Third Quarter 2022
(Don’t miss the surprise at the end of this letter!)
There’s opportunity in every market!
All of you saw the Market Snapshot I sent you a few weeks ago. This was a comparison of the 3rd quarter of 2021 to the 3rd quarter of 2022. In the broader Santa Fe market, it revealed that the number of sales was down quarter over quarter, but prices were up. The same was true in Las Campanas. While prices remain strong, we’ve seen a growing number of price reductions. In the past 7 days, there have been 59 residential price reductions noted in the Multiple Listing Service, the large majority of which are for homes under $620,000 – Santa Fe’s median home sale price.
Looking at the first three quarters of each year (rather than quarter over quarter), the pattern is the same. In the first nine months of 2021, 82 homes in Las Campanas sold with an average sale price of $1,676,460 and a median of $1,497,500. In the first nine months of this year, 53 homes in Las Campanas sold with an average sale price of $1,812,568 and a median of $1,730,000. Interestingly, the highest sale price in both years was $4,000,000. The lowest priced sale in 2021 was $904,000 and this year to date it was $841,000. In each year, 15 homes sold at over $2,000,000. Right now, there are no homes in Las Campanas priced under $1 Million. It will be interesting to see where that leads us.
This is interesting information, but the real question is what’s going to happen next! The answer is clearly that no one knows for sure. The financial markets are in turmoil, mortgage rates have more than doubled, we have global uncertainties, rampant inflation and yet lumber prices have come down to a less death-defying level! In my 46 years in this business, I’ve lived through numerous recessions, housing bubbles, and interest rates that reached shocking levels. Though no one can predict the future, I can tell you that what anyone who is selling or buying real estate needs now more than ever is a trusted partner to help make their dreams and wishes come true and a partner who cooperates freely and often with other brokers. There are over 900 brokers in Santa Fe! You need the broker who puts you and your friends at the top of the list. If you have friends who are thinking about buying a home here, please tell them that even though the inventory of homes on the market remains low, they at least have a chance of getting into town to look before their favorite property flies off the market! If you’re thinking of selling, I can tell you from personal experience is that this truly isn’t a seasonal market in our price range. We have a unique place to live and there’s no reason to think that people won’t continue to be in love with Santa Fe and Las Campanas.
One thing we know for sure is that the real estate market is going to be volatile and somewhat unpredictable. Just remember that there’s opportunity in every market!
Marion
The most trusted Las Campanas Expert
Here’s the surprise I promised you from The Santa Fe Symphony. Be sure to cut and past it into your browser: https://www.santafesymphonytv.org/encore-series-2020/videos/bach-cello-suite1