Current mortgage rates on a 30 year fixed conventional mortgage are hovering at 3.0%. They dipped below 3.0% last week. It was a historic low. The 15 year fixed rate is lingering in the 2.5% range. Great time to buy as you can afford more house for your money at these lower rates and a great time to sell as our local market is suffering from a lack of inventory.
Also called a CMA, comparative market analysis, BPO, brokers price opinion, market analysis – it’s information you should get from your agent. I recently
heard a first time home buyer explain what they’ve been going through to buy their home. They worked with two agents and neither one prepared a
market analysis for any of the homes they made offers on. They were asked what they wanted to offer and that’s what the agent submitted. One agent
never prepared a purchase agreement! They called the listing agent with a verbal offer. That’s another blog altogether!! I felt so bad for this
young couple. They knew nothing about getting sales data for similar properties in the surrounding neighborhood. They were in contract but didn’t
know what similar homes in the neighborhood were selling for. The seller accepted an offer they made – a number they just came up with after their
agent asked what they wanted to pay. Now they’re wondering if they paid too much. It’s hard for me to believe this still happens, but if a buyer
doesn’t know what to expect they can’t make sure the process is working for them. Tell your friends to call a conscientious, experienced agent.
The numbers are in and 2015 sales prices remained steady with a 1.10% average increase in sales prices for detached single family homes from $212,990 in
2014 to $215,331 in 2015.
Number of homes sold went up more than 15% in 2015 and inventory remains low compared to previous years. Click here to view by area.
Home buying is more affordable than renting in Bernalillo and Sandoval counties according to RealtyTrac
Buying a house is still more affordable than renting a place with similar square footage in 58 percent of U.S. housing markets, according to RealtyTrac.
RealtyTrac released its 2016 Rental Affordability Analysis last week and found it’s cheaper to buy a house than rent in Bernalillo and Sandoval counties.
The report looked at average three-bedroom rental units and homes in 54 counties across the U.S., and compared numbers from the U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as well as weekly wages through the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In Bernalillo County, RealtyTrac found the average wage earner would spend 36.6 percent of their income on a monthly home payment, compared to 37.7
percent of their income on rent. In Sandoval County, the disparity was even more apparent, with residents having to spend 33.8 percent of wages
on a home, compared to 39 percent of take-home pay on rent.
RealtyTrac vice president Daren Blomquist said with rents rising faster than wages in most markets, it may be a good time to buy for new homeowners.
“In markets where home prices are still relatively affordable, 2016 may be a good time for some renters to take the plunge into homeownership before
rising prices and possibly rising interest rates make it increasingly tougher to afford to buy a home,” Blomquist said.
On the other hand, RealtyTrac found it’s cheaper to rent than buy in Santa Fe County. The average Santa Fe worker would have to spend more than half
of their income to afford a house payment in The City Different, compared to about 39.1 percent on rent.
As expected, it’s cheaper to rent than buy in bigger markets on the coasts and in Texas. RealtyTrac has an interactive map showing four New Mexico
counties and data from other states.
Pending transactions for single family detached homes increased 16.14% for February 2015 (921) compared to February 2014 (793). Although median sales price remained unchanged at $169,000 for the same period as well as average sales price $199,196. Actual closed transactions remained flat with a less than 1% increase for the same month (550 closed transactions Feb 2014 vs 554 closed transactions Feb 2015).
2014 ended with a 1.35% increase in average home prices in the Albuquerque area to $207,193 compared to 2013.The number of homes sold and closed dropped 2.99% from 2013 to 2014. To see how individual areas performed compared to the average view the chart – http://www.abqhomes.com/uploads/Comparison-of-Home-Sales-2013-2014.pdf
MovieMaker magazine has named Albuquerque #8 for “Best Places to Live and Work” for 2015 in the big cities category. State incentives for the film industry and 310 days of sunshine are major factors. All places were rated according to six criteria: Film Production in 2014 (shooting days, number of productions, dollars generated), Film Community and Culture (film schools, festivals, independent theaters, film organizations), Access to Equipment and Facilities, Tax Incentives, Cost of Living, and a General category that includes lifestyle, weather, transportation and other “livability” categories.
Working with Fred and Sandra is a rare mix of friendly, professional and courteous service. They kept us informed and were always available… a great team!
