Year-to-Date September 30, 2022

Taos Real Estate Market Report

January – September 2022 (9 months)

The market is cooler than last year, but still strong.

Through the first nine months of 2022, the number of sales of Single-Family Homes is up one compared to 2021 for the same time period. Condo sales are up by 11 units (19%). Land is down by 15 sales (-7%). Commercial sales are up substantially (13 this year vs. 3 last year). With the opening an additional title company in Taos, the backlog of purchase contracts in escrow is diminishing; therefore, the monthly number of closed sales is increasing, and this year’s sales reported sales is catching up to last year’s numbers. However, current market activity is cooling some.

Click each title below to view the data for that property type.

From mid-2020 through 2021, an incremental layer of buyers was added to a market that had been steadily gaining since 2015. After Covid-related lockdowns were lifted in spring 2020, the market got hot; then it really surged in 2021. Homes sold much faster than had been typical in Taos–sometimes in a day or two.  There were numerous cases of multiple offers, “bidding wars”, and homes selling well above asking price. There were many more homes sold in the high end of the price range than what was typical for Taos. Prices rose at a rapid rate – over 20% per year in some cases. This kind of market behavior had been very uncommon in Taos – even during the boom years of the early 2000s leading up to the Great Financial Crisis of 2007-2008. 

So far in 2022, the market has cooled some. We are not seeing a lot of offers written as soon as a new listing comes on the market; bidding wars have subsided some. However, dollar sales are up, as prices continue to rise. Through the first nine months, unit sales are 270 this year vs. 269 last year, an increase of only 1 sale (+0.4%%). Prior to this month, 2022 had actually been lagging 2021’s pace. Now, the market is gaining. This may be due to the fact that the title companies are closing escrows faster than they were, so the number of sales getting closed each month now is greater than the monthly number last year. A new title company opened for business on August 28, and this has definitely speeded up escrows. Additionally, with mortgage interest rates so much higher, the number of persons re-financing is way down; this, too, will reduce the workload at the title companies so escrows for sales contracts can close faster.

Dollar sales are up $19.3 million (14%), from $134.5 million to $153.9 million, as prices continue to rise. However, the rate of price increase is slowing down from last year’s pace.

Median and Average Prices

Through the first nine months of  2022, the median price (midpoint in the range of prices from low to high) is $477,000 vs. $420,000 in 2021, an increase of $57,000 (+13.6%). The average (mean) is $569,900 vs $500,100 last year, a gain of $69,800 (14.0%). This reflects an increasing number of high-dollar sales, as well as a rise in the overall price level. Here is how median and average prices have changed over the past seven years:

Price2016201720182019202020212022 YTD
Median$283,500$300,000$310,500$322,500$343,500$425,000$477,000
Average$306,100$326,800$369,500$373,100$398,700$513,800$569,900
Median and average price trends since 2016
Price Discounting

For the year to September 30, actual sales price has averaged 1.6% below the last asking price when the home went under contract; the discount from original asking price is 2.5%. The trend of demand exceeding supply has caused the discount from original price to decrease steadily starting in 2013:

201320142015201620172018201920202021 2022 YTD
18.4%16.9%13.9%13.3%9.4%10.3%7.8%7.2%4.5% 2.5%
Discounts from original asking price since 2013
Days On Market

The average days on the market so far this year is 118 vs. 138 in 2021, a decrease of 20 days (-15%).  Days on market averaged 250 during 2003 – 2016; since 2016, there has been a steady decrease, as the inventory of homes decreased but buyer demand increased.

2006201320142015201620172018201920202021 2022 YTD
247244235235226192147151156141118
DOM in 2006, for nine years prior, and this year so far
INVENTORY
Oct 2022Oct 2021Sep 2008
Up to $200k1424190
$200k – $300k2029109
$300k – $400k385569
$400k – $500k354039
$500k – $650k352635
$650k – $800k292727
$800k – $1mil251336
Over $1mil313713
     TOTAL227251518
Inventory by price segment
UNIT SALES
2019202020212022 YTD
Up to $200k58614413
$200k – $300k64704937
$300k – $400k74836451
$400k – $500k27455543
$500k – $650k24425354
$650k – $800k16153432
$800k – $1mil4152118
Over $1mil462922
TOTAL271337349270
Unit sales by price segment
Inventory

At the time this report was prepared, there were 227 homes listed for sale, down 25 (-10%)from 252 last month, and down 24 from a year ago, when there were 251. The low point this year was 194 in April. The highest inventory in the past twelve months was 259 (in September 2021). In September 2008, there were 518 homes listed for sale. The average inventory decreased every year from 2013 to 2018; it went up in 2019, but decreased again in 2020 and 2021, and it is decreasing again this year. Taos inventory consists of a wide variety of size, price, style, location, and condition – everything from mobile to million-dollar homes. With only 252 listings (many of which are under contract), it is difficult to find more than a few homes to show a buyer that might meet most of his/her criteria.

