Taos Real Estate trends

Taos Real Estate Market Data - Presented by The Lora Company

JULY 2010 - MARKET DATA AND COMMENTARY

For ALL categories of property (single-family homes, condos and townhouses, multi-family, land, and commercial):

JULY 2010 vs. JULY 2009:

Units sold        DECREASED from 38 to 28 (-26%).
Dollar sales    DECREASED from $10.4 million to $9.6 million (-8%).

Please note that these data are what was in the MLS system on August 19, 2010. Sometimes, sales are not put into the system in a timely manner; when they are added later, it causes monthly totals to change.

YEAR-TO-DATE THROUGH JULY (2010 vs. 2009)

Units sold INCREASED from 150 to 156 (+4%).
Dollar sales INCREASED from $35.6 million to $42.0 million (+18%).

Please refer to the accompanying chart for more detailed data.

The pattern that we have been seeing for months now continues: one month is up (June, for example), and the next month is down. July 2010 did not continue with June’s strong gains, and so we are still unable to confirm any kind of sustained upward trend.

Nevertheless, we still believe that the market has bottomed, and that we are in the very early stages of a recovery. We are forecasting a slight increase in the number of sales for the full year 2010 vs. 2009.
Prices, however, are predicted to remain flat. It will remain a buyer’s market, at least until next year. Buyers will continue to demand a good deal or they won’t buy. Many sellers seem finally to be accepting this reality, and are lowering asking prices accordingly and/or accepting lower offers.

July 2010 unit sales of single-family homes decreased vs. July of 2009 (from 21 to 17, or 19%). The dollar sales also decreased from $7,557,100 to $5,687,200 (25%). Condo sales were also down, from 7 to 4 units; however condo dollar sales were up from $1,447,000 to $2,626,000 (81%). Two units sold for over $1 million each at a new project near the Bavarian Lodge at Taos Ski Valley.

Year-to-date sales of single-family homes are still up vs. last year (97 vs. 81), despite sagging in July. Condos are still trailing last year’s pace (19 sold this year so far vs. 23 last year); but condo dollar sales are way up, due to three of those million-dollar units selling at Taos Ski Valley. (One wonders who is buying those properties, because the most expensive single-family sold this year was at $775,000, and there have only been four homes sold above $700,000.)

Median sales price of homes sold in July declined compared to the same month last year ($328,000 vs. $340,000). (The median is the price at which there is an equal number of units sold above and below it). The average price decreased from $359,900 to $334,500). The Taos housing market is so diverse, and the number of transactions in any given month is so low, that median and average prices for a single month are not particularly meaningful; the larger year-to-date number of transactions is a more useful gauge: Year-to-date median price is $285,000—exactly the same as last year; the average price through seven months is down slightly ($303,300 this year vs. $305,200 last year (- 1%).

Sales Mix: Of the 17 single-family homes that sold in July, the most expensive sold was the one noted above at $775,000. Year-to-date, 82 of the 97 homes sold were under or equal to $400,000 (85%); mid- and high-end buyers are still scarce. As a comparison, for the full year 2005, of the 209 single-family homes sold, 69% were priced up to $400,000; four homes sold over $1 million that year.

Inventory: The number of single-family houses available for sale increased again from the previous month. At the beginning of August, there were 487 houses on the market, compared to 463 at the beginning of July and 384 in February. Peak inventory was 518 in September 2008. Inventory and year-to-date sales by price segment are:

                                                                  Inventory              y-t-d Sold
                                Up to $ 300,000             214                       53
                        $300,001 - $ 400,000             95                       29
                        $400,001 - $ 500,000             50                        8
                        $500,001 - $ 600,000             30                        3
                        $600,001 - $ 750,000             24                        2
                        $750,001 - $ 900,000             27                        2
                        $900,001 - $1,500,000            36                        0
                                Over   $1,500,000           11                        0

                                                Total                487                      97
                                                    (33 have pending sales)

Days On Market: Year-to-date through July 2010, the average number of days on the market for single-family homes sold has been 259 vs. 276 for the same period in 2009. In Taos, the time to sell a house has always been relatively high. It is a small market, and there just aren’t many buyers at any given time. Even when the market was at its peak in 2004-2005, the average time to sell a house was about eight months (240 days).

Discounting: For single-family homes sold in July 2010, the actual sales price averaged 8.8% less than the last asking price when the property went “under contract.”   The discount from original asking price averaged 15.4%. Year-to-date, the discount is 7.7% from last asking price, but 14.3% from original list price.

Land sales: July 2010 had 6 closed transactions vs. 6 in July of 2009. Total dollar sales were down marginally from $706,600 to $702,500 (-1%). Year-to-date unit land sales are down slightly from 38 last year to 36 this year (-5%); however, dollar sales have increased from $3.2 million to $5.2 million (+63%).

At this time, not many buyers or developers are interested in buying land and building a home. Construction costs have not decreased much from the levels they had soared to during the boom. With prices of existing homes flat or decreasing, it makes less financial sense to build: in the current market, a newly-built house might be worth less upon completion than what it cost to build – at least according to appraisers!

Sellers: If you want to sell in the current market in a reasonable period of time, you need to price your home realistically – it may not be worth as much as you think! Prices are back where they were in 2005. You also need to address defects, and do all that you can to make the property as attractive as possible. Today’s buyers are not only demanding a good deal, they are picky about the condition and appearance of the property.

