Albuquerque Ranked 13 of Top Fifty US Cities!

Albuquerque was listed 15th among America's 50 Best Cities according to a Businessweek story. Boston was 16 and New York was 14. We were higher than Phoenix (of course!) which ranked 49 and Denver which ranked 27. To quote the article, "With the Rio Grande running through and the Sandia Mountains to the east, New Mexico's largest city is a picturesque and sunny place to live. The schools are great, unemployment is low and there are lots of park acres per person." The ranking is based on various metrics of quality of life, such as number of restaurants, museums per capita; number of colleges, libraries and professional sports teams; the income, pverty, crime and foreclosure rates; percentage of population with higher degrees and air quality.
As a real estate agent, I get a snapshot every day of why people want to move here and why people love it here. The standard reason for loving ABQ is the weather (no we are not HOT like Phoenix) and the frienliness of people. The weather encourages lots of outdoor activities. The main reasons for moving here are for retirement or job transfer. Right now we are busy with both types of buyers. Plus a rush of buyers who are in their twenties, married or not. Wish I had been that smart in my twenties! They are getting rates in the low "4's" so that's an incredible deal.
Call me if you want more information or a consultation about buying or selling here in the top ranked City.

ABQ Home Sales Sag In July

Home Sales Sag In July. That is the headline but what’s behind the numbers? First of all, we had some terrible financial uncertainty that threw everyone off guard for a couple of weeks. That will stop things dead in their tracks. While it is true that the housing recovery in ABQ is up and down, we see a steady solid influx of new buyers and a few new sellers. Usually, sellers have already got their homes on the market to catch the summer traffic. In ABQ, new listings always slow come Fall and Winter. Sales in ABQ have been steadily rising month by month bucking the national trend until July. Compared to last year however, sales are up by 12 percent. The home prices went up but are still below last year’s level. Statistics can be viewed at www.gaar.com. Call me if you want to see what this means for you.

Housing Forecast Points to Rising Activity

Home sales are expected to stay on an uptrend through 2012. The chief economist of the National Association of Realtors, Lawrence Yun, expects 5.3 million existing-home sales this year, up from 4.9 million in 2010, with additional gains in 2012 to about 5.6 million. Rates are lower than low so call if you would like to buy or sell. Now is the time.

NEW FHA LOANS FOR IMPROVEMENTS

Often the barrier to buying a bank owned property is the cost of repairs needed after it's yours. Now there is an FHA 203K loan program for owner occupied purchases of single family homes.that allows the buyer to finance the cost of repairs and improvements. The minimum to borrow is $5000 and the maximum is $35,000. It's not for investors to flip or for major additions or improvements. The list of items allowed, however, is extensive --- roofing, flooring, cabinets, paint, stucco, driveways, countertops, plumbing, HVAC and the list goes on. The work must be done by licensed contractors and completed within 6 months after closing. The appraisal would be one for the "as is" value and one for the "as repaired" value. This program is ideal and of course, FHA only requires 3.5% down payment. The VA doesn't have the program yet.
Are there bank owned properties available still? By all means, but they move quickly. Most buyers are reluctant now to go after short sales because they take so long and are so unpredictable. But the bank owned properties go fast. In May in ABQ, 50 new ones went on the market and 160 went under contract. The inventory is being eaten up quickly. Part of the reason is that the deals close in a month and the prices are low averaging $85 per s.f. In the northeast heights, only 4.5% of all listings are bank owned compared to 15% in the southwest part of the city.
We are set up with the few lenders in town who do these new FHA programs so call and we'll get you a good REO property and the repair loan. It's a good deal. Call me at 505-220-9193.

GOOD TIME TO BUY A HOUSE

We’ve all experienced that “If only I would have” moment in our lives and with out a doubt we are at the threshold of another of another one of those times with respect to home ownership. We are seeing home prices at levels not seen for more than 12 years. Foreclosures are the primary driver for this phenomenon and the banks are accepting offers at $50 to $60 dollars per sq ft all over town. With out a doubt Now is the time to buy to avoid another “If only” moment. Give us a call 505-220-9193 or start your search on our website.

SPRING GARDEN ACTIVITIES

With the nice weather this last week, weren't you tempted to go and buy flowers to plant? After that freeze we had, we are all ready for Spring! But last night it dropped again below freezing so what can we really do to get ready for Spring? For one, we can water once a week. Next we can do a final cleanup on our garden beds and replant any volunteer seedlings that are shooting up. It's so nice to see the green shoots coming up through the winter dead plants. We can amend the soil especially with iron. Personally, I need to fillin the holes my dog dug burying bones in the winter lawn. I keep her off the lawn in the Spring & Summer. She won't be happy but Huskies dig.
Speaking of lawn, the Journal had a good article today about not powerraking to remove thatch. Instead, to aerate by making plugs and leaving them on the lawn. In Africa, we teach our villagers to do the same thing. Maintain the ground cover and make sure the soil surface is broken so that air and water and nutrients can enter. Same principles work here.
Soon we can break out the lawn chairs and barBQ!

ABQ No. 2 as Film Friendly

MovieMaker magazine has ranked ABQ as the No. 2 city among the top 10 cities for independent filmmaking. The ranking is for the best place to live and work in the film business. Boston ranked No. 1 which I don't get. We are so much better at so many levels. The best place to live is definitely our strong suit. Great weather, friendly people, accessible amenities and great home prices. We have tons of good buys on the market now so if you are interested in investing in a second home or investment property, give me a call. 505-220-9193.