Real estate in Albuquerque is extremely popular now.
“We’re seeing, you know, multiple offers," real estate agent Amy Neal said to KRQE. "We have more buyers than we have houses.”
Neal says the last few years have been the most competitive for home sales since she began working in real estate 17 years ago. Demand has driven house prices up to unprecedented levels, especially in recent years. The number of houses selling for $700,000 has doubled in the last year alone, she said.
The average home sale price in Albuquerque is $336,000, according to KRQE.
“It’s tougher for those people that are in the $200,000 to $400,000 range because we have more buyers that can qualify in that area. Those are the ones that are really competing against 20 other buyers,” Neal told the station.
There was a time when a $500,000 house would have been considered a luxury home, Neal said.
"That’s not really the case anymore," she continued. “We’ve had over 150 homes last year that sold [for] over $1 million.”
Neighborhoods like North Albuquerque Acres in the Northeast Heights, the Northwest Heights, on the west side, north of Paseo Del Norte – where lots of new builds are going up – and northern Rio Rancho are among the big growth areas, Neal said. However, homes all over the area are increasing in value.
Those buying homes over $700,000 are mostly local professionals, not people moving to Albuquerque from out of state, Neal said.
Anyone on the fence about buying should move quickly since interest rates are rising, she added.