Real Estate Information Archive

One thing is for sure, there will always be clothes to wash! Our washer and dryer sure do get a workout and keeping them in top working order is a must. Did you know that you should clean your washing machine once a month?  This not only ensures that the machine itself will last as long as it should, it also ensures that your clothes will be as clean as possible.

It may seem counterintuitive to have to ‘clean your washer’, but over time as the washer itself is cleaning clothes of gunk and grime, that dirt is also building up within the washer along with detergent residue. Your unit can also build up mold and mildew due to the moist and humid temperatures associated with cleaning and often time the room they are housed. This can lead to odors in the machine and ultimately, on your clothes.

So let’s dig in and talk the steps necessary to clean your washing machine properly. If that’s the case, the process is super simple as the washer does all the work. Just follow the instructions from the company.

If you do not have a clean cycle, you’ll want to do the following:

1. Identify the top of washing machine you have. A HE Front & Top Loader will require one approach, while a Non-HE machine requires something slightly different.
2. Decide on the type of cleaner you will use: White vinegar, bleach, or a commercial cleaner. If you’re looking for a non-toxic cleaner, white vinegar will be your choice. Some manufacturers, however, will recommend using a bleach or commercial cleaner, so it is important to check your guide books. You’ll also want to check your guide books for recommended amounts of cleaner to use. **Never mix cleaning solutions! You’ll use one of the solutions and only one.

Steps to cleaning a HE Top or Front Loading machine:

        1.  Choose the “clean” cycle. If your machine doesn’t have this, select the hottest water setting. In some cases, this may be the setting for whites or heavily stained clothes

1. 2. Choose the added rinse cycle if it’s available.
   
   3. Fill the bleach dispenser with your cleanser choice.
   
   4. Fill the tub to the highest level (this will probably be automatic with the clean cycle) and run the machine.
   
   5. If you don’t have a second rinse cycle, run the rinse cycle again manually.

Once you’ve finished the clean cycle, you’re then going use a vinegar dipped cloth to wipe down & thoroughly clean the gasket that seals the door (mildew & mold loves to creep in here), the drum, soap dispensers, and the entire outside of the machine.

Doing a weekly wipe down of your washing machine will also help prevent excess buildup and keep your clothes looking and smelling much cleaner, and again preserving the longevity of your machine.

For more homeowner tips, real estate information, and community highlights, be sure to check our blog frequently and visit our Facebook page.

HOT LISTING OF THE WEEK!

1 SKY MOUNTAIN ROAD, PLACITAS, NM 87043

Welcome home to this architectural gem nestled in peaceful Placitas. With natural light pouring in, you will notice the timeless details of gorgeous beamed ceilings, stamped concrete floors, antique vanities, and stunning antique, solid-wood doors throughout this exquisite property. Featuring SIX kiva fireplaces throughout, and radiant heat floors, you will surely stay cozy yearound. The kitchen showcases abundant storage, oversized pantry, and butcher block counters and is open to the dining room to make entertaining a breeze. Enjoy coffee in the heated sunroom while taking in the panoramic views of the Sandias. Master Suite is enormous, and also features striking views, a beautiful en suite and unbelievable closet full of storage solutions.

GET YOUR MORNING INSPIRATION WITH THE Sandi Pressley TEAM!

It's finally here after a long campaign season....Election Day 2016!

If you're new to the Albuquerque area, you may not know where your polling location is located. Have no fear, we have a complete list of locations determined by your physical address. Bernalillo County has 69 voting locations for its residents. 

What do you need to place your vote? 

You need to be a registered voter in Bernalillo County by Oct. 11, 2016.

• A resident of New Mexico
• A citizen of the United States
• Eighteen years old or older at the time of the next election
• Not legally declared mentally incapacitated
• A convicted felon who has satisfied all the terms and conditions of sentencing. A certificate of completion must be provided.

Albuquerque is a city of rich history and cultural diversity. Celebrate our community’s past by honoring those whose ancestors have lived in the area for long before we became a nation. Head to the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center (2401 12th Street NW) on Monday, October 10th, for the Indigenous Peoples’ Day Celebration. The event takes place all day from 9:00 am until 5:00 pm. Songs, dances, and stories will be performed by students of the Native American Community Academy (NACA) to honor and share their heritage with all guests of the museum. The students of NACA have worked hard putting together their performances in order to express what it means to them to be indigenous. Learn more about the people that have inhabited this land since ancient times and celebrate the future of this rich community.

