• Jan 13, 2019 2018 third-best year for home sales in Las Cruces
    Gary Sandler
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    Published 13 January 2019

    According to a Jan. 7 report from the Las Cruces Association of Realtors, 2018 was the third-best production year on record for Las Cruces-area home sales.

    Local Realtors sold a total of 2,105 new and existing homes, townhomes and condominiums in 2018; falling just shy of the 2,136 homes sold in 2005, which was the second-best year ever. The all-time best year in Las Cruces sales history was 2006, when 2,303 homes changed hands.

    The $203,880 average combined sales price of the 2,105 new and existing homes, townhomes and condominiums sold last year was the fourth-highest annual average price recorded in our area. The highest average annual sales price of $222,147 was posted in 2007, followed by averages of $218,016 in 2008 and $215,591 in 2006.

    Free-standing, single-family homes were responsible for 1,966 of the total closed sales, with townhome and condominium sales accounting for the remaining 87 and 52 signing sessions, respectively. Here’s how the individual categories performed.

    New Single-Family Homes. Local builders sold 318 newly-constructed residences in 2018 at an average sales price of $226,134, or $122.74 per square foot. While the average new home contained 1,832 square feet, prices per square foot ranged from $84 to $218.44. It took builders an average of 71 days to sell their products.

    Existing Single-Family Homes. It took Las Cruces-area Realtors an average of 65 days to move the 1,648 previously occupied homes that were sold last year. The properties sold for 98 percent of their asking prices with an average sales price of $206,354. The highest price paid for a home in 2018 was $1.25 million.

    Townhomes. The 87 buyers who purchased townhomes last year paid an average of $136,246 for their 1,361 square foot homes. Prices ranges from $42,400 for a fixer-upper to $230,000 for a high-end luxury model. Sellers had to wait just 53 days for their buyers to contract, finance and close their transactions.

    Condominiums. The 52 condos sold in 2018 ranged in size from 553 square feet to 2,268 square feet. The average 1,149 square foot unit sold for $$112,169, or $100.59 per square foot. The average time on the market was 48 days, with sellers receiving 96 percent of their asking prices.

    What might 2019 have in store for buyers, sellers and Realtors? According to Danielle Hale, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, “Home price growth will continue to slow, with a forecasted increase of 2.2 percent; inventory increases will remain moderate with less than a 7 percent increase, and high-priced markets will buck the trend with double-digit inventory gains.” Hale went on to say that “Millennials will account for 45 percent of mortgages in 2019 vs. 17 percent for Boomers, and that the new tax plan will be good for renters, mixed for homeowners.”

    NAR’s Forecast for Key Housing Indicators project that single-family housing starts will increase by 8 percent, while sales of existing homes are expected to decrease by 2 percent. Existing-home median price appreciation, which was in the 5 percent range in 2018, will slow to 2.2 percent, and the homeownership rate will tick up slightly to 64.6 percent from 64.3 percent. That may seem like a measly increase, but by my fuzzy math it represents almost a million more home buyers.

    NAR also projects that mortgage interest rates will average 5.3 percent before reaching 5.5 percent by the end of the year. That was before the Federal Reserve recently rethought its notion to continue to increase rates throughout 2019, however. Mortgage rates have actually been declining since NAR released their report on Nov. 27, which happened to be the same week Freddie Mac reported that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate had risen to 4.94 percent. On Jan. 3, Freddie Mac reported that the rate had declined to 4.51 percent.

    So, what’s the bottom line? Is it a good time to be a seller or a good time to be a buyer? The answer? Both!
    See you at closing.

    Gary Sandler is a full-time Realtor and the president of Gary Sandler Inc., Realtors in Las Cruces. He loves to answer questions and can be reached at 575-642-2292 or Gary@GarySandler.com.

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      Gary Sandler