Albuquerque NM Home Sales

The famous band leader is aptly describing a day like today, when we have to report both a surprising boost in Housing Starts, along with an unexpected bomb from Existing Home Sales. Starting with the “good day” stuff, Housing Starts were up 22.7% in November, to a 1.091 million unit annual rate. This was well above expectations and the highest level for starts in more than five years. New Building Permits dipped slightly in November, but still beat forecasts, hitting a 1.007 million annual rate. Small wonder the NAHB home builders confidence index was up 4 points in December, to its highest level in 8 years.

The “bad day” news is the unexpected 4.3% drop in Existing Home Sales in November, to a 4.90 million annual rate. Many feel a lack of inventory is keeping sales down and there was in fact a slight decline in inventories for the month. In addition, existing home sales are counted at closing (versus new home sales, calculated when a home goes under contract). November sales went under contract in September and October. During the government shutdown in October, some closings were delayed because income couldn’t be verified by the IRS. This is why various analysts expect existing home sales to rebound in the coming months.

However, Albuquerque NM Home Sales for Single Family detached homes saw a 2.5% increase in November compared to last year. The Listing Inventory for Single Family homes increased 9% over last year.

FULL ALBUQUERQUE NM HOME SALES REPORT