RETURN TO HOMEAre You Thinking of Living in Albuquerque New Mexico?
A conversation with Rich Cederberg, RE/MAX Finest, Albuquerque NM
The Duke City
Straddling the banks of the Rio Grande, surrounded by mountains to the east, volcanoes to the west and Indian reservations to the north and south lies the largest city in the state of New Mexico: Albuquerque. Albuquerque is the 34th largest city in the United States with a population of approximately 535,239. Albuquerque is sometimes called the Duke City, named not after John Wayne but after Spaniard Francisco Fernández de la Cueva, the Duke of Alburquerque. We’ve since dropped the extra “r” and now we’re correctly spelled Albuquerque.
The People
To understand Albuquerque, you have to understand the people of New Mexico. We are an incredibly diverse population that blends the influences of Native Americans, Hispanics and Anglos. We are so culturally diverse that we were one of the first states to be labeled a minority/majority state. Today we are one of only four such states along with Hawaii, California and Texas.
The city was founded in 1706 as a Spanish colonial outpost. Today there are many Albuquerque families with ties to original Spanish settlers. Whether it’s the fall tradition of the burning of the Zozobra in Santa Fe, the National Hispanic Cultural Center near the old Barelas Neighborhood or the adobe inspired architecture, the influence of Spanish culture is inescapable.
Of course Native American Indians have been here even longer. Today there are 19 Indian Pueblos in New Mexico, and seven or so Pueblos are located relatively near the city. Many Albuquerqueans travel to feast days at the Pueblos to observe Native American Culture as it has been passed down through the generations of pueblo people. Another favorite spot for tourists is the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center near Old Town where Indian Dancers perform frequently. Native Americans display their handmade Jewelry at the Historic Old Town plaza and at the Amtrak station when the Southwest Chief makes it daily stops.
More recently Route 66 and the atomic energy age help infused Albuquerque with a new and unusual breed of inhabitants called engineers. Kirtland Air Force Base opened in 1939 followed by Los Alamos National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratory in 1949. All three institutions are still thriving today.
It’s an unusual blend of people to be sure, and no single day goes untouched by this unique blend of people and culture.
Historic Sites
There are several interesting anthropological sites in and within an easy two hour drive of Albuqu
erque. Petroglyph National Monument is the closest, located on the city’s west side. Petroglyph National Monument is home to over 24,000 images carved into lava rock by Native Americans. There are many miles of hiking trails from which to view the carvings.
Coronado State Monument is just north of town. This is where Francisco Vasquez de Coronado entered the Rio Grande valley “while looking for the fabled Seven Cities of Gold.” You can climb down into a reconstructed kiva and view some beautiful murals.
El Morro National Monument is an hour to the west. Sometimes called inscription rock, El Morro has inscriptions carved into the rock going back as far as the early 1600’s, and Pecos National Monument just north of Santa Fe is another interesting site with a partially reconstructed Spanish mission church and Indian Pueblo.
Albuquerque Real Estate Market
The Albuquerque Metro Real Estate market was not affected by the real estate slowdown until late 2007. Sales and prices remained fairly strong into the fall of that year. The peak number of sales was in 2006, and the peak of the pricing market was in 2007.
In general, the Albuquerque Real Estate Market was not affected like the harder hit coastal areas or our closer neighbors Phoenix and Las Vegas. By comparison, the real estate slowdown here has been minimal. Distressed property sales have increased over the last year and are not expected to peak for some time yet. Short sales and bank owned home sales comprise up to 30% of the market depending upon the neighborhood you are looking in. Higher end areas like Placitas and Corrales have had very few sales over the last two years but are showing signs of picking up.
Education
Albuquerque public schools do not rank well nationally. New Mexico is almost always near the bottom of the list of best educated states. As a result, a high percentage of families send their children to private schools. Popular public high schools however include La Cueva, Eldorado, and Sandia in Northeast Albuquerque and Volcano Vista and Cibola in Northwest Albuquerque.
The University of New Mexico, the largest university in the state, is located on Central Avenue near downtown, and many students attend Central New Mexico Community College which has several conveniently located campuses around town. The University of New Mexico has a Valencia County Campus and is just completing the first building of the Rio Rancho campus too.
Going Green
Green building has increased in popularity over the last five years. Paul Allen Homes started building Green homes in Northwest Albuquerque in about 2008. The homes are energy efficient but affordable too. There was also a more upscale green development that began as early as 2006 on top of the Northwest Mesa called La Cuentista, but building there has come to a stop in the current economic market.
Large tract builders, Pulte and DR Horton have greatly increased their energy efficiency over the last two years and now advertise energy star appliances and features as well as incredibly low utility costs.
Realtors and Technology
The average Albuquerque Realtor is lagging behind the average Realtor in other parts of the country. Only 1 out of 7 active Realtors has their own website with the IDX (Internet Data Exchange) feature so they can display all the current listings on Southwest MLS on their personal websites. Blogging is rare, there are only a handful of active bloggers in the market, as evidenced by gross underrepresentation on sites like ActiveRain.com. Very few, if any, Albuquerque Realtors are using Social Media sites such as Facebook and Twitter for business.
Selling your Albuquerque home in 2010
Selling an Albuquerque home in 2010 is a difficult task. In one of the neighborhoods I am most familiar with, Ventana Ranch, over 50% of the homes placed on the market expired or were cancelled before they sold. The only exceptions to this were the months at the end of the first time home buyer tax credit in November and then in May when closings outpaced expired/cancelled listing. Otherwise, there were more expired/cancelled listings than those sold. That means there’s only a 50/50 chance a house placed on the market will sell.
Albuquerque home buyers are bargain shoppers. They are viewing short sales, bank owned homes and homes that are truly priced to sell. The homes that they view that aren’t distressed properties are priced well below the highs of 2006/2007 and are in better condition too. To sell in this market not only must a home be priced aggressively, but it must be in near perfect condition too. Sellers frequently ask me if they will get back the money they spend to update their home. My answer is no, but it may make the difference between the house selling and not selling at all.
It’s a brutal market for sellers. It’s not a good time to “test” the market.
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About Rich Cederberg- Albuquerque Realtor Rich Cederberg (505.803.5012) has been selling real estate in Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, Corrales, Placitas, Los Lunas and the Albuquerque east mountain area of New Mexico since 2004. One of Albuquerque most progressive Realtors his Albuquerque Real Estate Blog is the top rated blog in New Mexico on ActiveRain, and he uses Social Media to find clients and advertise property. Visit his Ventana Ranch blog, one of his many websites, his facebook fan page, or follow him on Twitter.