Jan. 14, 2014

Good "ole" Texas Days Beginning Thursday, Jan. 23, Angel Fire Resort will be celebrating "Good Ole Texas Days" weekend. Be sure to sign up for your VIP package. This package includes discounts on lodging, tickets, first tracks and a special "meet and greet" with their musical guests. Also during the month of January, lodging rates run as low as $98.00 per night. What a deal! Don't forget to take time out from all this fun, to visit New Mexico Mountain Properties and check out our excellent deals on real estate. New Mexico Mountain Properties is sure to have your dream home at a very affordable price. Want to build your own dream home? New Mexico Mountain Properties has lots, and 10 to 20 acre parcels that have been drastically reduced. Prindle Brothers Construction, located in the same building, has numerous plans for you to choose from to build your dream log home. What can be more perfect than finding your perfect parcel of land as well as your perfect dream log home all in one stop?

Trulia's Housing Barometer has been tracking the housing market's recovery since February 2012.

The Barometer measures how quickly the market has been returning to normal by comparing existing-home sales, prices, delinquency and foreclosure rates, new home starts, and the employment rate for 25-34 year-olds against their pre-bubble normal and their lowest reading during the housing crisis.

The most recent release shows that three of the five indicators have improved significantly over the past year and are now close to normal.

Existing-home sales, for example, are 79 percent back to normal, up from 51 percent a year earlier. Prices also have recovered dramatically from a year ago and are now 71 percent back to normal.

Among the other indicators, foreclosure and delinquency rates have recovered 59 percent, while new home starts and employment levels still have a ways to go. Overall, the recovery has been uneven but, at the current pace, non-distressed sales and home prices could reach normal levels this year, with the other indicators taking a bit longer to fully recover.

Listen up, buyers for the Taos and Angel Fire real estate market! This sounds to me like prices may eke up a bit this year. You know Taos and Angel Fire are two of the best small towns in the U.S. Buyers from all over have flocked here in recent years to buy condos, single family homes, land and vacation homes and casitas. 2014 may be just the right time to get out here and see what's available. Your piece of paradise awaits!

Jan 10, 2014

Ski for Free January is National Learn to Ski month, and Angel Fire Resort has some phenomenal bargains for beginners of all ages. The High 5 School consists of 5 lessons at a great price. When you complete your 5 lessons, you get a free season pass. What a deal!! Don't forget about "College Days." Through Jan. 16th college students get $40.00 lift tickets plus 50% off lodging. All you need is your current college student ID. You will surely fall in love with this fairy land called, Angel Fire, and will want your own perfect place so you can enjoy it year round. Take time out from your fun on the slopes to stop by New Mexico Mountain Properties, and explore out many real estate options. New Mexico Mountain Properties has Condos close to the slopes, as well as homes, lots and acreage at reduced prices. Also located in the same building is Prindle Brothers Construction, ready to build your dream log home. New Mexico Mountain Properties and Prindle Brothers Construction are ready and waiting to satisfy all you real estate desires.

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Applications Survey, the average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages was unchanged last week from the week before. Mortgage rates held steady for loans with both conforming and jumbo balances, while 15-year rates increased. Demand for loan applications, on the other hand, was up - rising 2.6 percent from the previous week. The Refinance Index spiked 5 percent – after falling 9 percent a week earlier - and the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index fell 1 percent. The results were adjusted to account for the New Year's Day holiday. Also in the report, the refinance share of total mortgage activity remained at 63 percent from the week before. The Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Applications Survey covers more than 75 percent of all U.S. retail residential mortgage applications and has been conducted since 1990.

Sounds like buyers are gearing up again this year to buy or refinance. Here in the Taos and Angel Fire real estate market, we're anticipating another good year in real estate sales. Leads coming in to our office from trulia.com and zillow.com are brisk. We're seeing interest in all kinds of properties: condos, land, casitas, single family homes and more. Hope we see you, too, in 2014 here in Taos and Angel Fire!

The number of Americans who have a positive perception of the current housing market has improved significantly from a year earlier, according to Fannie Mae's December National Housing Survey. The year-over-year gains reflect an increasingly strong recovery, despite a dip in sentiment during the fall.

For example, the percentage of respondents who feel it's a good time to sell a house rose from 21 percent to 33 percent over the last year. The percentage of participants who said they felt it would be easy to obtain a home mortgage also increased over the past 12 months, from 45 percent last year to 50 percent in the most recent survey. Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae, said consumer attitudes about the ease of getting a mortgage today are at their highest level in the survey's three-and-a-half-year history. According to Duncan, that improvement should help offset the effects of higher mortgage rates and support a continued but measured housing recovery as we move through 2014. Also, the number of Americans who believe now is a good time to buy a home jumped to 67 percent and the percentage of respondents who feel their personal financial situation will get better in the next year was up four points to 42 percent.

