Existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – increased 2.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate¹ of 4.68 million units in April from a downwardly revised pace of 4.55 million units in March, but were 3.5 percent below the 4.85 million-unit level in April 2008.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said first-time buyers continue to influence the market but there also is a seasonal rise of repeat buyers. “Most of the sales are taking place in lower price ranges and activity is beginning to pick up in the midprice ranges, but high-end home sales remain sluggish,” he said. “The Federal Reserve needs to help restore liquidity for the jumbo mortgage market by buying these loans under the TALF program.”

“Because foreclosed properties will likely be released into the market over the rest of year, it is critical that distressed homes be quickly cleared from the market,” Yun said. “Fortunately, home buyers are being attracted to deeply discounted prices and are bidding up many foreclosed listings, particularly in California, Nevada, and Florida – this will set the stage for healthy market conditions going forward.”

An NAR practitioner survey in April showed first-time buyers declined to 40 percent of transactions, implying more repeat buyers are entering the traditional spring home-buying season. It also showed the number of buyers looking at homes has increased 14 percentage points from a year ago. “This is consistent with our forecast for home sales in the latter part of the year to be 10 to 20 percent higher than the second half of 2008,” Yun said.

The national median existing-home price² for all housing types was $170,200 in April, which is 15.4 percent below 2008. Distressed properties, which accounted for 45 percent of all sales in April, continue to downwardly distort the median price because they generally sell at a discount relative to traditional homes.

NAR President Charles McMillan, a broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Dallas-Fort Worth, said conditions are optimal for buyers with good jobs and long-term plans. “We have record low mortgage interest rates, a wide selection of homes and affordable prices in most areas,” he said. “When you add the $8,000 first-time buyer tax credit, it’s hard to imagine a better time to make an investment in your future through homeownership.”

According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage fell to a record low 4.81 percent in April from 5.00 percent in March; the rate was 5.92 percent in April 2008; data collection began in 1971.

Total housing inventory at the end of April rose 8.8 percent to 3.97 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 10.2.-month supply³ at the current sales pace, compared with a 9.6-month supply in March. “The gain in inventory is largely seasonal from sellers entering the spring market. Even with the rise, inventory over the past few months has remained consistently lower in comparison with a year earlier,” Yun noted.

Single-family home sales rose 2.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.18 million in April from a level of 4.08 million in March, but are 2.8 percent below the 4.30 million-unit pace in March 2008. The median existing single-family home price was $169,800 in April, which is 14.9 percent below a year ago.

Existing condominium and co-op sales increased 6.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 500,000 units in April from 470,000 in March, but are 9.4 percent lower than the 552,000-unit pace a year ago. The median existing condo price⁴ was $173,900 in April, down 18.5 percent from April 2008.

Regionally, existing-home sales in the Northeast jumped 11.6 percent to an annual pace of 770,000 in April, but are 10.5 percent below April 2008. The median price in the Northeast was $237,400, which is 9.6 percent lower than a year ago.

Existing-home sales in the Midwest slipped 2.0 percent in April to a level of 1.00 million and are 9.9 percent lower than a year ago. The median price in the Midwest was $138,800, down 11.7 percent from April 2008.

In the South, existing-home sales increased 1.8 percent to an annual pace of 1.74 million in April but are 8.9 percent lower than April 2008. The median price in the South was $148,000, which is 12.8 percent below a year ago.

Existing-home sales in the West rose 3.5 percent to an annual rate of 1.17 million in April and are 19.4 percent higher than a year ago. The median price in the West was $222,600, down 21.8 percent from April 2008.

NOTE: References to performance in states or metro areas are from unpublished raw data used to analyze regional trends; please contact your local association of Realtors^® for more information.

¹The annual rate for a particular month represents what the total number of actual sales for a year would be if the relative pace for that month were maintained for 12 consecutive months. Seasonally adjusted annual rates are used in reporting monthly data to factor out seasonal variations in resale activity. For example, home sales volume is normally higher in the summer than in the winter, primarily because of differences in the weather and family buying patterns. However, seasonal factors cannot compensate for abnormal weather patterns.

