Aug. Sales Of Existing Homes Rise

N.M., ABQ join national trend with ‘a good end to the summer’

Sales of previously occupied homes rose in August across the country, in New Mexico and in the Albuquerque metro area with national sales coming in at the highest level in more than two years.

Still, sales remain below the more than 5.5 million that economists consider consistent with a healthy market.

Sales rose 7.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.82 million, the National Association of Realtors said. That’s the most since May 2010, when sales were fueled by a federal home-buying tax credit.

There were 731 closed sales of existing homes in the Albuquerque metro area in August, a less than 2 percent increase over July when there were 719 closings but a 13 percent increase over the same month the prior year, according to the Greater Albuquerque Association of Realtors.

Marc Guggino, 2012 GAAR president, called it “a good end to the summer months.”

“This is the most closed sales of detached homes in the month of August since 2007,” he said. “With pending sales of homes staying strong, the signs all point to consumers reentering the marketplace.”

The median sales price in the Albuquerque metro area took a dive in August, coming in at $165,000 compared to $175,000 in July but up slightly from $163,800 in August of last year.

Statewide, there were 1,440 closed sales in August, compared to 1,378 sales the previous month and up from 1,273 in August 2011, according to the Realtors Association of New Mexico, which measures a combination of new and existing home sales.

The group also reported a drop in median price, to $169,773, attributing it to a higher volume of short sales.

Nationally, the number of first-time homebuyers, who are critical to a housing rebound, slipped to 31 percent from 34 percent.

More Americans appear to be taking advantage of near-record low mortgage rates and prices that are, on average, much lower than they were six years ago.

Sales might be higher if more homes were available, the Realtors’ group said. There were 2.47 million homes available for sale in August. It would take just over six months to exhaust that supply at the current sales pace. That’s the typical pace in a healthy market.

Even with the gains in home sales, the market remains weak. Many would-be buyers are having difficulty qualifying for loans or can’t afford the larger down payments being required by banks.