April brings a healthy balance in local housing

180 residential properties changed hands in March, bringing a modest year over year momentum in closed sales and a stall in home prices as we start the spring buyer season in Southern New Mexico.   

Oil prices, jobs reports, and the military operation in Iran are all contributing factors to stalled interest rates, rising fuel costs, and market conditions that may cause some homebuyers nationwide to put their plans on hold. 

This month's report, however, shows our market continues to undergo a healthy rebalancing with lower home inventory levels and most homes now only spending roughly 30 days on the market before going under contract.

Last month's report showed signs of a buyers' market. By industry definition, a buyers' market is declared when an area carries over 5.5 months' worth of active inventory for a period of at least two months.   

Currently, southern New Mexico is holding 4.7 months, indicating a steady market still in favor of sellers. If you're a buyer in today's market, you still have quite a bit of negotiating power as options, especially in the median price homes, are much higher for buyers. 

Your real estate professional can broker great deals on closing costs, point buydowns, and even upgrades to new homes should you choose to work with a local builder. 

As we move into spring, these temperatures have been perfect for walking through open houses, touring model homes, driving vacant land, and my favorite - the annual Showcase of Homes that will be coming in June. 

The best way to describe the state of our housing market today is — balanced. Buyer and sellers' demands are now more equal. This is good news for both buyers and sellers, good news for investors, good news for anyone with home aspirations. 

It's still a great time to be a Las Cruces homeowner.