2013201420152016201720182019202020212022 YTD
334333324316285264274257225219
Average inventory 2013 – 2022

With demand still robust — and with no significant increase in the building of new homes or the listing of existing homes — the inventory will remain inadequate relative to demand for the foreseeable future. Even though prices seem high at this point in time, they will probably continue to rise, although more slowly than they have risen during the past two years.  

Home Purchase Financing
2011201620202021 2022 YTD
Cash65 43%91 36%103 31%139 40% 92 34%
Conventional loan66 44%129 52%200 59%180 52% 152 56%
FHA loan8 5%11 4%11 3%14 4% 7 3%
VA loan1 1%10 4%13 4%11 3% 11 4%
Seller financing8 5%7 3%4 1%2 1% 7 3%
Other2 1%1 1%6 2%3 1% 1 0%
    Total150100%249100%337 100%349 100% 270100%
How Home Purchases Were Financed
Interest Rates

Since the Federal Reserve started its anti-inflation program of raising short-term interest rates, the rates on home loans have increased dramatically: The 30-year fixed-rate loan is now averaging 7.2%, up over 4 points from the historic lows in 2021.

Conventional 30-year fixed 7.2% 
Conventional 15-year fixed5.97%
5/1 Adjustable4.84%
Bankrate.com‘s Current Rates as of Oct. 28, 2022
Note: Interest rates are impacted by occupancy, credit score, and down payment.
Foreclosure Sales

For the year through September, there have been no foreclosure sales. For the full year of 2021, there were just two foreclosure sales (2% of total sales). The number of foreclosures has diminished steadily over the past several years. Currently, there are just two bank-owned houses listed for sale.

20114429%
20125528%
20133716%
20145022%
20153413%
20163414%
20172910%
2018249%
2019176%
202093%
202122%
2022YTD00%
Foreclosure Sales: % of total sales of Single-Family homes 2011 – 2021

Please Note: These data do not include any condominiums developed or offered for sale by Taos Ski Valley Resort; those condos are not listed in the Taos MLS.

Year-to-date unit sales are 69 vs. 58 for the same time period in 2021, a gain of 11 units (19%). Dollar sales are up 41%. This is despite the fact that the condo inventory shortage is even worse than that for single-family homes.  As with homes, there are no signs that inventory will increase significantly any time soon; therefore, prices should continue to increase; but, as with homes, the rate of price increase will be slower than during the surge of 2020-2021.

Median price through the first nine months is $340,000 vs. $313,500 last year, an increase of $26,500 (8.5%).  Average price is also up, at $375,500 vs. $316,600, a gain of $58,900 (18.6%). 

Price Discounting

Year-to-date final sales price has averaged 2.0% less than the last asking price when the condo went under contract; sales have averaged 1.5% below original price.

20142015201620172018201920202021 2022 YTD
12.7%8.6%11.8%6.7%6.5%5.5%3.2%3.3% 1.5%
Discounts from original asking price 2014 – 2022 YTD
Inventory

The number of condos listed for sale at the time of this report down to just 28, a decrease of 11 from a month ago, and down 23 from 51 listings at this time a year ago. There are only six condos available that are priced under $350,000.

In 2006, there were often over 200 condos on the market at any given time, with the majority in or near central Taos; there were 149 condo sales that year.

