• Median Albuquerque home prices leveled out at $361,000 in August
  • New listings in Albuquerque also level out at 1,075
  • Closed sales fell by 7.4% to 827 homes sold
  • Pending sales also fell by 4.3% to 829 homes in escrow
  • Affordability creeped up to a still terrible 85
  • Inventory rose sharply to 1,751 available homes

August Median Home Price Levels Out

The Albuquerque Metro median detached home price was $361,000. That’s a bit higher, just under 1%, than last August’s $357,690. Since many August closings were homes that went into escrow in June and July, a main driver of that leveling is certainly the increased inventory of available homes we saw in early summer. Quite a contrast with July’s numbers, which saw us hit almost a record high.

That’s also a hair better than the national numbers according to Realtor.com. They report August home prices actually declined about 1.8% compared to last August. They point out price per square foot is up somewhat, suggesting buyers are looking for smaller, lower priced homes. I don’t have a clean number to refer to in ABQ at this point on home size.

For the first eight months of 2024, Albuquerque area home prices were up a solidly unremarkable 4.3%. The median year-to-date single family home price in Albuquerque Metro was $359,990.

Since August also saw mortgage rates fall gently into the 6% range, housing affordability rose slightly, from a very poor index of 80 in July (and 80 in August 2023) to 85. Still a hard number for buyers, but a positive trend.

You can read the full report here.

Inventory Climbs

Albuquerque Metro had an average of 1,751 homes on market in August. That’s a 28.7% rise over August 2023 (1,361 homes) and the highest inventory number in 2024. It’s also higher than any month in 2023. Available inventory in 2023 peaked in October, with 1,406 homes available on average throughout ABQ metro.

Having said that, we saw only 1,075 new listings come on market in August, essentially the same as August 2023. That tells me sellers may be holding back somewhat. Maybe even waiting for September’s interest rate adjustment by the Fed to see where things land.

We may also be seeing the market take a deep breath before the November elections.

August Sees Fewer Closings and Pending Sales Drop

Closed sales dropped 7.4% in August over last year and held steady over the first eight months of 2024. We closed 827 single family homes in August compared to 893 closings August 2023. In the first eight months of 2023 ABQ Metro closed 6,021 home sales while year-to-date this year we’ve closed 6,010 homes.

There was also a drop in contracts this August with 829 homes going into pending status. Last August saw 866 homes go into escrow. That’s a decline of 4.35.

What’s this mean as we head toward Fall? Hard to say, of course. Mortgage rates have dropped into the low 6% range. That followed bond rate adjustments that have come in anticipation of the upcoming Fed rate cuts, so there’s a very good possibility some buyers are timing the market and mortgage rate cuts.

As Albuquerque home buyers realize the mortgage rates cuts have already taken hold, there could be a nice spike in buyer activity. If buyers are fortunate, we could see a spike in selling, too, as sellers loosen up and make their own moves.

– Joe LaMastra, RealABQ Real Estate, September 10, 2024