Existing-home sales, which include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, are based on transaction closings. This differs from the U.S. Census Bureau’s series on new single-family home sales, which are based on contracts or the acceptance of a deposit. Because of these differences, it is not uncommon for each series to move in different directions in the same month. In addition, existing-home sales, which generally account for 85 to 90 percent of total home sales, are based on a much larger sample – more than 40 percent of multiple listing service data each month – and typically are not subject to large prior-month revisions.

Single-family data collection began monthly in 1968, while condo data collection began quarterly in 1981; the series were combined in 1999 when monthly collection of condo data began. Prior to this period, single-family homes accounted for more than nine out of 10 purchases. Historic comparisons for total home sales prior to 1999 are based on monthly single-family sales, combined with the corresponding quarterly sales rate for condos.

²The only valid comparisons for median prices are with the same period a year earlier due to the seasonality in buying patterns. Month-to-month comparisons do not compensate for seasonal changes, especially for the timing of family buying patterns. Changes in the composition of sales can distort median price data. Year-ago median and mean prices sometimes are revised in an automated process if more data is received than was originally reported.

³Total inventory and month’s supply data are available back through 1999, while single-family inventory and month’s supply are available back to 1982.

⁴Because there is a concentration of condos in high-cost metro areas, the national median condo price generally is higher than the median single-family price. In a given market area, condos typically cost less than single-family homes.

WASHINGTON, May 27, 2009

The perfect place to live and work on the eastside. Use the historic 2-bedroom adobe as an art studio or home office with just a short walk home at end of the day to the very private 4-year new 2-bedroom home. The historic building has traditional vigas, kiva fireplace, wood floors and lots of charm. The newer one has high wooden ceilings, custom cabinetry, in-floor radiant heat, and elegant windows and French doors that open to beautiful gardens. This perfect compound is a must-see. Click here to view property.

Exceptional adobe estate set on 12 acres of premium pastureland. The grand living room features magnificent mountain views, a full-sized bar with carved woodwork and hand-hewn vigas. The 8 bedrooms placed discretely throughout the property feature kiva fireplaces, sitting areas, baths with custom Spanish tile, and views. Poolroom has floor to ceiling windows, spa and kitchen. The dining room is graciously oversized. The main house flows seamlessly into a spacious guesthouse of the same quality.

Listing Number: 901978

Bedrooms: 8

Baths: 9

SqFt: 15000

Price: $4,500,000

City: Taos

Area: Taos And Environs

Forget time as you wander through this magical oasis set in the rolling hills of the Pojoaque Valley.

This 17-acre property includes:main residence,guest house,Hacienda w/private-entry guest rooms,and a breathtaking Main Hall complete with kitchen,dining,private session rooms.The finest materials and antiques from around the world create centuries of ambiance enhanced by rooftop terraces portals&elaborate gardens&fountains throughout the property. View Property

Whatever, the word “green” is only going to become more common. As in other realms where there are things being sold, the consumer should never forget the time-honored caution, caveat emptor (”Let the buyer beware”), and should try to educate himself about the products.

The New Mexico Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council offers assistance on that education front with its 10th Annual GreenBuilt Tour. On May 16-17, participants can visit 25 homes in the Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Taos areas that boast some of the best sustainability features out there.

“Starting in 2000, the GreenBuilt Tour pioneered this educational event, showing the public what a green home can be, how sustainable homes are built, and why they are good for the environment,” said Susie Marbury, 2009 president of the chapter.

Four Santa Fe homes are included on the tour this year. One is the Milder Family Residence in Galisteo. It’s packed with green features, all in the context of beautifully designed spaces. The house is 100 percent off the grid. Electricity, heat, and hot water are solar-generated, with generator and propane backup.

