San Juan County Realtors report low inventory, seller’s market persists

Aspen Gruen, president of the San Juan County Board of Realtors, told the county commission that San Juan County remains in a seller’s market with low inventory and ongoing affordability challenges.

“Here in San Juan County, we currently have 82 active residential listings, 52 residential listings sold in the last month,” Gruen said during the commission’s new-business presentations. She reported a 2.85% absorption rate, which the board uses to indicate the market remains in sellers’ favor; she said a rate around 3.0% would mark transition toward a buyer’s market.

Gruen presented national and state figures alongside the county snapshot. She cited National Association of Realtors numbers showing a U.S. housing shortage and noted a New Mexico shortage she said is about 32,000 affordable homes. Locally, she reported an average list price of $458,000 and an average sold price of $317,000, with a sold-to-list ratio of roughly 97.7%.

Commissioners asked whether listings were concentrated in one municipality; Gruen said listings are scattered across the county but with a higher count in Farmington. She also said building activity is “pretty stagnant,” citing high construction costs and a shortage of contractors and subcontractors as barriers to new home supply.

Gruen said the county’s markets are substantially more affordable than nearby Durango, Colo., and confirmed that development near the new temple and associated apartment construction has increased buyer interest in adjacent neighborhoods.

The Realtors’ representative provided one-pagers and state and national materials to commissioners and offered to supply more detailed listings or analysis on request.