KC Counts spoke with Damian Willis for this week’s Monday Business Watch. Listen to the report above or read the recap below.
The Lucky Needle Opens in Downtown
Main Street Las Cruces is full of artistic outlets from galleries to boutiques to other small businesses. Recently, business owners welcomed a new tattoo shop, called the Lucky Needle.
The owner Keena Wolff opened her new shop a few weeks ago on the second floor above CAV Gallery right next door to Downtown Blues Coffee.
Wolff has been tattooing for three years but has always been an artist. She said she grew up in Alamogordo with artistic parents. She was inspired to get into tattooing by a friend who went through an apprenticeship. About three years ago, Wolff started studying tattooing and took an apprenticeship herself, and got her license.
The space on Main Street happened to be available so she moved in around the beginning of November. Wolff described her business space as Japanese-themed with a spa-like feel and a big emphasis on comfort — a place you might find in a city much larger than Las Cruces.
When clients first walk in, they’ll be greeted by a seating area where they can look through some of her designs. Further into the space is where the client chair is, in perfect view of the Organ Mountains and the artist’s array of inks.
Right now they are open by appointment only. The Lucky Needle is located at 128 S. Main St. Ste. Get in touch online at http://www.interlifedesigns.net/needles
Local Real Estate Market Cooling Off
Rising interest rates are cooling the market down. The year began, as many others did before it, with a relatively low number of contracts signed and expectations of increased sales as the year progressed. All went as planned — for a month. What was unknown at the time is that March and April would represent our area’s peak months of the year for newly minted sale agreements. This is according to our real estate columnist, Gary Sandler.
Beginning in April and continuing to this day, the number of buyers and sellers signing purchase agreements has dropped off in November. In November, the latest month for which statistics are available, just 135 homebuyers signed up to purchase single-family homes.
Right now, the inventory is at about 337 homes as of December 12th. We're seeing a good number of homes on the market and maybe fewer buyers being qualified.
The median price, (where half sold for more and half sold for less) fluctuated between $279,500 in January to about $303,000 in October. The median price fell to $279,250 in November. The market seems a little volatile and we don't know exactly where the trend is headed, but it will certainly be something to keep an eye on.
Read more on these stories at http://lcsun-news.com
