By Ron Davis  –  Reporter, Albuquerque Business First

Apr 11, 2022 Updated Apr 12, 2022, 11:09am MDT

The median sales price for a detached single-family home in the Albuquerque market continues to set new highs.

The latest report from the Greater Albuquerque Associations of Realtors found the median sales price to be $325,000 in March. That mark is a 19.8% year-over-year increase from March 2021's median of $271,250, and a $10,000 jump from the previous high of $315,000, which was recorded in December 2021 and in February of this year.

“In March, the Greater Albuquerque area experienced a significant jump in median sales price to $325,000, outpacing previous record-setting months by $10,000," GAAR's 2022 President Bridget Gilbert said in a statement. "New listings were up from the previous month, but demand continues to keep inventory low."

The number of new listings in the Albuquerque metro fell by 13.2% from March 2021 to 1,136 last month. That number jumped by nearly 200 listings from February to March, from 921 new listings to 1,136.

The 1,020 closed sales was a 12.7% year-over-year decrease from March 2021 but an increase by nearly 300 from last month.

Meanwhile, the inventory of homes in the metro dropped to a new low of 523, according to the report.

The absorption rate for a single-family detached home was just 0.5 in March. That figure is calculated by taking the inventory of homes for sale at the end of the month and divided by the average monthly pending sales from the past 12 months. The 0.5 mark is a 37.5% year-over-year decrease. 

According to the St. Louis Federal Reserve, in the Albuquerque MSA, there were 189 single-family housing permits pulled in February, compared to 211 in February 2021. Through the first two months of the year, the 369 housing start permits are just behind 2021's mark of 372.

Among other benchmarks contained in GAAR's March report on single-family home sales in the Albuquerque residential market:

• Pending sales in the Albuquerque residential market decreased by 3.1% (1,145 sales) compared to the previous year.
• Days on the market decreased by 19% (17 days) compared to the same month in 2021. 
• Percent of list price received increased by 1.9% — to 102.2% — when compared to the previous year. The percent of list price is calculated by dividing a property’s sales price by its most recent list price, then taking the average for all properties sold in a given month. The figure does not take into account seller concessions.

Source: "Albuquerque's median sale price for single-family homes reach new high"