The real estate market in Albuquerque, NM has held up pretty well during the first quarter of 2008.

As the chart below makes evident, the average sales prices for Albuquerque single family detached homes was essentially the same as the average in the first quarter of 2007, and still substantially above the figure for first quarter 2006.

(Data is from Southwest MLS)

But the news is not all good. Yes, our homes are still selling at good prices, but they are taking longer to sell, and fewer homes are actually closing. Take a look at the graphs below, that show first quarter comparisons for number of sales and time on the market, for the first quarters of 2006 through 2008:

It's clear at a glance that the number of homes actually closing during the first quarters in Albuquerque has been going steadily down since 2006. In fact, only about 60% as many single family detached homes closed during the first quarter of 2008 as had closed in the first quarter of 2006.

Sellers need to be aware of this trend, as it means there are a lot of homes that just aren't selling; those that are over-priced, in poor condition, or hard to show are likely to languish on the market, while those that are competitively priced, sparkling-clean, with good curb appeal and easy for agents to show are likely to bring a good price!

A similar cautionary tale is presented by the statistics for days on the market for Albuquerque homes right now. The time on the market for the average home that goes under contract was 67 days for the first quarter of 2008. This is more than double the time it took to get the average single family detached home under contract in 2006.

We are no longer in the kind of market where just sticking a sign in the yard guarantees multiple offers in the first week on the market! Far from it; homes that are poorly market are likely to remain on the market a long time, if they sell at all. It's especially important in the current real estate market to list your home with a highly-qualified Albuquerque real estate broker like those you'll find at RE/MAX Alliance REALTORS.

Interested in more detail information about a particular Albuquerque area? Check our Albuquerque real estate area maps, or contact us any time: info@homesnm.com , (505)298-9999.