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Friday, November 11, 2005 NEW BUSINESS NEWS! Advent Plant to Employ 1,000 By Andrew Webb Journal Staff Writer Albuquerque-based Advent Solar will be the first corporate tenant at the massive Mesa del Sol development, where the photovoltaic-cell maker will build a manufacturing plant expected to employ 1,000 by 2010. The deal marks a milestone for the planned 12,000-acre, mixed-use community, which has been on the drawing board for two decades. Advent Solar also announced Thursday it has raised $30 million in venture capital, the largest such funding round in recent history. "This is a huge victory in terms of starting a solar industry in the state," New Mexico Economic Development Secretary Rick Homans said during a news conference in Gov. Bill Richardson's office in Santa Fe. Homans joined Richardson, Mayor Martin Chávez and other state, city and company officials to announce the deal. Advent, which was founded here in 2000, considered severa...

Classic Pueblo style architecture blends the warmth of traditional New Mexico with contemporary universal design in this spacious open floor plan. Exposed beams in the great room and a kiva fireplace add a pleasant, comfortable atmosphere, and the elegant granite kitchen provides a relaxing room for your family or for entertaining your guests. This home also has a fabulous master bath. WALLEN BUILDERS 4 bedrooms • 2 1/2 baths 2,464 sq. ft. • $247,900 Sunday, October 9, 2005 Parade Breaks the $2 Million Price Barrier Journal Staff Report The annual Homes of Enchantment Parade has never included a house priced at $2 million or more. This year, there are three of them. Seventeen others are listed for at least $1 million. "Cost of homes this year is higher than we've ever had," said Kaycee Coffman, director of communications for the Homebuilders Association of Central New Mexico. "(That's) pretty big for Albuquerque." Part of the reason,...

Occupancy Fraud Tops List of Most Common Type of Mortgage Fraud -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Home Real Estate News -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: Beth Bresnahan Publishing date: 09/07/05 RISMEDIA, Sept. 8, 1005 — Occupancy fraud was the most common type of mortgage fraud reported during the first half of 2005, according to statistics released by The Prieston Group, which provides fraud insurance, training and loss mitigation. More than half—about 53%—of claims filed with The Prieston Group contained some type of occupancy misrepresentation. Occupancy fraud occurs when borrowers—or someone acting on behalf of borrowers—misrepresents whether they plan to live at the property. Following behind occupancy fraud were schemes involving hidden debt (found in 31.6% of all claims), employment fraud (found in 30.3% of all claims) and straw borrowers (found in 12.9% of al...

Saw this on our local news today - still looking for the source of the story, but very interesting! IF YOU ARE LOOKING TO BUY A HOME IN NEW MEXICO A NEW SURVEY SUGGESTS THAT SANTA FE MAY NOT BE THE BEST PLACE TO LOOK. THE NATIONAL CITY CORPORATION STUDIED 299 HOUSING MARKETS IN THE U-S. IT FOUND HOMES IN THE CITY DIFFERENT, ARE 'OVERVALUED' BY 22 PERCENT. IT'S 12 PERCENT IN FARMINGTON. BUT THE SURVEY BELIEVES DEALS CAN STILL BE FOUND IN ALBUQUERQUE, WHICH IT FOUND TO BE UNDERPRICED BY 3 PERCENT. IN LAS CRUCES, HOMES WERE FOUND TO BE UNDERVALUED, BUT ONLY BY ONE PERCENT.

This has been a wild summer - thank goodness that Albuquerque is coming in on the tail end of the investor frenzy, seeing Phoenix and Las Vegas as examples. Here's what investors need to know. The wild appreciation that you saw in those two cities which led to builders actually offering money to buyers to not close, and being able to sell for way over what the first phase pricing experienced WILL NOT HAPPEN HERE. Rents are declining because there are too many investment properties being purchased in blocks of neighborhoods. If you are going to purchase an investment property, buy one in an area where there are many owner occupied properties. Do not buy blocks of homes in one neighborhood. This is not a good thing. Investors have been blocked out of purchasing in new home communities - buy resale and buy a quality home. Do not expect to get a positive cash flow. Do not try to say that you are "moving here with a mortgage company" or "coming to town with a ne...

