Tips for Holiday Decorating on a Budget

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The holidays are approaching. Today, we thought we'd do something a little different and share this festive video on holiday decorating tips from HGTV. Designer Angelo Surmelis shares several great ideas to spread holiday cheer throughout the home. Here are some of our favorites.

Pay attention to the mantle. If you don't have some already, buy some kind of garland to drape over the mantle. Next, use leftover ornaments and candles to add light and texture. When choosing ornaments and candles, ensure they are in the same color-palette. This helps make your mantle a great focal point!

Use smaller Christmas trees. Every house has their main Christmas tree. In addition, you can also purchase smaller, inexpensive, eco-friendly trees to place throughout the home. Decorate these trees with strips of fabric from a T-shirt in holiday colors to save money for the main tree.

Use what you have. Be resourceful. Adding a plate charger and place mat to your everyday dining set adds some jazz to your table. Fresh-cut flowers and candles will help finish the look. You don't need grand, expensive candles -- a little candlelight goes a long way!

As you can see, it doesn't take much to make your home feel more festive. If you have any questions, give us a call or send us an email. We would be happy to help you!

What Is the Down Payment Assistance Program?

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Have you got your eye on a new home? If so, you're in luck! There is still time to get into a new home by the end of the year.

Some of you may think you can't afford a new home, but you can! There's a great program here in New Mexico offered through the Mortgage Finance Authority. It's called the down payment assistance program.

For as little as $500, you can get into a new home. There are two programs available. One is a grant, the other is a loan. You can earn up to $75,000 a year and still qualify for the down payment assistance program.

If you're interested in buying a home, now is a great time to do so. Not only can you take advantage of this great program, but you can also take advantage of our phenomenally low interest rates.

If you have any questions for us, give us a call or send us an email. We would be happy to help you get into a new home in time for Christmas!

What Is Most Important When Renovating Your Home in Albuquerque?

Plan Ahead When Renovating

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Today, we want to share a video from HGTV to discuss how you can plan ahead when it comes to home renovations. Renovating your home can be an exciting process, but it's important that you don't get ahead of yourself. You can't just go willy-nilly into a major project and expect it to go perfectly. Planning properly for these types of projects can assure a smooth project, and one that may even cost less!

HGTV’s Amy Matthews recommends making a very detailed timeline of your project, including potential things that could go awry and making backup plans in order to prevent these things from happening. Putting your plan onto paper is a good way to start this process.

Another major step is choosing a good team of contractors that you can communicate with. If they don't know what you want done, they can't do it. 

Just remember, there is no such thing as too much planning! If you plan on renovating your Albuquerque home, please contact us. We know great contractors and could also give you advice on what projects will bring you the highest return on your investment. 

We look forward to hearing from you!

Albuquerque Real Estate Market Update

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Today I'd like to give you a detailed look at what's happening in our local market. When you go out and buy or sell homes, I want you to know what's happening in our market. 

As you can see in the chart, 5,318 homes have sold in our area this year, and we've seen a 12% increase in home sales over last year. Also, you can see that we're making a nice recovery from when the market tanked in 2008 and 2009. 

The next chart shows inventory over the last few years, and as you can see, inventory is historically low right now. We're currently just below six months of supply, and this is making our market favor sellers. 

Active homes for sale have also evened out over the years from when the market boomed in 2005 and when it crashed in 2008. 

Lastly, the average sale price hasn't fluctuated too much over the years, but it is trending upward right now. We're currently seeing an average sale price of $204,000.

Our local market appears to be moving in the right direction. The market is stable, and it's very healthy. It's not moving as fast as some sellers want it to, but I feel very good about this market.

If you have any questions or concerns for me, please don't hesitate to reach out to me!

Where Is the Albuquerque Market Heading?

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Today, we want to give you a quick update on market conditions here in Albuquerque.

You've probably seen in the news that interest rates have been inching up as of late. They're still low, but this rise is expected to continue for some time.

