Albuquerque Home Values – The 25 Year Journey

The Albuquerque housing market has undergone some ups and downs over the past 25 years, yet despite these changes, the long-term trend has consistently shown stable upward growth in values. We dug into the annual year-end readings from the Zillow Home Value Index data, and this is what we found.

In 1998, the average Albuquerque home value stood at a modest $127,617. Over the past 25 years it has increased 151% to $321,306. The growth mirrors not just Albuquerque’s real estate market but also the complex interplay of economic forces and changes over the past 25 years.

The initial years of the period, late 1990’s, were characterized by moderate and consistent growth and stability.

Starting in 2000, Albuquerque home values experienced sharper increases in value, with significant value increases in 2005 and 2006, mirroring the nationwide housing bubble that eventually led to the 2008 Global Financial Crisis (GFC).

While the years from 2008 to 2012 presented significant challenges, it is worth noting that the Albuquerque area managed to weather the storm better than others, avoiding the severe declines witnessed in some cities throughout the country.

Home values started to recover in 2012 and continued to have average value increases until 2018. Starting in 2019 and accelerating in 2020, there were significant annual increases in home values peaking with the largest one year increase in 2021 at 15.5%. In 2023, there was a moderate gain of 5.85% in line with the overall economic conditions in the US and New Mexico.

The recent surge in housing prices is the result of several factors, such as historically low-interest rates from 2020 to 2022, a restricted housing supply causing a mismatch between supply and demand, and shifts in housing demand due to the pandemic.

The annual percentage change in Albuquerque home values serves as a powerful indicator of the economic vitality of the region. There have been periods of significant growth, declines post-GFC, along with smaller increases in some years, all influenced by local, national, and global economic trends and policies.

In Albuquerque, home values have seen an average annual increase of 3.76% over the past 25 years. And in the last decade, after the GFC, there has been a 6.5% annual growth in home values.

** The average December value of all single-family homes in the Greater Albuquerque area. Sourced from the Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI) and represents the “typical” home by including properties in the 35th to 65th percentile range for value.