Building bust

The daughter of a friend got a great deal on a house recently, buying on a short sale. My friend is happy – her daughter, a single mom, can stretch her budget farther.

These transactions are good for the buyer but not the seller or the bank and say something about real estate in general. In June, about 25 percent of home sales in the state were of distressed properties – foreclosures and short sales (lender and borrower selling a home for less than the balance owed).

Last week, listening to professionals whose colorful graphs showed lines heading in the wrong direction, I could understand the current furor over the state’s proposed new building code.

The Construction Industries Division wants to increase energy efficiency by 20 percent, an admirable goal.

But the CID went a little overboard by ratcheting up the model International Energy Conservation Code by 10 percent to create the New Mexico Energy Conservation Code. The new rules would make New Mexico a leader in the nation, says the CID.

The new rules would make New Mexico the most expensive place in the nation to build, say trade groups – home builders, Realtors and developers. They were quick to point out the state of their industry and the economy.

If this sounds like whining, return with me to the colorful graphs.

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