If you are thinking about buying a home in the Santa Fe area, but are concerned about the real estate and home buying markets (and who wouldn’t be after watching the national news for the last few years?), you can study the real estate section of the newspaper and visit some open houses with renewed vigor, encouraged by the knowledge that the home buying market in Santa Fe is sliding back into a positive groove.

While the real estate industry is known for sometimes taking an overly rosy view, the data really do tell us some good things. A detailed report issued by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) in June said that May’s pending home sales matched the highest mark in the last 24 months. According to NAR, yearly and monthly gains were reached in each region of the country, and the price tag for existing homes (as opposed to new construction) nationwide is predicted to jump 3 percent this year and perhaps an additional 5.7 percent in 2013.

NAR’s economist brain wizards, however, indicate that evaporating inventory is negatively impacting unit sales. They suggest that if the credit climate snapped back to normal and more inventory was available, specifically in low to middle price ranges, even more contracts would be successfully completed. In layman’s terms, supply cannot meet the demand in the housing market at this time.

The unbiased real estate website, Trulia, supplies us with some detailed information specifically focused on the Santa Fe area. Here are some pertinent numbers for you to crunch concerning the three-month stretch from January to March 2012:

  • Median home sales price: $259,250, a 9% ($25,750) decrease from the same time frame last year
  • The number of home sales decreased by 56.2% from the same time frame last year
  • Average home listing price: $702,420 in the week of June 20, a 0.4% (about $2,630) decline from the previous week

While the real estate market certainly can’t be described as roaring, it’s good to hear good news when it happens.