Santa Fe, New Mexico Real Estate
your broker in Santa Fe
Martin Wright, CRS®, e-PRO®, Realtor®
Real Estate Broker for
COLDWELL BANKER® TRAILS WEST REALTY, LTD.
 505  473  0698
toll free   800  775  5550 ext 355
A fun and informative place to explore Santa Fe, NM is naturally hosted by a talented New Mexico real estate broker
 
Coldwell Banker Previews International
COLDWELL BANKER TRAILS WEST REALTY, LTD.
e-PRO Internet Professional
Certified Residential Specialist
 
Martin sells homes and land in the Santa Fe, New Mexico area. A Realtor with the designation of Certified Residential Specialists, an e-PRO Internet Professional, and a licensed real estate broker in Santa Fe, NM since 1994, his specialty is residential real estate: homes and the vacant land to build them on.

Real estate buyers: whether you want to relocate to our area, purchase a vacation home or condominium, acquire investment property, buy vacant land, or if you're simply moving across town, Martin is your real estate broker in Santa Fe.

Sellers: maximize your potential with a top-notch broker. You want to talk to Martin before you make your next move.

 
Home Buyer Information
 
Helpful resources for relocation with links to quick information on buying Santa Fe property
Santa Fe Links
 
Explore Santa Fe on the www through these extensive links: schools, art galleries, museums, restaurants, special events, weather reports, local news publications, maps, travel info, and more
*  a handy tool to learn about the area before you visit, and
*  an easy way for residents and frequent visitors to pick up the latest seasonal updates from your Santa Fe favorites
*  recent updates include upcoming 2008 events, and quickie reviews of Martin's favorite restaurants
Home Owner Information
 
Important information in owning, selling and managing residential and investment property
Home Sales Statistics
 
The latest statistics demonstrate that home sales remained somewhat sluggish within Santa Fe City and County for the 1st Quarter of 2008. Martin Wright states, "it's a Buyer's market right now in Santa Fe." View the most recent report of mls statistics for home sales in the Santa Fe, NM area: First Quarter 2008. Call Martin directly for the latest information on sales statistics for houses, town homes, condominiums and land.

Featured Homes For Sale
 
View featured homes and land for sale with photos and videos.
On-Line Property Search
 
MLS search: Santa Fe real estate multiple listings. Land and homes for sale in the greater Santa Fe, NM area. Search all the listings in the Santa Fe Association of Realtors Multiple Listing Service IDX database.
Santa Fe NM real estate search

Testimonials
 
Letters of recommendation for Realtor Martin Wright

Real Estate News

Record High of Vacant Homes for Sale

April 29, 2008 - The number of vacant homes for sale in the United States set a new record in the first quarter of 2008, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Monday.

The Census Bureau reported that 2.9 percent of U.S. homes or 2.28 million properties, not including rentals, were vacant and for sale. It was the highest quarterly number as far back to 1956 when records of such vacancies were first kept.

The West had the biggest gain in vacancy rates among home owners, rising to 3.2 percent in the January-March period from 2.6 percent in the same quarter a year earlier. Vacancy rates inched up in the Northeast and remained steady in the Midwest and South.

Fair Housing Act 40th Anniversary

April 11, 2008 - This year NAR proudly observes the 40th Anniversary of the historic 1968 Fair Housing Act. On April 11, 1968, President Lyndon Johnson urged congress to approve the Fair Housing Act just one week following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as a tribute to Dr. King's legacy and commitment to civil rights. One of the Act's central objectives was to prevent discrimination based on race in the sales or rental of housing. This significant Act has since empowered people from all races and ethnicities to pursue the dream of equal access to housing.

Fannie Mae Raises Credit Requirements

April 2, 2008 - The government-sponsored provider of home loan funding told lenders Monday it will require a minimum credit score of 580 for most loans it buys on an individual basis. Credit scores range from 300 to 850. In the past, Fannie had no minimum score.

Fannie also told lenders it will increase the period needed for borrowers to re-establish credit history after a foreclosure from four years to five. Fannie said it would allow shorter recovery periods for borrowers with "documented extenuating circumstances" that caused the foreclosure.

In a separate memorandum, Fannie told loan services last week that it could extend forbearance periods on delinquent borrowers to as long as six months to allow borrowers time to find an alternative to foreclosure.