Fred and J.J. Milder, working with Signer Harris Architects, Boston, and Wood Metal Concrete (Tom and Sara Easterson-Bond), Santa Fe, equipped the home with energy-efficient appliances, windows made from fast-growing lyptus wood, vigas harvested from standing-dead timber, water-efficient appliances and fixtures, and a water-permeable driveway to prevent runoff and erosion. The family enjoys a swimming pool in the courtyard. It is fitted with a custom cover to minimize water evaporation, and it is “an integral part of our heating system,” Fred explained. “We have a fairly large solar-thermal plant and you need somewhere to dump the heat in the summer.”

Design aspects that relate to health and safety include walls built with fireproof AAC (autoclaved aerated concrete) blocks; plenty of daylighting; and the use of low-VOC, water-based paints, and natural clay plaster on inside walls. All rooms feature direct access to the outdoors.

The rec room is a fine example of this, and of several other green points. The walls here are rammed earth, built by Chandler Huston, which is a wonderful, interesting surface. There’s also a lot of glass, but it’s in big pocket doors that slide completely open in good weather. Over all is a deep “butterfly roof” that is unparalleled in its ability to capture and channel rainwater into storage tanks, where it is used to water plantings. The landscape is also nourished with effluent from a mini-treatment plant, which conditions all of the house’s wastewater.

So how did the Milders arrive at such a pinnacle of greenness?

“Our story,” said Fred, “is that we were living in Boston and we were doing what you can do in a city: recycling, using compact fluorescent bulbs, not wasting water, and driving a Prius.”

“When we came here,” added his wife, J.J., “we really liked this area, in terms of the landscape, and we saw a sign that there was property for sale.”

The story got more complicated, more fortuitous, when, down the road a piece, the Commonweal Conservancy got involved. Commonweal is purchasing the 13,200-acre Galisteo Basin Preserve and will finance conservation and restoration via residential development at the two ends. The master plan shows, at the northeast (west of Lamy and south of Eldorado) New MoonOverlook, with 20 homesites; Southern Crescent, with 22 lots; and the Village at Galisteo Basin Preserve, a mixed-use community that will include 965 homes on 300 acres.

At the southwest edge of the preserve is West Basin, a conservation community of five homesites on 944 acres. The Milder home is the first to be built here, actually the first in the entire master plan. When Commonweal found out how expensive it would be to bring electrical service to the site, they offered the Milders a juicy incentive.

“Commonweal provided a $50,000 cash rebate from the Milders’ purchase to underwrite a portion of the cost of their photovoltaic electric system,” said the organization’s president, Ted Harrison.

“That was really the catalyst,” J.J. Milder said, “especially as we were spec’ing materials with Tom and Sara, there was a certain aesthetic but there was also a commitment to working with more sustainable woods, for example.”

“And once we made the decision to be off the grid electrically, every other desicion was in the green direction,” her husband added. “For example, the solar heat and the AAC walls, which means we don’t need air conditioning.”

They’re proud of the outbuildings they sided with oak wood recycled from the palettes on which the AAC blocks were stacked.

Three buidings comprise the Milder house, which was complete in November 2007. The three sections enclose the great room and dining room; the master suite; and the girls’ bedrooms, a family room, and the mechanicals rooms. Passages between the three elements are open, another iteration of the concept of mixing up inside and outside.

Architecturally, the project has a presence at once elegant and experimental. One of the ideas on which the owners and the architect team worked was a semblance of building evolution, as if the home was constructed over a long, perhaps multigenerational, period. The resulting diversity of spaces and styles serves as a reflection of the innovation variety in the green home.

Maybe the most obvious, best part of the house is the solar systems. A cabinet in one room holds 24 large marine batteries, storing power generated by 33 photovoltaic panels with a capacity of 5.1 kilowatts.

“When I look at my little indicators throughout the house, it’s like, ‘Awesome. The batteries are 100 percent full. The sun is shining and I’m not paying any utility bills,’” J.J. Milder said.

Of course, this is the place for sunshine — the area averages 26 sunny days a month — but when it’s winter and there are successive days of cloud cover, the Milders have to use a backup generator for electricity. They are looking forward to a new addition designed to mitigate the fact that 80 percent of the energy developed by generators is wasted as heat. Cedar Mountain Solar LLC, which installed the solar-hot-water system, planned to jury-rig a heat exchanger on the generator so the heat can be piped into the house heating system during the wintertime.

