By Meagan Nichols  –  Editor-in-chief, Albuquerque Business First, January 31, 2022

Originally from Oklahoma, Paul Wilson grew up an Army brat. By the time he was five years old he had already lived in six different places.

After high school, Wilson decided to also go down the military path. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1968 and served 24 years in the U.S. Marine Corps. His time in the military took him all over the world with his final tour in Japan. It was from there that he was sent to the University of New Mexico to serve in the ROTC unit.

“I stayed here. I decided I didn't want to move anymore,” Wilson said. “I liked Albuquerque. I love the people. Loved the location. Love the climate. Loved the culture.”

He got into real estate at the urging of a friend and for the past 24 years, he has done just that. He and his wife Judy run eXp Realty where Wilson is the team leader of what they call “The Home Team.”

Albuquerque Business First recently caught up with Wilson to talk about both his personal life and the current state of the residential real estate market.

The interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Albuquerque Business First: When you aren't working, what are some of your favorite things to do in the state?

Paul Wilson: I love traveling the state. I've seen all four corners of the state. It's a beautiful state, beautiful people and every little community has its own little unique flair and flavor.

What's your favorite local restaurant? Los Cuates

The military to real estate — those seem like very different things. Besides a friend telling you to do it, what really piqued your interest and made you want to go down that road? It was something to do to make a difference in people's lives. I'd always been interested in real estate. In fact, my first non-required course after I graduated from college was a correspondence course in real estate because I knew that knowing about real estate would be helpful for me in my investment career.

What do you think the next year is going to look like for the housing market? I think it's going to be more of the same. The lack of inventory, that unfortunately drives up prices, [is] unusually higher than normal, percentage-wise. [I expect] not as much frantic buying offers, not as many multiple offers and not as many, what I would call … aggressive offers. … The housing market is becoming so incredibly expensive relative to what it has been. It’s pricing some people out of the market before they even start. … I just had a young man, we closed on a property for them in April, and he got transferred … We bought his house for $212,500 back in April and we sold it for $280,000 two weeks ago. That is just unbelievable appreciation.

Is there anything about this current cycle that we're in that has surprised you? That more properties have not come on the market for sale. But I think some properties are coming on the market, they're just not lasting on the market. Because the level of sales has been high and matching year-over-year sales, but the problem is just lack of inventory. Because when a house comes on the market, if it's on the market seven days it's very unusual.

What advice would you give someone who's looking to buy right now? Keep your options open and use the wide range of area opportunities. It’s not just the Northeast Heights, for instance. There are really nice properties in every sector of the Albuquerque area. … The range of opportunities is really wide if they keep their blinders off. Flexibility, I think, is a big deal.

Is there anything you would like to add? What we like to do is make a difference in people's lives; to help them realize the dream of homeownership. … The work we do in terms of making dreams happen is just unbelievable.

Source: "New Mexicans to Know: From the Marines to real estate, this is Paul Wilson's ABQ journey"