May was April all over again for home sales in Santa Fe.
May saw even fewer homes sold than April, and homes sales usually pick up about 10% to 20% in May.
The culprit? The novel coronavirus, of course.
The New Mexico Association of Realtors tallied only 134 home sales in Santa Fe County in May, the lowest total for that month since 2014, and lower than April's 138 closings — itself the lowest April since 2016.
Home sales tumbled 44% in Santa Fe. Statewide, year-to-year May sales slid 28%, the association reported.
The statewide number matched a 28% drop in Bernalillo County, 29% decline in Dona Ana County and 27% fall in Sandoval County.
Median sales prices in Santa Fe were also flat from April to May, from $371,500 to $371,643. That's considerably lower than the $399,950 in May 2019. Statewide, median sales trickled down from $225,000 to $220,000 from April to May but matched the $220,000 in May 2019.
However, pending sales in Santa Fe County were better: 227 in May compared to 133 in May 2019. The second half of May saw a substantial increase in visitors from Texas and Colorado, prime second-home buying states for Santa Fe.
In the throes of closures earlier in the spring, Coldwell Banker Trails West qualifying broker Beverly Chapman said she put her staff through training in March and April to sharpen their skills.
"We went back to Real Estate 101," Chapman said. "This is a relationship business. You have to stay in front of your people. They have improved their Facebook pages."
She said those relationships are beginning to pay off as the economy begins to restart.
"We had good clients willing to buy and sell," Chapman said. "We had good investments that were selling immediately."
Active listings inched up from 527 in April to 568 in May, still considerably below the 676 homes on the market in May 2019.
