Taos Real Estate

I truly believe that one of the reasons the real estate brokerage profession is denigrated by some is the tendency of Realtors to ALWAYS have great news.  First, the National Assn. of Realtors seems to release TV ads several times a year with "It's a great time to buy a home!"  And, real estate agents and brokers around the world parrot that commercial message regularly.

At any given time, it is a great time to buy a home for some people.  They may be changing jobs or have a need to increase their home size for a larger family.  But, when real estate professionals believe that they must always "keep on a good face" for the consumer, it's misleading and self-serving.  It reminds me of the Hans Christian Andersen tale of "The Emperor's New Clothes."  Rather than appear stupid, the emperor road through town with no clothes on, pretending that he could see his new suit.

In a recent publication, for which I was interviewed about the Taos real estate market and statistics, there are quotes touting this market as "very busy" and saying "don't wait."  However, I did go to the MLS statistics to verify that, like most brokerages here, over the last three to four years, at least one of these broker's gross real estate transaction volume has dropped by 49%.  Here's the entire MLS sold data for all property types for January through Sep 26th each year:

• 2005 - 880 transactions for a total  of $168,186,923
• 2006 - 861 transactions for a total of $ 192,021,346
• 2007 - 575 transactions for a total of $ 155,440,487
• 2008 - 400 transactions for a total of $ 105,126,592 Down 45.3% in dollar volume, and down 53.6% in number of transactions from the high in 2006.

There are other ways to sell property than through the Taos real estate MLS, but it is the vast majority of all transaction activity here.  There are also many disclaimers about the accuracy of our MLS data, and there are definitely errors in data entry.  However, it's pretty clear that our market has dramatically contracted in gross transaction dollar volume.  Buyers are waiting for the mortgage situation to be resolved, election results, and generally a better feeling about the economy.

A well-priced home will sell now, almost as quickly as it would have three years ago.  The difference is that the majority of homes listed right now are priced well over the market, and they have little chance of moving unless the market improves substantially.  One reason for the lower gross numbers is the tendency of our sellers to keep their prices up, even if they have to wait a year or more to sell.

• 2006 - Average sold property price was $223,021, and the Median price was $165,000
• 2008 - Average sold property price is $265,471, with the Median price at $196,500

The good news is that prices haven't plummeted here as in many areas, and there are values out there for the buyer who is careful.  The bad news is that there is still a lot of over-priced property here for the current market.  Sellers who really want to sell need to get some "reality" realty advice from their Realtor.

I'm not "Chicken Little" but I'm not the emperor either.

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