Home sales fall for 4th-straight year

LAS CRUCES - The market might be rough, but the Licon family is hoping for the one buyer who will make their gamble worthwhile.

Even though home sales continue to decrease, Denisse Licon said her parents, Eliszabeth and Armando, decided it was time to put their home at 850 Luna St., up for sale.

She said they wanted to be ahead of the game in the tight market.

"We know that the best time for the market is the springtime, but we said, 'Let's go ahead,'" Denisse Licon said. The four-bedroom house is currently listed at $120,000.

Statistics recently released by the Las Cruces Association of Realtors show that, as of the end of November, 1,042 homes have sold in Las Cruces this year with a median value of $163,429. Last year, for the same time period, 1,281 homes sold with a median value of $164,190. This marked the fourth-straight year that Las Cruces has seen a decline in home sales. In 2006, LCAR reports that 2,082 homes sold, nearly double the 2010 mark, at a median price of $184,050.

Evan Self with Garland Realty is the incoming president of LCAR and he said he expects the market to pretty much stay the same as 2011 rolls around.

"It's not a great market," Self said. "(But) we're holding steady."

He said that phones are ringing at his office.

"My properties are selling for the asking prices," he said.

The National Association of Realtors hopes that low interest rates will stimulate activity.

"Low interest

rates mean real money for today's home buyers," said NAR President Ron Phipps. "Buyers who purchased a median-priced home five years ago with an FHA mortgage requiring a 3 percent down payment would have a monthly mortgage payment of $1,650. With today's interest rates and median home prices, that same buyer would pay $1,150 per month - a $500 savings. That's a savings of $6,000 per year."

The problem, though, is it's a tough time to be looking for a housing loan said Dolores Rosell, housing counselor/educator for YWCA Credit Counseling & Home Ownership Center in Las Cruces. Credit is tight and to have a good shot at a home loan, she said you need to probably have to have a minimum credit score of 620.

"A lot of people say, 'But I have a job. I've been doing this or I've been doing that,'" Rosell said.

Still, even if you are not in a position to be approved for a loan right now, you can start to put yourself in a position to do so in the future.

"We go over their credit and work a plan," she said. "But I tell them, 'Don't expect your credit score jump (immediately).'"

Brook Stockberger can be reached at (575) 541-5457

 

 

Home sales

Here are the home sales statistics through the end of November for each of the past five years:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Year	Sales	Median price
2010	1,042	$163,429
2009	1,281	$164,190
2008	1,307	$180,000
2007	1,903	$184,500
2006	2,082	$184,050

Source: Las Cruces Association of Realtors