Las Cruces NM Real Estate Listings, Homes, Properties, and Lots

LAS CRUCES HOMES SOLD LAST MONTH

YES, THE LAS CRUCES REAL ESTATE MARKET HAS SLOWED DOWN SOME, BUT IT IS STILL A GREAT PLACE TO BUY OR SELL A HOME.

August 2010 closings were up from July with 85 homes being sold ( excluding mobile homes) . 81 homes closed in July 2010. This was due to the first-time homebuyer program. Closings as follows:

6 sold under $100,000

26 sold between $100,000 and $149,000

23 Sold between $150,000 and $199,000

12 sold between $200,000 and $249,000

10 sold between $250,000 and $299,000

7 sold between $300,000 and $399,000

1 sold for $410,000

As you can see, 65% of the sales were under $200,000. That seems to be our local market now. Fewer high end homes sold in August.

Median price is running around $165,000.

There are currently 1,209 homes on the market. (Not counting mobile homes ). So, our inventory is running pretty steady. That is almost 14 months of inventory at the trend of only 85 sold per month. There are 160 homes Under Contract that have not closed yet. This is mainly due to first-time homebuyers needing something "under contract" before the end of April with the extension to close to end of Sept. 2010 . Some of these pendings are short sales which take sometimes 90 days to get 3rd party lender approval on.

Sellers are waiting for the market to pick up before they try to list their properties. A lot of homes have been taken off the market, especially in the higher end market or are becoming "short sales". We are still seeing new homes being built here in Las Cruces in all price ranges. However, the spec building has really slowed down. New homes are now being built in the lower price ranges of $110,000 - $200,000. Builders see that the higher end homes are not selling and have scaled down where on what they are building. Smaller homes on smaller lots are being built that local buyers can afford. The resale market for older homes is being hurt by the new home prices.

The average price of a home here is now under $165,000 range with some modest homes or townhouses being found in the lower than $130,000 range. An average 3 bedroom, 2 bath home can be found under $200,000. A home with more upgrades or something newer can be found under $250,000 with a lot of nice features and in very nice neighborhoods. Above $300,000 is a bit harder to sell. And we are seeing price reductions every day, usually in the higher-end catagory.

Las Cruces made the top 10 list ( #6) in U.S. News and World Report (Feb 2010) "10 Cities for Real Estate Steals" . This was based on listed price versus sold price.

Despite these figures, many people still view the prices in southern New Mexico as a bargain. We are starting to see a lot more buyers in our Remax office and agents are fairly busy right now showing properties.

My personal opinion is that the market will NOT pick up for perhaps another year due to the foreclosures still coming down the pike. Anyone waiting to sell who thinks the market will pick up in 2010 and that we have already hit bottom might get a big surprise and still see the value of their home going down. Homeowners who purchased a home in 2005, 2006 and early 2007 have seen their value drop around 20% or more as they bought at the very peak of our market here.

We are also seeing a lot more "bank owned" foreclosed properties on the market here. A lot of these owners were investors from California or buyers who obtained 100% financing through the States' first-time homebuyer program and have just walked away from the properties.

Of course, we have a lot of high-end homes, but the spec builders are finding those are staying on the market a lot longer than they anticipated. We are feeling the effect of what is happening with the sub-prime mortgages that were granted a few years ago where the buyers didn't qualify in the beginning and with a rise in interest rates just can no longer manage to pay the mortgage. So, they are walking away from these homes which are now on the market for sale at reduced prices or as "short sales". This is effecting the retiree or person in other states such as California, Florida, Nevada, Michigan and Ohio, who wants to sell but are finding a lot of competition for homes like theirs.

Foreclosures may impact the overall economy. Investors in mortgage-backed securities have poured billions of dollars into these loans with the hopes of making a profit, not taking a loss.