Albuquerque Market Forcast

Yesterday the team had the opportunity to listen to the Chief Economist from the National Association of Realtors speak about the upcoming real estate forecast and economic forecast for 2011 and beyond. Dr. Yun explained the current economy and how it will affect the real estate market for the upcoming year and beyond. Currently, we are selling homes at the same level as 2000. Some of the main forces is unemployment, overbuilding of new homes and the increase in default mortgages. One example of the change over the last couple of years is in 2004 there were over 5,000 single family building permits in Bernalillo County. In 2010 there are only 186 single family building permits in Bernalillo County.

With all the doom and gloom there are some small signs of slow economic recovery. In 2010 there has been 1.5 million jobs added. Also, interest rates have been low and will continue below 5% through 2011. There are estimates that there will be 5.4 million homes sold in 2011, which is still at year 2000 levels. There is a forecast for unemployment rates to start to decline to 8% by 2012.

Lastly, Dr Yun stated that the Rocky Mountain States have in the past shown high levels of growth in population and this equates into a demand for homes. In the next 3 to 5 years we can expect the Rocky Mountain States to continue to grow and continue to help improve the housing market in the Albuquerque area. The rates for foreclosure are lower in the Albuquerque area and we will begin to see signs of the rate of foreclosure to decline by the end of 2011 and through 2012.

3 Reasons to sell your home now!

During the holiday season the Elite Asset Management Team is often asked if it is a good time to list and sell their home. Here are three reasons why we believe it is a good time to sell your home in the Albuquerque real estate market:

1. The market is improving. Most markets have either turned or are close to turning.

2. All real estate is local. Homes in great locations are always in demand.

3. Spring is coming soon. Many potential buyers are starting their online searches right after the holidays, making mid- to late February a great time to start marketing.

Having a head start on your competition never hurts either. Have a Happy Holidays.

5 Reasons Homeownership Trumps Renting

The seemingly endless run of bad housing news is discouraging some potential home buyers from considering a purchase. But the truth is that the advantages of homeownership have very little to do with investment gains. The best things about owning a home have a lot more to do with personal comfort and satisfaction.

Here are five of them:

· Be your own landlord. The bank can only kick you out if you don’t pay; a landlord can be much less dependable – deciding to sell the property or choosing to live there themselves.
· Paying the principal is forced savings. Yes, it’s possible that home prices will fall further. It is also possible that your 401(k) will lose value. But over the long haul, both are likely to enjoy modest gains in value.
· Fixed-rate mortgages never rise – and eventually you pay them off. With mortgage rates at record lows, people who buy now are locking in real bargains.
· Good schools. Family-sized rentals are harder to come by in areas with excellent public schools.
· Spacious properties in pleasant neighborhoods. Sizable homes in attractive communities are almost always owned – not rented.

Source: The New York Times, Ron Lieber (08/27/2010)

40 New Agents join Re/Max Elite in Albuquerque

We are proud to announce that 40 top agents have joined Re/Max Elite in Albuquerque, New Mexico. 

The Re/Max Elite office has doubled in size when the agents left their former brokerage, The Vaughan Company Realtors. The brokerage was one of the most recognized real estate companies in Albuquerque, but filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy petitions earlier this year.

Michael Dreskin, Qualifying Broker/Manager at RE/MAX Elite, is part of the group that made the move to the new brokerage. The many reasons they chose to move to Re/Max Elite is because of support of the Brokers Nola Stofac, Brian Stofac and Earl Henson.

Other positive reasons to make the move to Re/Max Elite include the technology and tools that the Re/Max Brand provides to help agents acheive success. Re/Max consistently finds the leading edge technology in the business and provides the support to their agents.

“Everyone is just blown away by all the tools we now have that we never had before,” Dreskin says. “There’s a lot of energy and activity in the office, and we have a great mix of top producers between the old group and our own group. We all feel like there’s truly a place for us at RE/MAX.”

In order to accommodate its new agents, RE/MAX Elite is expanding into a 3,000-square-foot office space next door to its existing location. Re/Max Elite’s market share will likely jump to 10 percent from its current spot at 6 percent, Nola predicts. She adds that news of the mass move has prompted other top-producing agents to inquire about switching to RE/MAX Elite.

Re/Max Elite looks forward to a bright future during a tough real estate market. Our top producing agents will continue to out-perform the competition.