Nationally, existing-home sales continued to recover in the first quarter with gains recorded in 49 states and the District of Columbia, while 22 percent of the available metropolitan areas saw prices rise from a year ago, according to the latest survey by the National Association of Realtors®.

For the Albuquerque Metro area, there were 1,379 closed detached home sales during the first-quarter of 2011, a two percent decline when compared to the first quarter of 2010, according to the Greater Albuquerque Association of REALTORS®. “In all there were 34 fewer detached homes sold in the greater Albuquerque metro when you compare the two quarters,” said Peter Parnegg, President of the Greater Albuquerque Association of REALTORS®. “During the first quarter of last year the market was aided by the income tax credit,” Parnegg said. GAAR discovered pockets of improvement throughout the metro. “In the City of Albuquerque there were 8 MLS areas where home values improved and across the metro there were 29 MLS areas where home sales increased from the first quarter of 2010,” Parnegg said.

The Albuquerque Metro 1^st Quarter 2011*

• ·         New Listings: 4,339 (detached and attached)
• ·         Closed Sales: 1,521 (detached and attached)
• ·         Average Single Family home price:           $205,487 (detatched)
                                                                                 $140,320 (attached)
• ·         Median Single Family home price:            $166,000 (detatched)
                                                                                 $136,750 (attached)
• ·         Average Days on market: 85 days
• ·         Median Price per Square Foot: $109

Overall, analysts at both Standard & Poor's and Barclays Capital agree that the national uptick in resale homes in the first quarter is a favorable sign of things to come.

* Statistics courtesy of Greater Albuquerque Association of Realtors®