A great site where you can learn all the "ins and outs" of real estatement investment and strategies. Thanks to Jacques Coquerel for allowing me to link to this great blog.

Thursday, April 21, 2005 Jobs Have Increased Twice as Fast in New Mexico as in the Nation By Winthrop Quigley Journal Staff Writer Employment in New Mexico grew 2 percent between the fourth quarters of 2003 and 2004, more than twice as fast as the national rate, University of New Mexico economists reported. The university's Bureau of Business and Economic Research, in its semi-annual Economy Watch report for the Albuquerque Journal, said state unemployment declined to 5.6 percent in the fourth quarter from 5.8 percent in the first quarter of 2004. New Mexico's total civilian nonagricultural employment reached 801,400 jobs by the fourth quarter, up from 785,300 jobs in the fourth quarter of 2003. Employment in the Albuquerque area— defined as Bernalillo, Sandoval, Valencia and Torrance counties— reached 375,700 jobs, up 2.6 percent from the fourth quarter of 2003. Area unemployment was 5.1 percent. Bureau of Business and Economic Research director Lee Rey...

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Monday, March 7, 2005 Ky. Firm Buys Albuquerque Marriott on Louisiana By Diane Velasco Of the Journal COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE: The Albuquerque Marriott hotel, 2102 Louisiana NE, changed owners earlier this year, but the name will stay the same. The Host Marriott Corp. sold the property to Ft. Mitchell, Ky.-based Columbia Sussex Corp., said new general manager Tom Hagreen. "We were looking at three other properties owned by Marriott and this was one of them," he said. Host Marriott could not be reached for comment. Terms of the sale were not disclosed. The Albuquerque hotel was one of six in the country that Host Marriott sold for a total of $223 million in December and January. Columbia Sussex Corp. is a private hotel, resort and casino operator with 62 properties in the United States. Its franchise affiliations include the Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Westin and Radisson brands. HOTEL BLUE CHANGES HANDS: The Hotel Blue, 717 Central NW, has been p...

************Call to Action*************** The final East Downtown (EDO) Master Plan will be heard in the Albuquerque City Council on Wednesday, February 23, 2005, 5:00 p.m. in the basement of City Hall. The EDO Master Plan is supported by the AMBR/CARNM Legislative Committee. What Can You Do to Help? Please attend if you can and express your support for this community effort. If you cannot attend, please contact your councilor and ask for a vote to pass the EDO Master Plan. Summary of the East Downtown (EDO) Master Plan The plan is a comprehensive vision for the redevelopment of Central Avenue and Broadway Boulevard between I-25 and downtown and between MLK and Coal. With historic Albuquerque High taking the lead, the area is rapidly and positively changing. In the past 3 years, there have been 70 new residential lease units and 110 residential sale units in addition to retail and office space. This plan extends those efforts with a 20 year roadmap providing for over 1,500 ...

Sunday, February 20, 2005 Infill Uses Suggestions From Historic Santa Barbara-Martineztown Area Albuquerque Journal By Jane MahoneyFor the Journal Thirteen single-family houses are rising out of the ashes of an abandoned, fire-damaged property in the shadow of one of Downtown's oldest neighborhoods. What's more, plenty of folks have expressed an interest in buying and living in the development spearheaded by the Greater Albuquerque Housing Partnership, a private, nonprofit, housing developer that works with the city, the neighborhood and finance institutions. With an emphasis on creating affordable housing for first-time homeowners in the city's oldest neighborhoods, the Greater Albuquerque Housing Partnership is selling houses in the new infill El Porvenir subdivision near Lomas and Arno NE in the heart of the Santa Barbara-Martineztown neighborhood. Six houses have been completed. With three distinct designs and ranging from 920 to 1,300 square feet, the houses are reser...

