Eloise Gift, New Mexico Real Estate

Ladera Heights is an Albuquerque, New Mexico neighborhood you may want to explore if you are looking for quick and easy access to any part of the city. Air force personnel clients and Sandia Lab employees who are savvy real estate shoppers ask me to look for homes for them in the Ladera Heights section of town, anticipating prices compatively lower than those close to their offices but only an easy 10 - 20 minutes commute to work by way of I-40 from Coors or Unser Boulevard.

Indeed, the intersection at I-40 and Coors, one of the two major north south arteries (Unser, the second, is being expanded) is almost squarely at the center of the Ladera community. Ladera Heights is tucked in against the Petroglyph National Monument on the northern border,;Coors is on the eastern boudary;and the Southwest Multiple Listing places the westernmost boundary just west of Paseo del Volcan. The southern border is just south of Arenal.

Ladera is also a community of older (built in the 70's) and newer homes. The recent favorable real estate market that, in Albuquerque, lasted through the third quarter of 2007 gave rise to a rapid increase in new home construction and boosted the population in the area. Similarly, commercial ventures have escalated along the Coors corridor with many new openings as many Eastside business owners recognize opportunities for expansion on the Westside. The recently completed I-40 interchange at Coors Boulevard opened up a major artery to the west and vastly improved the commute time across the Rio Grande.

Living in Ladera Heights means quick access to nearby trails to the bosque and the Petroglyph National Monument; to golfing at the Ladera Golf Course; to the Open Space Visitor's Center, the Unser Racing Museum on Montano; restaurants, physical fitness clubs and an ever increasing number of other businesses and services in the area.

Three hundred eleven homes are currently on the market in the larger Ladera community. In a variety of age ranges, styles, and sizes, the homes vary in price from $84,000 to $799,000. In the section of the community closest to Coors and I-40, at the end of August, thirty-five homes were listed for sale, six were under contract, and five were listed as sold during the month.

Considering moving to New Mexico? Consider Ladera Heights for convenience and well-priced homes with wonderful amenities. When you are packing for your move, forget the snow shovel and bring your bike and walking shoes.

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Looking for a Westside Albuquerque, New Mexico community in which to settle? Paradise Hills offers delightful spaces in Paradise East and Paradise West. Paradise West is virtually all new with ongoing construction in some areas. Paradise East includes vintage Paradise Hills (built about 40 years ago ) with mature gardens, each on .25 or more acre in the County of Bernalillo. It is a community that was developed around a golf course; and apart from Executive Estates on the south side of Paradise Hills Boulevard, was for the better part of the last forty years, an almost isolated Albuquerque community. Now, new communities extend in every direction around the golf course to fill out the original boundaries from the AMAFCA Las Ventanas Dam to the Calabacillas Arroyo, Paseo del Norte, and Coors Boulevard. It is a community that is aging like fine wine while renewing itself.

The golf course, in its latest reincarnation as Desert Greens, continues to provide recreation and an oasis of green open space as additional attractions of the area. Other attractions, apart from a variety of comfortable homes (older and newer) include expanding shopping and recreational resources. The Cottonwood Mall one of Albuquerque's four upscale malls is on the edge of Paradise Hills. Apart from its own shops and restaurants, and movie theatres, the mall serves as a hub for a widening circle of restaurants and other businesses.

Paradise Hills borders the Petroglyph National Monument with accessible trails to explore paths and the mystery of the glyphs carved on ancient rocks. Paradise Hills is also an area the offers magnificent views of Northeast Albuquerque, the Sandia, Manzano, and even the Sangre de Cristo and Jemez Mountains as well as the sleeping sisters (extinct volcanic cones) on the edge of the western high mesa. Depending on where your home is located in Paradise Hills, you may even have the equivalent of a ringside seat for the International Balloon Fiesta each year.

Homes in Paradise Hills range in price from the low hundreds to under $1,000,000. They include town homes and single family detached homes. If you are looking for quality of life, this is one place in which you can find it.

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Westside Albuquerque is made up of smaller communities, each identified by name and sometimes by unique features. The Trails, a master-planned community that is still being built on the farthest edge of the northwest mesa is one of these communities. It is bordered on the north by Paseo del Norte, on the south and southwest by Woodmont Avenue, and on the east by Universe Boulevard.

As the name suggests, this is a community of trails. Planned biking and walking trails cross the community leading to and from up to eight plannned parks. I found four of these parks, pleasant, well maintained open spaces integrated into the neighborhood, already functioning -- a community park, a soccer park, a baseball park, and a dog park.

The Trails is also home to the brand new state-of-the-art, green built Volcano Vista High School on Rainbow Boulevard across the street from the middle school that is currently under construction. When retail/commercial sites tucked into the northeast and northwest corners of the subdivision at Paseo del Norte.

The one and two story detached two to six bedroom homes at The Trails vary in sizes from just over 1300 square feet to above four thousand square feet. Several have private guest quarters and courtyards.

The Trails has easy access to Cottonwood Mall with shops, a movie theater, and restaurants. The area also has a quick direct path along Paseo del Norte through the Petroglyphs to more restaurants and shopping along Golf Road and communities to the east.

The Los Ranchos de Albuquerque farmers market was on schedule yesterday as it is on Saturdays throughout the growing season. This last weekend in August, the market happens to coincde with the California slow food celebrations. There was no hint the vendors and customers were aware of the California happenings but the market had a festive air. It was a family affair. Children and dogs were in attendance and men and women vendors were at stands selling colorful and delicious looking fruit and vegetables . The craft on the stands were attractive and everyone seemed to be having fun.

I bought 'Placitas plums' from two young women of high school age; one a senior about to leave for college on the east coast and the other a sophomore. I couldn't resist the mounds of bread at the bakery stand and also ended up buying scones and tarts.

But Albuquerque being the town it is, the North Valley being the comunity it is, and farmers markets being farmers markets, my morning would not have been complete without my meeting a friend or two, and I did. As it turned out, the farmers market was an altogether satisfying experience-wholesome home grown and home-made food, hand-made crafts, fun, friendship, and fellowship.

Eloise Gift
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Forbes Magazine, reported today that the Albuquerque, NM real estate market is in the #1 spot for growth and recovery. We are not surprised. New Mexico's real estate prices, never having increased to bubble proportions, did not burst. So the state continues to experience only the gentle ripples typical of the NM real estate cycles. Not for New Mexico, the violent roller-coaster rides of other regions.

The prediction of Forbes in not surprising. Fewer new housing starts are helping to decrease the new homes inventory and reduce competition with the resale market. In addition, the state continues to maintain and promote a great quality of life. We are the greenest city in America and we continue to generate and attract new business. These are all contributing to positive indicators for continuing growth.

Eloise Gift
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