Schedule of Events

9:00 am - American Indian Development Associates, Inc. Opening Remarks

10:00 am - NACA Student Presentations

12:00 pm - Bird Dancers (San Felipe)

1:00 pm - Radical Poets Presentation

1:30 pm - NACA Student Presentations

2:30 pm - Sweet Nations Sisterhood Jingle Dress Dancers

3:00 pm - Bird Dancers (San Felipe)

4:00 pm - Pre-Columbian Seeds Dry/Wet Preservation Demos Presented by the IPCC Education Department

This great educational event is open to all. The cost is FREE with the regular $8 museum admission. Be sure to check out all of the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center during the event. This fantastic museum presents the history, art, and culture of the 19 Pueblos in New Mexico.

Bring the family down to the Indigenous Peoples’ Day Celebration for all the fun!

Visit our blog and website frequently for more Tips on fantastic upcoming events!

Featured Home Listing of the Week!

6 Bedrooms/ 5 Bathrooms/ 5135 Square Feet...$1,195,000

ONE OF A KIND PROPERTY! Exquisitely Appointed SINGLE LEVEL MULTIGENRATIONAL Custom Home! Nestled in desired Black Farms Estates, this 1.14 acre EXCLUSIVE dream home offers Elegance, Luxury & stunning Backkyard!   View this incredible listing

Get your Monday Morning Inspiration with Sandi Pressley!

Good Monday Morning!

As most of you know my weekly e-mail typically is about the local Real Estate market. My message today is about a subject that is very close to home for many of us. It is about TEXTING WHILE DRIVING. I have children who all have cell phones and over the years I have watched as their primary source of communication among each other and friends has converted to texting. In fact I would say that a couple of my kids and many of their friends are what I would call text addicts. Constant text communication has become a way of life with most young people in this country and now even with many adults. The following video is one that each one of you should watch and then watch it again with your kids. Even if your child does not text, they may ride in a car with someone who does. Pass this video on. It may save many lives.

Have An Awesome Week!

http://www.albuquerquehomesolutions.com/video/ATT-Dont-Text-While-Driving-Documentary-Closed-Captioned

Warmest Regards,

Sandi Pressley

Let me start by saying I am a great believer in the supply-demand-price equation.  Everything that I look at trying to predict or interpret the market is through that lens. 

From my seat, this recession started in the residential real estate market in November 2007.  That was the first month where there was a dramatic decrease in closings (demand) from the same month in the prior year.  To go back a touch, in July 2007, the closings were about 9% less than the prior year.  We had always known that the market couldn’t sustain the pace of 2003 to 2006.  We had thought that a 10 to 15% slowdown was to be expected.  So, the summer of 2007 felt like the anticipated slowdown.  August, September and October started to get alarming when the citywide closings were down 25% year-over-year.  In November the deceleration was 33% and then December 2007, the closings were 35% lower than December the year before. 

By January 2009, the closings in Albuquerque were the lowest since 1998.  On a percentage basis, January 2009 had 58% fewer closings than January 2006.  The spring of 2010 benefited from the First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit which resulted in some artificially created year-over-year gains.  When July hit and the Credit expired, we slumped backwards, with 4 of the first 6 months of 2011 behind 2010.  However, at the start of 2012 I am optimistic for the following reasons. 

Good Sign #1.  In July 2011, things started to change.  July through December showed a 13.17% increase in units closed over the same period of 2010.  This was the first six-month period in three years that had been up over the previous year. 