Monday, February 7, 2005 Home Permits Reach Metro Area Record By Rory McClannahanJournal Staff Writer Growth on the west side of the Rio Grande drove metro-area home building permits to a record in 2004, a 12 percent jump above the previous year. The hottest spots in 2004 for new home construction compared with 2003 were Rio Rancho with 43 percent growth, the Southwest Mesa with 26.6 percent, and Valencia County with 46 percent. Albuquerque's Northwest quadrant fell by a half-percent and the city grew by only 0.6 percent. During 2004, 7,719 permits were issued in the metro area, according to the Home Builders Association of Central New Mexico. In 2003, 6,879 permits were issued. "I knew we would be over last year's numbers, but not that much," said Jim Folkman, vice president of the association. In addition to the cities of Albuquerque and Rio Rancho, the metro area includes Los Lunas and unincorporated Bernalillo and Valencia counties. Rio Rancho...

Saturday, February 5, 2005 Double Eagle Gets Funds for Upgrades Journal Staff Report The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has awarded a $201,184 grant for upgrades to Double Eagle II Airport. Funds will be used to help bring electricity and natural gas to the airport, which is undergoing improvements to become a center for economic development in Albuquerque. "It is important to ensure that Double Eagle II airport is ready to accommodate Eclipse Aviation when they move into their new home in Albuquerque," said Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., in a prepared statement Thursday. Bingaman helped secure the funding in a 2003 spending bill and has also worked to secure millions for other airport-related expenses, such as road and runway improvements and construction of a new control tower. Last year, the airport received a $3.13 million grant from the Federal Aviation Administration to begin runway improvements to the airport as part its ...

TheNewMexicoChannel.com New Mexico Remains In Running For Aircraft Plant POSTED: 10:31 am MST January 25, 2005 ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- New Mexico is the only state still in the running for a plant that could employ 2,500 people. The Albuquerque Journal on Tuesday reported that Canada's Bombardier Aerospace wants to open a new plant that would make commercial aircraft. The company's board is expected to decide in March whether they will open the proposed plant -- and, if so, where it would be located. Copyright 2005 by TheNewMexicoChannel.com

It's four and counting. For the fourth year in a row, Albuquerque has set a record in sales of existing homes - and it didn't take a year to do it. The record was broken in November when 900 homes were sold, bringing the year's total to 10,347, 131 more than the 2003 count of 10,216. With the exception of January, new monthly records have been set every month this year through November. October was the sixth month in a row that more than 1,000 homes were sold, a showing unrivaled in the more than 20 years that records have been kept by the Albuquerque Metropolitan Board of Realtors. The city had never topped 1,000 homes sales in a month until July of last year, when 1,110 were sold. Some 1,054 homes sold the following month, and then sales dropped below the 1,000 mark. Sales hit 1,029 in May of this year, followed by 1,157 in June, 1,131 in July, 1,146 in August, 1,022 in September and 1,001 in October, all monthly records. The 674 homes sold in February were the highest of...

Wednesday, January 19, 2005 December 2004 December 2004 was the eleventh consecutive month in which the number of sales reported by SWMLS for the month is the highest number ever reported for home sales in the Albuquerque area in that month! There were 916 sales reported for December 2004. The number of sales rose slightly from November to December (from 900 to 916), a rise of 1.78 percent. The increase in the number of sales from December 2003 (731 sales) compared to December 2004 was 25.31 percent! The number of sales reported from the beginning of the year (12,263) was 10.25 percent higher than the year-end number in 2003 (10,216). The average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage in New Mexico was 3.37 percent lower in December 2004 than it was in December 2003 (5.37 percent cf. 5.54 percent in December 2003). The average and median prices for R1 homes continued to rise compared to the corresponding values in December 2003. The data are presented below. Class R1, ave...

Linda DeVlieg, ePro