About Santa Fe County, NM

By Saturday my real estate brain usually has quit functioning. Why? Isn't the market supposed to be dead? Isn't it true all buyers have disappeared given the lack of financing and the end of the first time home buyers credit? Or isn't it true sellers are no longer realistic? My experience is just the opposite thanks to finding my feet and letting my imagination rule.

For example, this past week for me was like running a real estate marathon. It began with three new listings, opening one home for inspection, another for an appraisal, another for three for agent present showings. In between, I wrote a column for our local Real Estate Home Magazine, closed one property, created tons of marketing copy for print and online, delivered several Pop-Bys and negotiated an offer into a contract this afternoon. Yes, I went to the market several times, got gas, bought another computer, had lunch with peers and had three dinners at home with my partner.

But, by the end of the week my imagination was screaming for attention. This afternoon, it was time to let it rule and renew my spirit, balance my energy and find my feet again. This image is what happened when I if my moved my favorite Raven outside for a look at the glorious blue sky over Santa Fe. As you can see, the Raven has found her feet all thanks to the imagination of another.

Take the time you need to find your feet in this challenging landscape of real estate. Use your imagination every opportunity you can and discover how something as easy as smelling the flowers, writing a poem and making a picture can change how you see and practice real estate. Life is too short to live without finding your feet and letting your imagination roam. Especially if you live in Santa Fe!

Get out your crystal ball and see if you see what Fiserv is predicting:

Home prices in Santa Fe to rise by more than 25% in the next four years!

According to an article published on www.realtor.org, and originated by Vanessa Wong of Bloomberg Business Week on October 9, 2010, the financial services technology firm Fiserv is predicting significant increases in home prices beginning next year for 10 metropolitan areas, including Santa Fe, New Mexico. David Stiff, the chief economist at Fiserv, says that by 2014 homes prices all over the country will have rebounded by an average of over 7% over 2010 prices, but foresees skyrocketing price increases of more than 20% for ten specific areas, including Santa Fe.

The ten lucky housing markets?

1. Washington State: Bremerton-Silverdale, +44.7 percent

2. Oregon: Bend, +33.6 percent

3. Michigan: Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, +33.1 percent

4. California: Napa Valley, +31.7 percent

5. Nevada: Carson City, +31.6 percent

6. Florida: Panama City-Lynn Haven-Panama City Beach, +26.9 percent

7. Arizona: Flagstaff, +26 percent

8. New Mexico: Sante Fe, +25.8 percent

9. Wyoming: Cheyenne, +23.7 percent

10. Alaska: Anchorage, +20 percent

I was given a great Santa Fe home to sell a few weeks ago – here are the details, thanks for asking – and the first thing I did was to hire a professional photographer, Chris Corrie. Why? Because I am a good realtor but an average photographer. Chris surprised me by telling me he rarely gets hired by real estate people any more. Brokers tell him they ‘don’t need him’ because they have perfectly good cameras of their own. Hmmm….

That’s like saying to Michelangelo ‘we don’t need you on the Sistine Chapel gig because we have our own paint and brushes’. And of course, it shows. The MLS is full of badly lit, poorly focused pics taken by enthusiastic but also very amateur real estate people. Doors open, toilet seats up, dinner plates in evidence – you’ve seen the pictures.

Why it frustrates me, apart from the issue of not giving the client the best possible marketing, is that we real estate professionals pitch ourselves as just that, professionals, and we rail against FSBO’s who ‘try to do it themselves’. They don’t have the skills, don’t understand what goes into a transaction, blah blah. Yet we’ll whip out our camera phone to save a couple of hundred dollars and deliver a sub-optimal job for our clients. Bizarre

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I've noticed more clients asking - and more agents marketing - for properties that could be described as Compounds. I guess it's the cocoon effect - the desire to retreat to a safe, comfortable place surrounded by familiar things and faces. I have a wonderful Santa Fe home for sale in the Museum Hill district, which is about 10 minutes from downtown. The home has a guesthouse, a studio and a main house - all three could be separate or integrated, and that's what people seem to like about the place. I had one son & mother very interested in the property and their plan was for the son to live in the guesthouse, the mother in the main house and the studio for guests and a meditation space. Another Santa Fe home for sale is in the exclusive East Side and it's really a compound too, with a main house, guesthouse, chapel (!) and a number of outbuildings.

Room for Grandma, space for the kids (both of these properties are in great santa fe school districts), space to stretch, indulge in hobbies, arts & crafts.... Is the Compound the new trend?

This is your one stop place for the best in Santa Fe Homes!

I specialize in historic, east-side, downtown Santa Fe Properties, and I am devoting this blog to the best listings in Santa Fe, New Mexico!

I will be featuring one of our amazing and historic properties from this site weekly, so keep your eyes peeled for the newest listings and information!

You can catch me here or at www.santafehomesolutions.com

Solange Mena

-Santa Fe's Choice for Real Estate

505-470-888

solange@santafeproperties.com

www.santafehomesolutions.com