We're currently seeing low inventory, which is making it hard for the many buyers out there who are looking for the perfect home. If you're thinking about selling, now might be the ideal time to get top dollar for your home and sell quickly!

Despite low inventory, we currently have a good assortment of homes available. In some other markets, some homes are getting up to 20 offers within a week of getting listed! Inventory is low but stable in Albuquerque, which means it's not a bad time to be a buyer either!

Now is a great time to be a move-up buyer, which is someone looking to move from their $150K-$250K home to buy a home that's around $400K. There are a lot of buyers looking for homes in the $150K-$250K range, and there aren't many buyers to compete with in the higher price ranges. 

If you have any questions about where our market is heading, or if you need real estate assistance of any kind, give us call or shoot us an email. We would love to help you take advantage of our healthy market!

Should You Build a New Home in Albuquerque?

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 We're already starting to see signs of springtime here in Albuquerque, and we're not just talking about the weather. Many homeowners are getting ready to buy a home, and have asked us whether they should buy a new or existing home. Today, we want to share the pros of each, so you're prepared by the time the spring real estate season hits!

Why buy a new home?

• Everything is updated: When you buy a new home, it will have the latest and greatest styles and construction methods. Most of the homes now are energy efficient, so your heating and cooling bills will be lower. 
• Builders warranty: Pretty much anything that could possibly go wrong in the first year will be covered by a warranty. If something happens, you simply need to call the builder and they'll come out and address the problem.  
• Financing packages: When you build a new home there is often a financing package from the builder, where they'll help you with some of the closing costs and other fees. 

Why buy an existing home?

• Neighborhood has matured: In an established neighborhood, trees are larger and the chances that you'll have more extravagant landscaping are high.
• More character: Older homes often have unique touches to them that are hard to find in contemporary homes. 
• Location: You can find older homes throughout the city. From Westside to Rio Rancho, the University to Sandia Heights and more, you'll find preexisting homes everywhere in the Greater Albuquerque area. New homes are in specific areas, so you don't have as much say when it comes to location.

So, what's the best decision for you? If you need help deciding or would like to talk it through, come by our office for a buyer consultation. We'll sit down and talk about your comfort level. When you buy an existing house, there are three types to consider: move-in ready, good condition, and the fixer upper. As you can see, once you've made your decision, there is still a whole lot more to figure out before beginning the search.

Give us a call or shoot us a quick email if you have any questions. We would love to give you a hand!

What Can You Expect from Albuquerque Real Estate in 2015?

There are many great Albuquerque area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (877) 933-6881 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

 

It's hard to believe 2014 is already behind us and the new year is in full swing! Since it all happens so fast, we thought we would take a look back at the last 12 months in real estate and see what it tells us about the coming year.

In 2014, we saw just over 10,000 homes sell in the Albuquerque metro area, which was a decrease of about 2% over 2013. Prices, on the other hand, saw a rise of 2%, and the average price of homes increased by about 1%. One thing that many of us got wrong was the direction of interest rates. We expected them to hit 5% by the end of 2014, but they actually continued to fall!

What can we expect in 2015? For one, many in the industry are expecting this year to mark the return of the first-time home buyer, as millenials are predicted to come out in droves! We're predicting that the number of homes sold will rise by a healthy amount, and we expect appreciation to continue at its current steady rate.

Rumors have it that a large, national home builder will be working in Northeast Heights this year. This is big news for the area, as there haven't been many exciting developments in that area in quite some time. Also, the Petroglyphs area has a master-planned community coming in 2015, so keep an eye out for that.

Lending practices have been loosened a bit to allow more people to enter the housing market, which is great news for buyers and sellers alike. Fannie and Freddie have brought back their 3% down payment program for first-time home buyers. On top of that, FHA has decreased their insurance premium, which will allow even more people to qualify for loans! 

We think this is going to be a steady, perhaps even "boring," year. By that we mean you aren't going to see erratic swings in the marketplace, which is great news. If you have any questions about what you can expect to see in Albuquerque real estate in the coming year, don't hesitate to give us a call or shoot us an email. We would love to hear from you!