Every month I like to pull my own Albuquerque real estate stats before the official stats have been announced by the Greater Albuquerque Association of Realtors. Usually I publish them on the 5th of the month, but this month I'm a little behind schedule.
I like to present them in a slightly different way than the board does. Rather than lumping the numbers for the Albuquerque metro area together, I break down the stats by city. This give you a more accurate look at the Albuquerque and Rio Rancho real estate markets. Most of what you will hear reported in the media will be for the Albuquerque market as a whole, so please don't be confused.
At first glance, the numbers for this month don't look great. Home sales were down when compared to last year, but a closer look reveals some very positive information.
Closed Home Sales by City
Albuquerque
Homes sales were down 7% in August 2014 when compared to August 2013.
619 home sales have been reported so .jpg)
far, down from 666 closed sales in August 2013.
REO (foreclosure) sales continued their decline. In 2013, 13% of the closed sales were REO's. In 2014, 11% of closed sales were REO's.
Short sales were also down, declining from from 6% of the market last August to 4% this.
That's a total decrease of 4% for distressed property sales and a corresponding 4% increase in retail or fair market sales, which made up 85% of the market.
See the foreclosed Albuquerque homes for Sale.
Rio Rancho
Homes sales were down 18% in August.
So far, 156 home sales have been reported, down from 190 closed sales in August 2013.
REO (foreclosure) sales declined from 21% of the closed sales last August to 19% this August. Short sales decreased from 12% of the market last August to 7% this August.
View foreclosed Rio Rancho Homes for Sale.
The Outlying Areas
Sales in the outlying area were mixed, with sales were up in Placitas and the east mountain areas, and sale down in Los Lunas and Corrales.
Of special note is the sharp increase in Placitas home sales which almost doubled, moving from 9 closed to 17 closed.
Summary
No surprises in this month's Albuquerque real estate stats. Sales have been down most of 2014 in both Albuquerque and Rio Rancho.
The good news is that the percentage of both REO sales and short sales continue to decrease. This is a very positive sign for the local real estate market. The overall health of the market continues to improve.
Once the official numbers are realeased by the board of Realtors, it will be interesting to see if, in spite of the decrease in sales, if sales prices will once again have appeared to increase. I imagine that they will, but once again I will point out that the increase may be. in part anyway, a result of the decrease in short sales and REO sales.
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