With this kind of enthusiasm from potential buyers, we in the Taos and Angel Fire real estate market are convinced 2014 will see even higher sales than in 2013. Taos and Angel Fire real estate is becoming popular, not only with vacation home and second home buyers, but with young people and families. With the dramatic rise of telecommuting jobs many buyers are looking at a home in Taos or Angel Fire as a great way to get out of the rat race and still have a good job.

In 2013, home prices and buyer demand both spiked as the housing recovery took hold in markets across the country. Double-digit increases in home values brought prices to a level last seen in 2004. But, according to Zillow's November Real Estate Market Report, annual and monthly price trends indicate the robust recovery seen throughout 2013 is beginning to slow to more sustainable levels.

The slowing price growth is partly driven by decreasing negative equity rates. As homeowners recoup value lost during the recent recession, more of those homes are put up for sale which increases inventory levels and normalizes price gains. And in addition to an increasing supply of previously owned homes, new home construction is expected to ramp up over the next year, adding further relief to constrained inventory levels across the country. If these trends continue, 2014 will likely see improved for-sale inventory levels, slower price increases, and more potential buyers entering the market to purchase homes.

Here at New Mexico Mountain Properties, we're already getting calls and email inquiries. For early January, this is a very encouraging sign. Buyers for homes, condos and land here in Taos and Angel Fire are out looking and 2014 seems to be on track for another great year!

Jan. 7, 2014

More Fun on the Slopes

Winter fun is really gearing up here in Angel Fire. Night skiing and tubing and tubing is now open until 8:30 pm. Zip line is ready and waiting for you daredevils. To make this fun even more affordable than it already is, Jan. 6-16 will be %u21CCollege Days.%u21D Come show off your school pride and get great discounts by just showing your student ID. Parents while the kids are showing off on the slopes and making you proud, why not stop by New Mexico Mountain Properties and let us show you the many bargains we have to offer. New Mexico Mountain Properties has several condos at very affordable prices within walking distance of the slopes. Here at New Mexico Mountain Properties we also have listings for homes, lots, and acreage with fabulous mountain views. How about a lot to build a lovely log home? Prindle Brothers Construction, located in the same building as New Mexico Mountain Properties, has many plans to choose from to build your dream log home, no matter how large or small. We at New Mexico Mountain Properties and Prindle Brothers Construction look for to seeing you so we can meet all your real estate needs and/or desires.

Dec. 20, 2013

Slopes are open

Come celebrate the opening of Angel Fire's ski season, with discounts on lodging as well as lift tickets. There are also some fun events coming up that won't cost you anything. For example, on Christmas Eve there will be a torchlight parade and fireworks. Santa and Mrs. Clause have even been known to make an appearance at this event. So bundle up and join the fun. You're sure to fall in love with this enchanted village. Stop by while you are here and visit New Mexico Mountain Properties to find your perfect dream home. New Mexico Mountain Properties has beautiful homes for sale at fantastically low prices. Maybe you prefer a condo, New Mexico Mountain Properties has several to suite you taste as well as needs. New Mexico Mountain Properties also has numerous lots and parcels of land of all sizes with panoramic views. When you find that perfect building spot, just step into the next office and talk to Prindle Brothers Construction about building your dream log home.

The Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Applications Survey covers more than 75 percent of all U.S. residential mortgage applications and is a measure of both refinancing and home purchase demand.

According to the most recent release, total mortgage loan application volume fell by 5.5 percent last week from one week earlier. Both the Refinance Index and the Purchase Index fell 6 percent from the previous week. Mike Fratantoni, MBA's vice president of research and economics, said the market index fell to its lowest level in more than a dozen years. According to Fratantoni, purchase and refinance demand dropped due to increasing interest rates. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances edged up last week, reaching its highest level since September.

This time of year low mortgage demand in the Taos real estate market is normal! Our busy selling season ends in late October and doesn't pick up markedly until late spring. The Taos real estate market is normally immune to national market statistics.

However, it does look like interest rates are rising a bit. So, be thinking about buying in early spring before interest rates rise further. Remember, you WILL find your piece of paradise here in Taos! Remember, your casita, condo or second home awaits!

According to the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, new residential construction spiked 22.7 percent in November and is now nearly 30 percent above last year's level.

The increase was the largest since January 1990 and brought housing starts to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,091,000. Despite the improvement, new home construction remains below historical average. From 1959 through 2000, housing starts averaged 1.5 million per year.

Still, with single-family housing starts up 20.8 percent month-over-month and demographics and household formation suggesting more growth, new home construction should continue to improve. The gains were better than economists expected and indicate a strengthening economy.

And a strong economy is what we're seeing here in the Taos area. We have a couple of new restaurants in Taos and tourism was up over last year.

Begin your search now for a condo, home or land purchase. We're here to help!