Good Sign #2:  Decreasing supply.  Building permits have been steadily declining for 5 straight years.  In 2006, the biggest year, the permits for the MSA of Albuquerque (includes Valencia and parts of Sandoval counties) were around 6,600.  In 2011, the Albuquerque MSA finished up at just shy of 1,300 permits.  That is an 81% decrease!  While that has been devastating for the construction industry at every level, it does mean that supply is decreasing steadily.   At the same time, the current resale supply (4,156 active detached listings) is the lowest it has been since March 2007 (4,504 active detached listings), when it started climbing precipitously!  Demand up, Supply Down, but… 

Confusing Sign #1:  There has been a steady decrease in average sales price for the second half of this year as demand has been increasing and supply has been decreasing.  On the surface that is disconcerting, but remember that price is a trailing indicator.  That means that the last adjustment will be an increase in price.  There is also an artificial suppressant:  the appraisal issue.  What is happening is that the market is trying to recover as to price, but a number of appraisals are coming in below the market price of the transaction.  In response to the low appraisal the sellers and buyers are often forced adjust their price down to the appraisal, which in turn keeps the average price artificially lower than the market is indicating. 

I believe that we will start to see an increase in average price sometime in the first half of 2012, providing the demand stays steady. 

Good Sign #3:  There is pent up demand.  Where?  Household formations are the way a community grows.  They come from at least two places.  The first is job growth.  The second is organic growth.  Organic growth is when two residents in a community form a new household through some sort of union and then they buy or rent a house.  Statistics are showing that the 25 to 34 year old population who would like to and are capable of buying a home have waited and stayed living at their parents’ home during this recession.  As consumer confidence grows and prices stabilize, those people who have been waiting for the bottom will likely enter the housing market.  I believe we will see that in 2012 as well. 

Good Sign #4:  The housing affordability index is at an all time high.  High is good in this case.  With historically low prices and almost unheard of low interest rates converging, when consumer confidence stabilizes, there should be a strong motivation to take advantage of these unique circumstances, which will likely not reoccur for a long time. 

Confusing Sign #2:  The last issue is the constant chatter about the “shadow inventory” of homes that are either underwater (value below mortgage) or are delinquent in payments and no foreclosure has been initiated.  The worry is that there is a hidden potential glut of homes, which eventually will come on the market, flooding the supply side, which in turn would further depress prices. 

I disagree for the following reasons.  First, when a family is foreclosed on or they short sell their house, they very rarely move into an apartment or move home with their parents.  They typically go rent a home, which is exactly what we are seeing in the current marketplace.  The consequence is that rents have been increasing significantly over the last year.  This does not create a new “vacant unit” in the market place as would new construction.  In other words there is no increase in supply.  Investors have been seeing this trend and with current low interest rates, purchasing single-family homes for investment has become a very attractive alternative.  In other words, a new buyer segment has entered the marketplace, absorbing those homes. 

It is for that reason that I don’t believe we have significant risk from the “shadow inventory.” 

In closing, if we review the timeframe of the Great Depression, which started in October of 1929, it is generally agreed that 1933 was the beginning of the recovery.  That was four years from the beginning of the Depression to the beginning of the recovery.  As I said in the beginning of this letter, we are at the end of our fourth year of this cycle.  Certainly, this Great Recession was not nearly as bad as the Great Depression.  If it took four years in the early 1930’s for the recovery to begin, I cannot believe, given the above information that we are not poised perfectly for our recovery to begin. 

I wish everyone a hopeful and prosperous 2012 and I hope that my predictions are correct!  Thank you for your business. 

Warmest Regards,

Sandi Pressley

Click here for the full year end report from the Greater Albuquerque Association of REALTORS®

"The Innocence of a Child”

This Holiday provides an opportunity for us to pause and enjoy the reason for the season.  Please take a couple of minutes out of this hectic time of year to enjoy this precious video.  May we all have child like faith, hope and joy this Christmas and throughout the New Year.

November Monthly Highlights

• Pending homes sales in the Greater Albuquerque

market are up 26.66% from November 2010 and

down 4.97% from the previous month.

• The median sales price of single-family detached

home sales decreased for the third consecutive

month.

• Single-family detached home sales rose 4.90%

from the previous month.

Click Here for the full November Report

Remember that it is a great time to either be buying or selling a home! Just call me for the details on why, 505-980-2999

And hers your morning coffee.....

Sandi

                  October Monthly Highlights

• Detached home sales in October rose 9.48 percent

from the previous month and 24.12 percent from

the previous year.

• The median sales price for detached homes sales in

October was at $167,000, down 7.22 percent from

the previous year.

• Pending home sales for single-family detached

homes rose from the previous year by 19.85 percent.

Click Here for the full October Report