New Mexico’s housing market is facing tight inventory, shifting national commission rules, and a steady outflow of young professionals. Cassandra Morrison, state broker leader at Real Broker, says the state needs clarity, ethics, and hands-on training to steady the market.
Morrison was born in Washington, D.C., and moved to Albuquerque in the early 1980s. She served 20 years with the Albuquerque Police Department and later shifted to real estate, marking 15 years in the business and rising into leadership. She manages 204 brokers statewide, runs weekly Zoom meetings, pushes “force education” on forms updates, and chairs Professional Standards at the Greater Albuquerque Association of Realtors.
Morrison describes the move from policing to property as “natural.” “I still do a lot of negotiations today in real estate, and I still manage crisis,” she says. “If people don’t get their way in a contract, you see tears, and you have to walk them through the happy process.” Street-level familiarity helps, according to her. “I already know the streets of Albuquerque, and that definitely helps me in my line of work today.”
Market conditions remain tight, in her view, yet workable. “I always think it’s a great market,” she says. “We have willing and able buyers to buy the homes that are available.” Inventory, she adds, remains below historical norms. “Right now, our inventory is approximately 50% of what the normal inventory was … still low … but a lot more homes than we had during Covid.”
Morrison says most of her clients have been sellers. “They are selling to either move into a different home or leave the state.” Career opportunities often drive departures. “They got a job offer in another state that’s spectacular, and they can’t afford to say no.”
Younger residents also follow that pattern. “If they want a professional career that requires a degree, they get the degree locally and then leave to get a better paying job somewhere else,” she says.
The commission landscape changed after last year’s high-profile settlement. Morrison insists the new paperwork formalizes practices she already used. “We need the buyer’s broker’s commission to be disclosed properly,” she says. “When I represent the seller, I communicate with the seller how much they are going to pay me … the buyer broker then has to ask the seller for compensation, and if they don’t get anything, then they have to ask their buyer.”
Transparency now extends to MLS rules. “Compensation is not listed anywhere in any MLS anymore … you have to do it by form.”
Morrison declines dual agency because of divided loyalties. “I choose not to do that because it gets very muddy,” she says. “When I represent a client, I represent one client.” Referral networks fill the gap, she says. “I refer to somebody who is very good at their job, has good negotiation skills, and has a high level of integrity.”
According to her, lack of integrity has been a challenge. Professional Standards gives the guardrails. “We are the judiciary for people who violate the code of ethics … fines can be up to $15,000 on the first fine.” Case studies become training without naming names. “Do you want to be that person?”
Technology and structure power Morrison’s statewide team. “Every week, Tuesday mornings at 10 a.m., I have a statewide meeting … all recorded,” she says. Real’s back-end tools speed execution. “The minute my documents hit my system … the next morning I have just-listed flyers, open house flyers—everything I need.”
Public perception, she argues, undervalues professional work. “We are professionals,” she says. “You are dealing with one of the largest financial commitments of your life … the average purchase package is about 85 pages that I have to make sure a buyer understands.”
