Real Estate:Homes Prices & Housing Units

In terms of price change, the metro Albuquerque real estate market ranks just about the middle among 273 metros around the nation from June 2007 through June 2008, according to the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO).
During the one-year period, the average metro home increased 0.95% in price. During the second quarter of 2008, prices dropped one percent.
OFHEO gets these numbers come from conforming, conventional mortgages
provided by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for both purchases and refinancing. Higher value “non-conforming” loans, are not included.

Metro Albuquerque Housing units as of 7-1-2007
County Housing Units / Change Since 7-1-2000
Bernalillo 275,424 / + 35,870 +15%
Sandoval 43,723 / + 8,443 +24%
Valencia 26,583 / + 1,848 +7%
Torrance 7,632 / + 341 +5%
Metro Total 353,362 / + 46,682 +15%

Metro Albuquerque had 353,000 housing units on July 1, 2007, according to a new report from the Census Bureau. That’s 41% of the state’s housing units and an increase of 46,500 units or 15% from July 1, 2000. Metro Albuquerque is home to 835,000 people or 42% of New Mexicans.
Over the seven years since the census in 2000, Sandoval County, which is mostly Rio Rancho, added 8,443 housing units for a total of 43,700. That was 24% of the metro new housing units during the period.
A “housing unit,” the Census Bureau explains, is a place with its own entrance where people live separately from others. A boat can be a housing unit. So can a railroad car.
The state's four metro areas, together, had 537,484 housing units, or 62% of the state total on July 1, 2007. The metro's total population was 1,299,293, which means that 66% of New Mexico's 1.97 million people are urban. Having a higher percentage of people than housing units suggests the urban areas have more people per housing unit.