2013201420152016201720182019202020212022YTD
1078178655859564948 42
Steady average inventory decrease 2013 – 2022
INVENTORY
Oct 2022Oct 2021Sept 2008
Up to $150k 0 240
$150k – $250k 21350
$250k – $350k41551
$350k – $500k15 156
Over $500k 72029
     TOTAL2851226
Inventory by price segment
UNIT SALES
201120202021 2022 YTD
Up to $150k16108 1
$150k – $250k82116 11
$250k – $350k31830 27
$350k – $500k12222 19
Over $500k136 11
     TOTAL297482 69
Unit sales by price segment
2011201620202021 2022 YTD
Cash14 48%34 51%43 58%36 44% 31 45%
Conventional loan15 52%32 48%30 41%45 55% 38 56%
Seller financing0 0%1 1%1 1%0 0% 0 0%
Other0 0%0 0%0 0%1 1% 0 0%
    Total29100%67100%74 100%82100% 69100%
How Condo Purchases Were Financed
Foreclosure Sales

There have been no foreclosure sales so far in 2022. There were none in the full year 2021.

There have been 6 multi-family sales through the first nine months of 2022, the same as 2021 for the same time period. 

Multi-family is and has always been a very small segment of the Taos real estate market.  However, we may see some increase in sales as home and condo buyers facing scarce inventory broaden their searches to include multi-family.  For example, some duplexes might be convertible to single-family residences with some building modifications.

Rents have been trending higher for years, so multi-family income properties should yield fairly attractive returns on investment. However, with interest rates rising (i.e., cost of capital), buyers may start to require higher “capitalization rates.” Higher cap rates mean buyers would pay less for a given income stream (net operating income).

Currently, there are 6 multi-family listings, with one of these under contract.

Land sales have slowed from last year’s pace.

Land sales really took off last year after being in the doldrums ever since the recession that followed the Great Financial Crisis of 2007-2008. Unit sales in 2021 were up 69% over 2020–although the number of sales was still 27% fewer than peak year 2005. Some home buyers were frustrated in their search for an existing home given the low inventory and intense competition, so they decided to buy land and build. 

So far in 2022, land sales have cooled some from 2021’s pace: there have been 189 closed sales, down from 204 last year for the same time period, a drop of 15 sales (-7%). Dollar sales, however, are UP 16%, at $25.1 million this year vs. $21.7 million last year.

Median price year-to-date is $83,500 vs. $68,500, an increase of $15,000 (22%). Average price is up $26,600 (25%), from $106,300 last year to $132,900 this year. Given that the supply of homes and condos listed for sale is not expected to increase much, interest in land should continue to grow, especially if building costs stabilize or come down some; therefore, prices should trend upward—but only gradually. Whereas in the market for homes and condos there is much more demand than supply, in the land market the reverse is true.

Current inventory of 457 tracts listed for sale is down from 478 a year ago.

INVENTORY
Current MonthSame Month last year
Up to $50k 100129
$50k – $100k 143155
$100k – $150k 60 61
$150k – $200k 5544
$200k – $250k 3127
$250k – $300k 1216
Over $300k 5647
     TOTAL457479
Comparative inventory by price segment
UNIT SALES
201720202021 2022 YTD
465383 49
345784 67
161726 25
151621 14
3414 9
207 5
2412 20
118147247 189
Yearly unit sales by price segment

Price Discounting

For the year to Sept, 30, actual sales price has averaged 8.2% below the last asking price when the home went under contract; the discount from original asking price is 12.6%.

Days On Market

The average days on the market so far this year is 467 vs. 369 in 2021, an increase of 98 days (27%).  

20132014201520162017201820192020 2021 2022 YTD
465390605464472388332471 356 467
Average inventory 2013 – 2022
How Land Purchases Were Financed
2022 YTD
Cash 141 75%
Conventional loan 27 14%
Seller financing 20 11%
Other 1 1%
    Total 189100%
How Home Purchases Were Financed

The commercial market has seen a surge in activity in 2022!

So far this year, there have been 13 sales with a total dollar volume of $11,774,000. Three of these sales were over $1 million: the old San Geronimo Lodge changed hands again at a price of $2.4 million; a large retail complex near the Plaza sold for $1,035,000; and the old El Taoseno Restaurant sold for $1.6 million. For the entire year 2021, there were only 6 sales, with a total dollar volume of $1.9 million. The lingering impacts of the Covid pandemic continued to affect the commercial sector in 2021. Confidence has improved in 2022. Additionally, the legalization of cannabis has added a new element of commercial buyers to the market. With the growing number of people moving to Taos (for either full-time or extended stay living), the demand for commercial services – and therefore commercial real estate – should continue to increase.

2011201220132014201520162017201820192020 20212022 YTD
2793177514 12 8613
Commercial Sales 2011 – 2022
Taos Real Estate Market Report