New Mexico Housing Market Cooling, But Still in Good Condition
Steve Chenault had a house for sale and wanted to buy another one.
The Las Cruces, N.M., resident did his own homework.
“We just started looking around at different properties and calling real estate agents. There are quite a few real estate agents out there and some of them didn’t return calls,” he said.
Still, Chenault told the Las Cruces Sun-News that he was able to eventually find a house he liked and sell the one he was living in, all in about three months. His house, which he sold for about $200,000, was on the market for six weeks.
That’s a sign of a buyer’s market. According to Annette West, a real estate agent with New Mexico Apartment Advisors, Chenault’s house was ahead of the game when it comes to time spent on the market.
West, who writes a weekly real estate column for the Sun-News‘ business section, said research shows that with home sales that closed in September, the average time spent on the market was about 16 weeks.
“It definitely is taking longer to sell than it did a couple of years ago. We’re seeing some of the higher-priced homes coming down in price,” she said.
West, who based her findings on the local multiple listing service (MLS), said that the average amount of time it took a home to sell in the New Mexico housing market was on par with last year’s numbers.
According to West, homes that sold in September 2005 were on the market for an average of 115 days. Those that sold in September of this year were on the market for an average of 114 days.
Bloomberg News recently reported that housing starts in the U.S. unexpectedly rose last month from a three-year low, as falling mortgage rates began to draw buyers back into the market — a sign that the housing slump may be nearing its bottom.
While official numbers from the Las Cruces Association of Realtors have not been released since April, West pointed to the MLS to show that, while the cost of a mortgage loan may be higher, and it might be taking houses longer to sell than it did several years ago, the number of homes sold continued to be strong.
West reported 205 homes closed in September of this year while 197 closed in September 2005. The Las Cruces Association of Realtors say 138 homes were sold in September 2004. West said that the average closing price of a home last month was $221,402, while that mark was $176,080 in 2005.
“We’re still seeing a lot of home sold. Just because the housing market might have cooled some does not mean it is a bad market,” she said.