Home sales in the Albuquerque metro area spiked by almost 20 percent as Albuquerque foreclosures drove down house prices in the first quarter, based on sales figures from the Greater Albuquerque Association of Realtors.
The average sales price for existing homes in the first quarter dropped by almost three percent to $209,283 and the median sales price fell by almost 6 percent to $172,000, so buying foreclosure homes in the metro area became a viable business activity for real estate investors focused on lower-priced New Mexico foreclosures.
The total dollar value of home sales in the first quarter reached $320.3 million, consisting of $295.7 million sales of detached single-family homes and $24.6 million sales of townhouse and condo units. First quarter sales of single-family homes marked an increase of 16.6 percent while sales of condo units marked a jump of 40 percent.
The number of people making a go of their plans to buy foreclosed houses for sale in Albuquerque has been rising over the past months. In February, while nationwide sales of homes dropped for the second straight month, sales of Albuquerque foreclosures and other types of homes increased by 8 percent from the previous month and by 10 percent from sales one year ago to a total of 380 housing units.
In February, pending sales also climbed up by 5 percent from the previous month and by 46 percent from pending sales in February last year. Total sales in dollars jumped up by almost 10 percent year-over-year to exceed $80 million in February.
February home sales helped in improving the Albuquerque market in the first quarter this year, cutting down the average number of days homes for sale stay on the market. In the first quarter last year, it took an average of 88 days to sell homes; this year, the average dropped down to 79 days.
In a recent survey of homebuyers in Albuquerque, 80 percent of them believe that the market is still a buyer’s market. They said that house prices are still very favorable to buyers. On the other hand, 40 percent of first time home buyers believe that house prices will increase substantially in the first months of the year.
Just like other homebuyers in the area, first time buyers in Albuquerque cite lower mortgage rates and lower prices of Albuquerque foreclosures and other types of homes as their main reasons for buying homes in the first months of 2010.
John Cutts has been educated in the finer points of the foreclosure market over 5 years.
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