New Mexico’s 2020 real estate boom expected to carry over into 2021

Garcia said 2020 was the busiest year for building since more than a decade ago. 

“Since the, you know, 2008, 2009 where the kind of the market crashed,” he said.

It’s not just new homes that are in demand. Remodeling is also on the rise.

“Energy efficiency is a big trend now and also living spaces where people want to live and work and play. So, that was already moving in that direction before COVID and now it’s just gotten crazy,”  Garcia said.

Garcia said the uptick in demand has made it harder to get a hold of supplies. 

“Labor prices were pretty good, and we had a good labor force that was great. Lumber really was already going up before COVID hit, and it’s just the other supplies related to building, sometimes nuts and bolts that come from China, all the way to lumber that needs to be harvested locally or regionally. So that’s been a challenge,” he said. 

Garcia said the pandemic has caused a ripple in parts of the supply chain. 

“Other materials have been somewhat of a supply chain issue. That was the challenge I think for most of the builders, but really the market all over from Rio Rancho to Los Lunas—it’s just really been good for the builders.”

The market is expected to stay strong far into 2021

“We know that all the lots that were pulled down and getting developed, all that can are being developed. So, we expect they’ll be probably around 1,800 to 2,000 permits finishing the year. And now we’re looking at that much more for next year as new lots come online, we expect it to be another good, good market for us,” Garcia said.