Quarterly median home prices plunge as first-time purchasers take advantage of tax credit

Bob Quick | The New Mexican

10/14/2009 – 10/15/09

For the first time in years, lower-priced homebuyers are driving the market in Santa Fe, pushing the median home sales price down an astonishing 32 percent in the city from a year ago.

The quarter saw about the same overall volume as a year ago because of an increase in county sales from 115 to 140. Total sales in the city, however, dropped 29 percent from 190 to 135, with the vast majority of the sales being buyers looking to take advantage of the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit, said Mary Schroeder, president of the Santa Fe Association of Realtors.

Because of the new market — these buyers are looking for homes under $250,000 — there appears to be more affordable homes being built in the Santa Fe area, said Mary Schroeder, president of the Santa Fe Association of Realtors.

“We used to be in denial about the price of real estate in Santa Fe,” she said. “Now buyers and sellers are coming together … and we’re seeing a lot of sales in the lower end of the market. People are taking advantage of that tax credit.”

Schroeder spoke at a quarterly news conference of the Santa Fe Association of Realtors held to discuss sales results for the third quarter of 2009 and current trends in real estate in Santa Fe.

The association cautions that the median sales price is based on properties listed through the Multiple Listing Service, which does not necessarily include every sale in the area but historically has been used to track trends in the market. The median sales price means as many homes sold for more than that price as sold for less.

Total single-family detached-home sales in the city and county, combined from July 1 to Sept. 30, dropped from 305 in 2008 to 275 in 2009, while the median price dropped 8 percent in the county to $395,000. (more…)