In mid-April, Fred Milder and two men from Cedar Mountain were in the process of starting a business called Solar Logic. “The new company will make it easier for more people to work with a heating contractor who isn’t a solar expert: to mainstream the design and installation specs of solar hot-water systems,” J.J. Milder said.

Business should skyrocket. Solar-electric and solar-water systems are finally affordable. “The numbers right now are incredible,” Fred Milder said. “You get 10 percent back from the state and 30 percent from the feds, with no caps. We got $2,000 from the feds and $18,000 from the state when we did our house, but if we did it now, we might get $60,000 back.

“Plus, from the legislation the Governor Richardson just signed last week, the county or municipality can actually loan the homeowner the money for the up-front cost and the homeowner pays it back as a tax assessment. So as a homeowner today, you can have solar thermal or photovoltaics installed for nothing up front.”

Three more Santa Fe houses

* The Tucker Residence on Camino Serpiente is a LEED Platinum home: it satisfies the highest standard offered through the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design certification protocol.

The project won the most LEED points in the areas of energy and health/safety. Owner Rocky Tucker and designer/builder Bob Kreger had already achieved high points in the Home Energy Rating System just using conservation strategies; that was boosted significantly by adding six solar thermal collectors and a 3-kilowatt photovoltaic grid.

Interior air quality at the Tucker house is conditioned by means of air inlets and fans equipped with motion sensors for boosted spot ventilation.

Also noted on this home project were the utilization of local products, recycling of building scrap lumber, and water-conservation strategies: a hot-water-on-demand recirculation system, low-flow toilets, and graywater and rainwater-harvesting systems.

* The Santa Fe EcoHome on Double Arrow Road utilizes both passive solar design and an active-solar hot water system. The house boasts high insulation values — R-50 walls and R-70 ceilings — and airtight construction. A ventilator exchanges whole-house air eight times a day via buried pipes, assuring warmer fresh air in the winter and cooler fresh air in the summer.

The owner used clay wall-plaster and nontoxic paints. All wastewater from the home is treated and recycled for landscape irrigation.

The Santa Fe EcoHome sets itself apart from other green homes by building along the lines of the innovative German passive-house standard, which is designed to reduce a home’s energy usage by 75 percent, according to the GreenBuilt Tour materials.

* The Bechtold Passive Solar House on Camino Acote employs “heat-pumping” trombe walls as well as interior adobe walls for thermal mass. A pair of solar-thermal panels provide most of the home’s hot water.

The house project exhibited several green elements during construction. One was minimal site disturbance. The use of adobes and other local materials mitigated the amount of energy usually required for processing and transportation, and aided the local economy and local workers.

Rainwater, stored in a 10,000-gallon, underground tank, is available not only outside with a hose bib but inside at a utility tank, offering residents another resource for washing floors and similar tasks. Outdoor plants are watered with effluent from a small wastewater treatment plant.

The GreenBuilt Tour is part of Sustainability Week. U.S. Green Building Council founding member Bill Reed speaks during the event’s opening ceremonies from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Friday, May 8, at the Albuquerque Aquarium, 2601 Central Avenue NW.

On May 9, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., a Green Central expo will be staged at the University of New Mexico Continuing Education North Building, 1634 University NE. There will be classes on green building and renovation, energy efficiency, water conservation, and sustainable-building tax credits; and showings of the 2007 film Green is the Color of Money, about the design and construction of the LEED Platinum Banner Bank building in Boise, Idaho.

A guided tour of commercial green buildings in Albuquerque and Santa Fe (including the new Farmers Market and Thornburg buildings) will be held between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Wednesday, May 13.

The event concludes with the GreenBuilt Tour of 25 homes. That takes place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 16, and Sunday, May 17. Homes are available for viewing during these times only, and visitors must have tickets.

For ticket locations and other information, see www.greenbuilttour.net.