Blog

Jan 17, 2024 Las Cruces homes taking almost twice as long to sell

Gary Sandler

No Comments | 0 likes | 306 Viewers

Published 17 January 2024

The average time required to sell a home in the Las Cruces area has increased almost twofold over the past year, according to a January 11 report from the Las Cruces Association of Realtors. The 44 average number of days-on-market (DOM) for the 1,791 new and existing single-family homes sold in 2023 was a 69.2 percent increase over the 26 DOM reported in 2022. Townhomes and condominiums were not surveyed.

The data also revealed that the time required to sell a home varies significantly by neighborhood. A sampling of closed sales that took place in 12 areas in and around Las Cruces during 2023 showed increases in all neighborhoods. Increases ranged from 21.4 percent to 34-days in the Soledad Canyon area to a high of 171.4 percent and 38-days in the 4-Hills/ Las Colinas/Peachtree Hills neighborhoods north of HWY 70 and east of I-25. Soledad Canyon takes the prize for the fastest selling neighborhood of the areas sampled. Sellers in the South Valley waited 105-days to find their buyers last year, up by 105.1 percent over the 51 days it took to sell in 2022. Statistics for the remaining neighborhoods sampled showed similar variations in percentage and DOM increases.

The report also confirmed that market momentum continues to move in favor of buyers, but not in all cases. Take for example the percentage of homes that sold over the asking price. Yes, they still exist. Case in point; 10.7 percent of the new and existing-home sellers who closed their transactions in December sold for over their asking prices. While that’s good news for those sellers, one year ago 12.4 percent of sellers hit home runs. Buyers who didn’t pay over the asking price are currently paying a lower percentage of the asking price than they have in the past. Buyers who closed their transactions in December paid an average of 97.2 percent of list, down from 98.2 percent for all of 2023 and 99.4 percent in 2022.

Another dataset indicating that buyers continue to gain an advantage over sellers is our local inventory of single-family homes for sale that grew to 451 units in January, up 8 percent month-over-month, 37.9 percent year-over-year, and a far cry from the 165-units listed for sale18 months ago.

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 575-642-2292 or Gary@GarySandler.com

About author