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Published 8 January 2024
Las Cruces-area real estate sales production fell sharply in 2023, while home values continued to trend upward. Local Realtors sold 1,819 new and existing homes, townhomes and condominiums last year, according to a January 4 report from the Las Cruces Association of Realtors. That number represents a 511-unit, or 21.9 percent, reduction from the 2,330-units sold in 2022 and a 32 percent, or 856-unit, change from 2,675-units sold in 2021.
At the same time, home prices continued their years-long ascension albeit at a slower pace. For example, the combined median price for the 1,819 new and existing homes, townhomes and condominiums sold last year was reported to be $296,250. The median is where half sold for more and half sold for less. One year earlier, it was $279,750 – a difference of $16,500, or 5.9 percent. Last year’s median price was also $50,250, or 20.4 percent, more than the $246,000 median price posted in 2021.
While the combined median price paints a general picture of our local market performance, it is the performance of the individual home categories that clarifies the picture even further. Take for example, free-standing, single-family home-sales. Two categories exist: new and existing, which together accounted for 1,718 of last year’s 1,819 closings. New homes carried a median price of $343,725, contained an average of 1,866 square feet, and sold for an average price of $184.20 per square foot. The existing homes carried a median price of $290,000, sold for an average of $166.86 per square foot, and contained an average of 1,930 square feet of living space. *For you mathematicians out there, some numbers won’t reconcile due to mixing median and average data.)
Townhomes and condominiums round out the remaining single-family categories. The latter accounted for 37 closed sales at a median price of $218,000, with an average of 1,224 square feet of living space at an average per-square-foot price of $182.72. Townhomes made up the remaining 64 sales and generated a median price of $225,000, an average square-foot price of $176.50, and an average of 1,318 square feet of heated and cooled interior space.
A January 4 snapshot of Las Cruces-area active and pending listings shows that our unsold inventory is approaching 500 homes, up from just a couple hundred 12 to 18-months ago. The number of pending listings awaiting closing continues to wane, dropping by roughly 50 percent from the highs achieved a year to 18-months ago. There’s a huge pent-up demand for housing, however, particularly here in Las Cruces, as more people realize what a terrific place this is to live, work, and retire. Every tenth-of-a-point reduction in mortgage rates going forward will unleash that demand for at least a few more buyers.
See you at closing.
Gary Sandler is a full-time Realtor and president of Gary Sandler Inc., Realtors in Las Cruces, New Mexico. He loves to answer questions and can be reached at Gary@GarySandler.com
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About Author
Gary Sandler
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