Weekend of July 25th, 2008

The start of the school year is just around the corner for many families in Albuquerque. Why not start the new school year off with a new house? There is a great selection of homes on the market right now. This weekend there are 77 open houses in Albuquerque listed in the MLS.

If the start of the new school year finds you at UNM, there are 8 homes being held open in the UNM area. View all UNM area and UNM South homes for sale.

View all open houses in Albuquerque listed in the MLS.

Albuquerque Home Market Report

Four Hills

See the most up-to-date list of Four Hills homes for sale.

If you are looking to buy or sell a home in Four Hills, please contact me today.

Four Hills is bounded by Central and Tramway, and by Kirtland Air Force Base and the Foothills.

Four Hills Area Resources

These statistics were compiled from the Greater Albuquerque Association of REALTORS® data on 07/23/2008 at 6:00 p.m. This data is reflective of homes which were listed on the MLS; private sales are not included. Information was obtained from sources deemed reliable but not guaranteed. This information should not be used to determine the value of any property. Photos are for illustration purposes only and do not necessarily represent current or past listings.

I was out showing homes to a couple in High Desert this weekend. Who wouldn’t want to enjoy a view like this?

High Desert features stunning views of the Sandia Mountains and fantastic city lights at night. There are plenty of walking of trails and access to vast open space. Enjoy luxury living in High Desert.

View all luxury homes for sale in Albuquerque or an up-to-date list of homes in High Desert

Albuquerque Home Market Report

Foothills South

See the most up-to-date list of Foothills South homes for sale, including single-family homes and condos. If you are looking to buy or sell a home in Foothills South, please contact me today. Foothills South is located east of Tramway, between Montgomery and Central.

Foothills South Area Resources

These statistics were compiled from the Greater Albuquerque Association of REALTORS® data on 07/20/2008 at 6:00 p.m. This data is reflective of homes which were listed on the MLS; private sales are not included. Information was obtained from sources deemed reliable but not guaranteed. This information should not be used to determine the value of any property. Photos are for illustration purposes only and do not necessarily represent current or past listings.

Albuquerque Home Market Report

Northeast Heights

See the most up-to-date list of Northeast Heights homes for sale. If you are looking to buy or sell a home in Northeast Heights, please contact me today. The Northeast Heights is bounded by Montgomery and Central, and by Tramway and Wyoming.

Northeast Heights Area Resources

These statistics were compiled from the Greater Albuquerque Association of REALTORS® data on 07/19/2008 at 6:00 p.m. This data is reflective of homes which were listed on the MLS; private sales are not included. Information was obtained from sources deemed reliable but not guaranteed. This information should not be used to determine the value of any property. Photos are for illustration purposes only and do not necessarily represent current or past listings.

Weekend of July 18th, 2008

This weekend there are over 100 open houses in Albuquerque listed in the MLS. This includes 21 luxury homes and there’s even two homes with over an acre of land; one is in Four Hills and the other one is located in Sandia Heights.

If you are relocating to Albuquerque and are unfamiliar with our area, you can check out my Albuquerque Neighborhoods resource page for more information regarding the NE, SE and Downtown areas.

View all open houses in Albuquerque that are listed in the MLS. List is updated daily so check back often!

With so many homes to choose from, now is a good time to find your new home. Give me a call or send me an email to get started on your home search.

Last weekend I was showing houses to a client relocating to Albuquerque. Sellers, please turn on the air conditioning! Unfortunately, 7 out of the 8 vacant homes we looked at in Tanoan were unbearably hot. It was about 90F and 60% humidity that day and these homes made it difficult for a potential buyer to consider them. Some homes were so hot my buyer didn’t even finish looking at them.

The one with the A/C on? My buyer spent a much longer time looking through that home–even going back through some of the rooms a second time.

The results of that day of home previewing? The buyer couldn’t remember alot of the details of the many hot homes we looked at, with the exception of one recent stunning home with breathtaking views of the golf course and the Sandia Mountains.

All of these luxury homes were in the $600,000-$800,000 price range.

Consider the fact that the holding cost of a vacant home far exceeds the utility costs of cooling the home for a few months–since making it easier to view the home will make it sell faster.

With over 7,000 homes currently on the market, 512 of them luxury homes, your home has to really stand out! Making the house in the comfortable 72F-74F range can leave your prospective buyers with a more positive, lasting impression of your home. Remember, not everyone looking at your house is used to the desert heat. Don’t leave you home a "hot house"!

