Laura Warden

Our Albuquerque real estate statistics for the month of June have been released, and they seem to show some light at the end of the tunnel for Albuquerque home sales.

First of all, our oversupply of homes on the market is definitely shrinking. There were only 5,480 single family detached homes on the market this past June, which is way down from the high figure of 6,428 in June of 2008.

The number of new listings coming on the market was also lower in June 2009 than it was in June 2008; in fact, nearly 17% lower!

These figures indicate fewer listings are on the market competing for the relatively small pool of buyers, and that should be helpful. (Again, these figures are for single family detached homes.)

Another encouraging statistic is that the number of pending sales for single family detached homes has been rising steadily since February. In June, 933 such properties went under contract. This is an increase of 9% over the previous month, and also an increase of 8.87% over June of 2008. This number of pending sales is, in fact, higher than the number of pending sales for any month of 2008! And it is also higher than the number of pending sales that were posted for the last five months of 2007, when we were still in something of a "buyer's market."

So, in the Greater Albuquerque real estate area, there are fewer homes competing on the market, and a larger number of homes going under contract than there were a year ago.

Things are looking up!

Apparently Rodeo IS the state sport in both Texas and Wyoming, according to a recent article in the Valencia County News Bulletin.

Why isn't it so here in New Mexico? All over my neck of the woods (Bosque Farms, in Valencia County) rodeo is a way of life for a huge segment of the population. Rodeos, barrel racing competition, and ropings are happening on an almost daily basis, at the Bosque Farms Arena and the two different arenas at the Valencia County Fairgrounds in Belen, not to mention at dozens of other arenas all over the rural parts of the state.

Hundreds, if not thousands of New Mexico teens and youngster participate in 4-H rodeo projects and competitions, with many earning rodeo scholarships to college. Hundreds more compete in National High School rodeo, and last year, four New Mexico young people qualified for the National High School Finals Rodeo.

Rodeo is a great spectator sport, with plenty of exciting events to ogle, from bull-riding and barrel racing to roping and goat-tying.

What is our state sport here in New Mexico, anyway?

Have we got one? If not, what say we start a petition to name "rodeo" our state sport?

New Mexicans can now get highly colorful "gold-certified" "green" education-- in the newly completed Pete V. Domenici Education Building at the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque, NM.

If that sounds color-cockeyed, here's the scoop:

"Green" refers to the building being environmentally friendly.

The "gold certification" is a guarantee of just how green this building is-- it has been awarded the top environmental certification, LEED Gold, by the U.S. Green Building Council.

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson made the announcement last month, stressing the priority his administration has given to energy efficiency. In 2006, the governor signed an executive order requiring that all state building and construction projects that were over 15000 SF in size had to meet at least LEED "Silver" standards. The new Domenici Education Center well exceeds those standards with its Gold Certification. Among the "green" features of the building are its 3 underground cisterns for harvesting rainwater for landscape irrigation.

In addition to housing the Cultural Center's various educational programs, the new building will also serve as a conference and meeting facility, and will host the Instituto Cervantes, which is a cultural and language institute administered by the Spanish government and Spanish Resource Center, an arm of both the Spanish Embassy and University of New Mexico.

Head on over and check out what a "Gold standard Green Building" looks like!

(The picture above is one I snapped of Governor Richardson at the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuqurque a few months ago, when he held a meeting with concerned New Mexico horsemen regarding the future of the New Mexico State Fairgrounds, with their extensive horse facilities which are used for many horse shows, rodeos, and other equestrian events.)

The Albuquerque Botanical Gardens has scheduled a "Night Walk" for July 14, 2009. You're invited to come on out and explore the Gardens under moonlight as you take a guided tour in search of night-blooming plants, nocturnal animals and night pollinators.

This guided event has only limited space, so call ahead to make your reservation: (505)848-7180.

Can't make the Night Walk? Head over to the Botanical Gardens any time-- you'll be glad you did!