAR showed that, in February, the median price of a single-family home in the area was $194,500, up from $186,750 in February 2017.
Homes are selling on an average of 58 days, seven days fewer than a year ago.
“Homes selling in February retained 97 percent of their final listing price,” said Danny Wm. Vigil, GAAR president.
In a recent interview with the Journal, Vigil said as the market heads into the height of the selling season of March through July, there are no signs it will slow down.
The biggest constraint in real estate sales is the availability of homes for sale, he said.
In February, there were 3,194 single-family homes listed for sale, an 18 percent drop from the previous year.
The full report for February can be accessed by going to GAAR.com and clicking on Market Statistics.