ABQ home prices seeing a sustained rise
Growth was visible in each of Albuquerque’s four quadrants
Albuquerque’s home prices continued to rise during a busy summer, according to a new industry report.
The Greater Albuquerque Association of Realtors released its thirdquarter report on home sales in central New Mexico. The report notes that average sale price for detached single-family homes sold during the quarter stood at $261,219, a jump of more than 5% from the third quarter of 2018.
John Lopez, president of the association, said a stable, growing local economy, low interest rates and an influx of new residents has contributed to Albuquerque’s strongest quarter in years. Despite a potential slowdown for the national economy, Lopez said he’s bullish on New Mexico’s housing market going forward.
“We’re just in the beginning of this growth pattern,” Lopez said.
The effects of the Great Recession lingered longer in Albuquerque than in many other markets, and consequently homes built during the 1990s and early 2000s sat vacant for years. Over the last several years, however, Lopez said the economy has stabilized and added new jobs. Lopez said this has driven interest from “dormant buyers,” those who have sat on the sidelines and waited for the economic situation to improve. Lopez pointed to new commercial and residential construction around town as evidence of an expanding economy.
“Those companies didn’t just throw a dart at the board, they’re seeing these trends,” he said.
The Realtors’ association recorded 3,518 home sales during the third quarter, up 6.7% from the third quarter of 2018. The days that the average single-family house spent on the market dropped from 39 days to 33 days, according to the report.
Lopez added that the growth was visible in each of Albuquerque’s four quadrants, as well as in Rio Rancho. Out of 42 neighborhoods in Albuquerque and the surrounding area that the association tracks data on, just eight saw drops in median sale price since the third quarter of last year.
The real estate company Zillow and other housing experts have suggested that the United States may enter a recession as soon as 2020. However, Lopez said he isn’t concerned about its potential effect on Albuquerque at this point.
“We have a very unique dynamic here,” he said.
Lopez added that a shortage of new homes has driven prices up, but said that’s changing. A number of new single-family houses are going up around town, mostly on the higher end of the market, and Lopez said they will begin to enter the market as soon as early next year.
The hope, Lopez said, is that the new houses will attract homeowners looking to upgrade, then freeing up smaller homes for buyers just entering the housing market, including those looking to rent out properties and alleviate the rental shortage present in the city.
“That is such a big opportunity for folks right now,” he said.