Albuquerque metro HousingGauge — October 5, 2026 | RED 41

Welcome to the Albuquerque metro HousingGauge, your weekly local market report for the week of October 5, 2026.

Here is the headline. Albuquerque metro's HousingGauge score is 41 out of 100, which puts the market in the RED zone. Conditions have weakened over the past three months, and financing remains expensive.

Three developments stand out this week.

First: Mortgage rates up 0.85 points in three months. The 30-year fixed rate averages 7.28%, versus 6.43% three months ago.

Second: Score down 12 points over 13 weeks. The score moved from 53 to 41 over the past 13 weeks, driven mainly by Mortgage Conditions (−7.0 points).

Third: Inventory down 7.0% year over year. 2,486 homes are listed for sale, equal to 3.4 months of supply.

Now, what is behind the score?

Mortgage Conditions scores 12 out of 100. The 30-year fixed rate averages 7.28%, up 0.82 percentage points over six months. Financing remains expensive, limiting affordability for leveraged buyers.

Supply & Buyer Leverage scores 46 out of 100. Inventory is 7.0% lower than a year ago (2,486 active listings), with 3.4 months of supply. Homes take a median 47 days to sell at 98.6% of list price, and 21.6% of listings have had a price cut. Negotiating leverage is fairly balanced between buyers and sellers.

Monetary Conditions scores 53 out of 100. The real policy rate is 1.24%, 0.23 points above the estimated neutral rate (r-star) of 1.01% — a near neutral stance. The fed funds rate has risen 0.24 points over six months.

Demand Trend scores 49 out of 100. Pending sales are 0.2% lower than a year ago and closed sales are 6.2% lower. Days on market are 6.0% shorter than a year ago. Demand is steady.

Valuation & Affordability scores 61 out of 100. The median home costs 5.3 times the median household income. Principal and interest on a typical purchase would take 34.8% of that income at current rates. Inflation-adjusted prices are 1.9% lower than a year ago. Affordability is stretched but not extreme.

Rental Economics scores 44 out of 100. A year of median rent equals 4.8% of the median price (a price-to-rent ratio of 20.9). Rents are up 1.5% year over year. Rental yields are thin relative to prices.

The score is unchanged from last week's report. Over 13 weeks it is down 12 points, from 53 to 41. The largest contributors were Mortgage Conditions (−7.0 points) and Monetary Conditions (−3.2 points).

So what would move Albuquerque metro into the yellow? It is close: any one of these would likely do it on its own: 30-year mortgage rate falls below 6.45% (now 7.28%); pending sales grow more than 11.0% year over year (now −0.2%); the Fed cuts more than 0.50 pts over six months (now +0.24 pts); and policy gap (real policy rate minus r-star) narrows below −0.90 pts (now +0.23 pts).

And what could make conditions worse? Watch for these together: 30-year mortgage rate rises above 7.60% (now 7.28%); pending sales fall more than 4.5% year over year (now −0.2%); the Fed raises rates more than 0.45 pts over six months (now +0.24 pts); policy gap (real policy rate minus r-star) widens above +0.55 pts (now +0.23 pts); and months of supply falls below 2.7 months (now 3.4 months).

That is the Albuquerque metro HousingGauge for this week. The HousingGauge score describes market conditions. It is not a recommendation to buy or sell, and it is not individualized financial advice. For charts, sources and the full methodology, visit housinggauge.com. Thanks for listening.