Buyers: It’s a great time to buy!! Interest rates are still very low. By the time it is clear that the market is definitely trending up, the excellent buying opportunities that currently exist will diminish. So if you want to own real estate here, now is the time to take advantage of what is still a buyer’s market. It won’t last forever! We believe that Taos real estate will provide very good price appreciation in the long term.

Please call us at 575-758-3275 with any questions, and we’ll be happy to discuss our real estate market – or anything else about Taos – with you.

Warm regards,

Peter and Amanda Lora
Brandon Rose

YEAR-T0-DATE MARKET STATISTICS:

Jan. - July 2009

Jan. - July 2010

Incr (Decr.)

% Change

Single Family Homes

# Units Sold

19.8%

Total Dollar Volume

$24,416,700

$29,423,500

$5,006,800

20.5%

Median Price

$285,000

0.0%

Average Price

$305,200

$303,300

($1,900)

-0.6%

Avg. Days on Market

276

259

(17)

-6.2%

Condos + Townhouses

# Units Sold

(4)

-17.4%

Total Dollar Volume

$4,443,200

$6,137,600

$1,694,400

38.1%

Median Price

$202,500

$185,000

N/A

Average Price

$193,200

$323,000

N/A

Avg. Days on Market

485

501

N/A

Total S-F Houses + Condos

# Units Sold

104

116

11.5%

Total Dollar Volume

$28,859,900

$35,561,100

$6,701,200

38.1%

Median Price

$248,000

$267,800

$19,800

8.0%

Average Price

$280,200

$306,600

$26,400

9.4%

Avg. Days on Market

323

299

(24)

-7.4%

Land

# Units Sold

38

(2)

-5.3%

Total Dollar Volume

$3,173,700

$5,168,500

$1,994,800

62.9%

Median Price

$63,000

$71,000

$8,000

12.7%

Average Price

$85,800

$143,600

$57,800

67.4%

Avg. Days on Market

230

383

153

66.5%

Commercial

# Units Sold

(4)

N/A

Total Dollar Volume

$3,603,400

$1,266,000

($2,337,400)

N/A

(2 sale price not disclosed)

Multi-Family

# Units

N/A

Total Dollar Volume

N/A

TOTAL - ALL CATAGORIES

# Units

150

156

4.0%

Total Dollar Volume

$35,637,000

$41,995,600

$6,358,600

17.8%

(Note: Data exclude Angel Fire, Black Lake, Eagle Nest, Red River, Chama, "Other" Area) Source: Taos Board of Realtors.
The data is believed to be accurate, but is not guaranteed
Based on data in the MLS system as of June 20, 2010

YEAR-TO-YEAR COMPARISONS:

	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
RESIDENTIAL (Excludes Condos + Townhouses)
# UNITS SOLD	351	330	245	185	159
TOTAL DOLLAR VOLUME	$116,732,000	$114,684,000	$93,063,700	$67,312,500	$50,055,900
MEDIAN PRICE	$290,500	$286,000	$325,000	$303,000	$298,000
AVERAGE PRICE	$333,500	$347,500	$379,900	$365,800	$318,800
Avg. Days on Mkt.	234	247	300	259	247
CONDOS + TOWNHOUSES
# UNITS SOLD	116	149	102	50	58
TOTAL DOLLAR VOLUME	$26,775,400	$38,643,000	$28,469,600	$13,550,700	$14,214,800
MEDIAN PRICE	$222,000	$251,000	$263,000	$257,000	$218,500
AVERAGE PRICE	$230,800	$259,300	$279,100	$288,300	$273,400
Avg. Days on Mkt.	301	339	442	405	427
TOTAL RESIDENTIAL
# UNITS SOLD	467	479	347	235	217
TOTAL DOLLAR VOLUME	$143,507,400	$153,327,000	$121,533,300	$80,863,200	$64,270,700
MEDIAN PRICE	$275,000	$271,300	$291,000	$290,000	$265,000
AVERAGE PRICE	$308,000	$320,100	$350,200	$350,100	$307,500
Avg. Days on Mkt.	250	275	341	290	295
LAND
# UNITS SOLD	339	296	165	112	77
TOTAL DOLLAR VOLUME	$46,028,700	$42,743,000	$21,146,600	$15,517,600	$6,616,900
MEDIAN PRICE	$90,000	$84,500	$89,000	$82,500	$65,000
AVERAGE PRICE	$135,800	$144,400	$128,200	$138,200	$90,700
Avg. Days on Mkt.	519	374	311	307	319
COMMERCIAL
# UNITS SOLD	19	8	16	7	12
TOTAL DOLLAR VOLUME	$8,735,600	$4,424,300	$18,401,500	$5,088,400	$5,113,200 (Est.)
MULTI-FAMILY
# UNITS SOLD	8	5	5	1	0
TOTAL DOLLAR VOLUME	$3,053,000	$2,728,500	$2,044,000	$120,000	$0
TOTAL - ALL
# UNITS SOLD	833	788	533	355	306
TOTAL DOLLAR VOLUME	$201,324,700	$203,222,800	$163,125,400	$101,589,200	$76,002,800

(Note: Data exlcude Angel Fire, Black Lake, Eagle Nest, Red River, Chama, "Other" Area)
Source: Taos Board of Realtors. The data is believed to be accurate, but is not guaranteed.

Taos is a great place to purchase property! We can find the right property for you!!

Call us at 575-758-3275, and let us help you get into this market.