Albuquerque Real Estate Report for January 2011 (Sneak Preview)

Albuquerque and Rio Rancho Home Sales Numbers

The Albuquerque real estate numbers have not yet been released by the Greater Albuquerque Association of Realtors, but I can’t resist publishing some preliminary real estate stats for Albuquerque and Rio Rancho.

I had high expectations for January sales stats since the fourth quarter of 2011 had such strong sales numbers, both in terms of units sold and housing inventory.

I’m happy to say January home sales appear to have continued this trend.

Here’s a five year history of Albuquerque home sales in January:

The total number of sales may not be totally accurate since the date of  this post is February 1, 2012, but I think it’s safe to say that most of the sales should have been reported.

The picture painted by Rio Rancho home sales is not so clear:

However, with such a small sample size I think it’s fair to say Rio Rancho numbers are almost to close to call.

These numbers are not stupendous, but when combined with decreasing home inventories they indicate a real estate market that is in transition.

Albuquerque and Rio Rancho Housing Inventory

Home inventory levels are the lowest they have been in the last 5 years. This graph depicts the sharp drop in home inventory over the last year.

Home inventories are decreasing for several reasons:

• Increased home sales during the fourth quarter
• Decreased new listings as sellers who can wait to sell are sitting tight not wanting to conpete with short sales and foreclosures
• Decreased new listings as sellers are choose to rent out their properties to displaced home owners

Sharply decreased inventory combined with steadily increasing home sales is creating a feel on the street that’s surprisingly different. Almost across the board the Albuquerque Realtors that I have spoken to are commenting that they feel the market is turning. In fact, it has become difficult to find some buyers homes that they want to buy.

Will this trend continue through 2012? I think that depends more on what sellers do than what buyers do this summer, because I expect buyers to continue to take advantage of low prices and low interest rates. Anyone selling real estate in Albuquerque knows that that there is pent up buyer demand, but how much pent up seller demand is out there? Will Albuquerque homeowners who’ve been waiting to sell do so at the first sign of the new, more promising real estate market, or will they hold off waiting for home values to come back? I think some will sell sooner rather than later. The real wildcard in all of this is the looming shadow inventory of foreclosure homes and whether the banks unleash them on the market this summer.

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These statistics were compiled from the Greater Albuquerque Association of REALTORS®data on 02/01/2012. This data is reflective of homes which were listed on the Albuquerque MLS; private sales are not included.