My New Blog

By Cheryl Marlow

     Many buyers and sellers still ap­pear to be sitting on the fence waiting for the market to reach a new high or reach a new low to their favor. What are they waiting for? The market to bottom out so prices stop falling? Are they waiting for the media to announce the "all clear"? For the Fed to stop tin­kering with the interest rates? Or just waiting for the neighbor's house to sell? The truth is that all real estate markets are local. Albuquerque is much better when compared to many of the markets that have made the news. When everyone is reading the Wall Street Journal and listening to the national news and gimmicks on how to purchase a home 50% below market value, it creates a "sky is falling" men­tality. This then becomes an unrealistic picture of what's really happening here on the home front. Remember, news­paper and television is designed to ob­tain high ratings. They are not designed to sell homes. One headline screamed "Prices Plummet!" When I read the ar­ticle, the prices were down 1/2 of 1 %! Hardly what I would define as a plum­met!

     I just want to be a voice of reason. Here's a local perspective--   Even though Albuquerque was never hit by the worst of the real estate bust that began last summer, the chill­ing effect was felt here, true. Inventory of homes available is higher than I've seen in twenty three years in the business. Sellers must be more realistic about pricing their home and how their home truly compares to the other prop­erties available. Most sellers truly be­lieve that their home is the best in the neighborhood. On the flip side of the same coin, many buyers are trying to find that "50% below market price home' they heard about on late night TV. Interest rates are still very low and that creates real savings for buyers in the long term.
    
     In cities like Las Vegas and Phoenix, the record number of foreclo­sures created a glut of inventory. Albu­querque foreclosure rates rank low in the national statistics. In fact, a closer look at individual markets shows that smaller cities like Albuquerque, Okla­homa City, and Austin have solid prospects for 2008.
    
      Housing Predictor ranks Albu­querque 21st in the Top 25 Appreciat­ing US Markets for their 2008 projection. Interestingly, the top mar­kets for 2008 are scattered throughout the U.S. with no geographical region stronger than another. Instead the fac­tors are evidence of a strong trend that is developing in the United States. There's no doubt of a trend that people are moving to smaller cities. The fore­cast...more people are moving to smaller less-urban cities seeking a bet­ter quality of life. Albuquerque is posi­tioned to gain from this trend. This is great news for both buyers and sellers!