Sellers, please leave the utilities on! Buyers need to be able to see the house. Even during the day, some areas of the house and garage can be quite dark. This can make for some dangerous, unfamiliar stairs or steps.

Remember, showcase your beautiful home with plenty of light!

Albuquerque Home Market Report

UNM South

See the most up-to-date list of UNM South homes for sale. If you are looking to buy or sell a home in UNM South, please contact me today. The UNM South area is bounded by I-25 and San Mateo, and by Central and Gibson/ABQ Sunport.

UNM South Area Resources

These statistics were compiled from the Greater Albuquerque Association of REALTORS® data on 07/16/2008 at 6:00 p.m. This data is reflective of homes which were listed on the MLS; private sales are not included. Information was obtained from sources deemed reliable but not guaranteed. This information should not be used to determine the value of any property. Photos are for illustration purposes only and do not necessarily represent current or past listings.

Walk Score is a website that ranks the walkability of neighborhoods. Just type in an address, and it will calculate the walk score based on location to stores, restaurants, schools, parks, etc.

I think this is a good idea but, at least in Albuquerque, it doesn’t seem to work well. Unfortunately, based on some of the addresses I tested, the information isn’t always accurate.

I ran several addresss and the information is pretty interesting–let’s take a look at the results.

Example One:

Revi Don and Spain: just west of Morris and North of Montgomery.

The Mountain Run Shopping Center includes a grocery store, Subway, and Walgreens shows as being 0.37 miles, but my Google map shows 1.1 miles. Still walkable, but not next door.

The park location mentioned is Academy Hills Park, a very nice park located across from the Mountain Run Shopping Center which, as we learned, is 1.1 miles away. For some reason, the tool fails to mention the equally nice park, El Oso Grande, located 0.3 miles away–a much more walkable park than the first one.

The bookstore mentioned is labelled "TVI Bookstore," which is a community college bookstore–not what you would probably be looking for. By the way, the "TVI Community College" is now known as the CNM Community College, which hasn’t been updated.

Ok, this one is missing the mark, so let’s try another neighborhood.

Example Two:

For this example, we are going to the Four Hills neighborhood, located in SE Albuquerque. I located Lanier SE, a small area of new townhomes, which is southeast of Central and Four Hills Blvd.

The tool shows that the Albertsons grocery store is 1.95 miles away, when it is actually about 0.3 miles. The La Luz de Amistad Park is indeed about 0.2 miles away as shown, but this is more of a green spot than a family park. The tool seems to calculate the restuarants correctly. Most of the bars are over three miles away, making them a bit of a stretch to include in the lineup. But when compared to the 8.78 miles to the Sunshine Theatre, they are just a short stroll. Would you consider 8.78 miles a walkable neighborhood location?

Example Three:

I think the UNM South area is a very walkable neighborhood. Let’s find out how the tool measures up. We’ll start at the corner of Gold and Terrance.

The Smith’s Food and Drug at Lead and Yale is accurate at 0.33 miles. The Frontier Restaurant, a long-time fixture in the UNM area, is shown at 0.29 miles–close enough to Google’s 0.4 miles. This time, the Sunshine Theatre shows up at a more walkable 1.37 miles. Looks like we have our winning example!

Overall, we had two misses and one hit. Actually, I think the more walkable a neighborhod is, the more accurate this tool is. If you are not familiar with an area, it is important to work with an agent who knows the neighborhoods and can help you locate the right one for your lifestyle. While a website tool like this might be fun to play with, it doesn’t replace competant local expertise. That’s where I come in. If you are relocating to Albuquerque and need help finding the right neighborhood for you, drop me an email or give me a call.

Albuquerque Home Market Report

Uptown Area

See the most up-to-date list of Uptown Area homes for sale, including single-family homes and condos. If you are looking to buy or sell a home in the Uptown Area, please contact me today. The Uptown area is bounded by Montgomery and I-40, and by I-25 and Wyoming.

Uptown Albuquerque Area Resources

These statistics were compiled from the Greater Albuquerque Association of REALTORS® data on 07/14/2008 at 6:00 p.m. This data is reflective of homes which were listed on the MLS; private sales are not included. Information was obtained from sources deemed reliable but not guaranteed. This information should not be used to determine the value of any property. Photos are for illustration purposes only and do not necessarily represent current or past listings.