Is the Albuquerque Real Estate Market Important to Pagosa Springs?
Good question. Yes, actually, the Albuquerque economy is important to Pagosa Springs for several reasons. Historically, a large number of second home owners came to our area from Albuquerque. Today we still have a good number from Albuquerque and the Santa Fe area. Albuquerque is our closest neighbor of any real size and it has weathered the current recession relatively well. It continues to benefit from defense spending with several military installations as well as the large number of folks employed at Sandia Labs. Also, on the West Side of Albuquerque, Intel has had a major presence with several expansions and increases in employment.
So, our neighbor to the south is important to us and we benefit when their economy is doing well. I recently received a report on their real estate market from a broker I work with there. The numbers are encouraging. Though the average selling price for single family homes is down slightly, the number of transactions is up and the total dollar volume is up. Closings are up over 13% from the prior year. Also, the amount of inventory on the market in Albuquerque has declined by nearly 22% over last year. The Absorption Rate now indicates that Albuquerque has a 7 month supply, down from a 10 month supply in July of last year. These figures confirm their real estate market is improving and that will be good for Pagosa Springs. If our community, through the Town Tourism Committee, the Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Merchants Association, Board of Realtors and Builders Association, can come up with a creative and effective marketing campaign, perhaps we can attract more affluent visitors from Albuquerque.
For many years the timeshare operators pulled visitors up from New Mexico with free golf, dinners and balloon rides in exchange for sitting though a sales presentation. Perhaps we can attract more Albuquerque visitors by communicating the unique qualities and experiences Pagosa Springs has to offer. I have confidence in the marketing creativity members of our community can come up with.
For information on real estate in the Pagosa Springs or Durango area, be sure to visit our web site- www.pagosasource.com. Also, if you would like to discuss your real estate concerns or goals, please give me a call at 970 264-7000, or, drop me an email at: MikeHeraty@frontier.net
Thanks,
Mike