Second Home Sales Account For 1/3 Of Sales

Washington D.C. -  March 28, 2008 - The combined total of vacation and investment home sales declined with the overall market in 2007, but still accounted for 33 percent of all existing- and new-home sales, which is close to historic norms, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

The market share of homes purchased for investment last year was 21 percent, down from 22 percent in 2006, while another 12 percent were vacation homes, compared with a 14 percent market share in 2006.  The total share of second homes declined from 36 percent of transactions in 2006. 

NAR’s annual Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey shows vacation-home sales dropped 30.6 percent to 740,000 in 2007 from a record 1.07 million in 2006, while investment-home sales fell 18.1 percent to 1.35 million last year from 1.65 million in 2006.  At the same time, primary residence sales declined 10.0 percent to 4.34 million in 2007 from 4.82 million in 2006.

New FHA Loan Limits

March 6, 2008 - The new FHA and Fannie Mae- Freddie Mac conforming loan limits have been released by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The new loan limits for FHA and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are now calculated at 125 percent of the HUD published median prices, with a floor of $271,050 and $417,000, respectively, not to exceed $729,750.

FHA loan limits for a single family residence in Santa Fe County have been increased from $324,088 to $427,500.

Dick Gaylord, President of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® states, "We expect the impact of these loan limit increases on the housing market to be significant because of the infusion of capital into the mortgage market, which should result in lower interest rates across the board. In addition, there will be a direct impact on high-cost areas that previously required borrowers to take out costlier jumbo mortgages."

County Temporarily Suspends New Drilling

Santa Fe-February 26, 2008 - The Santa Fe County Board of County Commissioners has passed an emergency interim development ordinance that temporarily suspends the processing and granting of applications for permits to drill for oil and natural gas within the Galisteo Basin until February 28, 2009.  The ordinance also empowers the Board to extend the prohibition for an additional 6 months, if necessary.

"The stakes are high" said Commissioner Harry Montoya, "The quality of a decision depends on the quality of information received.  We will take the time necessary to obtain and review the relevant data before we decide the next step."  The ordinance also calls for the adoption of amendments to create a special improvement district for the Galisteo Basin and to the Land Development Code that addresses the "health, safety, cultural-historical archaeological, fiscal, economic, planning, infrastructure and services, groundwater aquifer, environmental and public nuisance impacts of such grading, drilling, and extraction."

"This action provides direction" said Commissioner Jack Sullivan, Board Chairman, "The amendment defines our parameters and creates a timeline within which a thoughtful, open, and thorough process can occur."

Home Prices up in Half of Markets

February 14, 2008 - Roughly half of metropolitan areas continued to show rising home prices in the fourth quarter of 2007, according to the latest quarterly survey by the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.

In the fourth quarter, 73 out of 150 metropolitan statistical areas show increases in median existing single-family home prices from a year earlier, including 11 areas with double-digit annual gains and another 12 metros showing increases of 6 percent or more; 77 had price declines including 16 with double-digit drops.

"The continuing crunch in the jumbo loan market that began in August has disproportionately reduced the number of transactions in higher price ranges," says Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist. "For buyers who need loans of more than $417,000, mortgage interest rates have been running more than a percentage point higher, and that has been having an obvious impact. Higher ratios of sales for more moderately priced homes are naturally dampening the national median price as well as the data for some of the more expensive markets."

NAR's track of metro area single-family home prices is the largest published series of metropolitan home prices, with data available back to 1979. The metro home price series treats all homes equally, without placing higher weights on more expensive homes as in other home price series.

The disruption in higher priced sales continues to drag down the aggregate national median existing single-family home price, which was $206,200 in the fourth quarter, down 5.8 percent from the fourth quarter of 2006 when the median price was $219,000. The national median normally is a typical market price, where half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less.

NAR President Richard Gaylord says he's encouraged with plans to increase conventional loan limits. 

"Higher limits for FHA loans, which go into effect March 14, will be a big help to first-time buyers in high-cost markets. Higher limits for conventional loans purchased by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae will take a bit longer - when they become available, high-income, creditworthy borrowers in high-cost areas will have access to affordable and safer financing, and that will help unleash pent-up demand," he says.

"With the market in a state of flux, it's especially important for consumers to stay abreast of widely varying and changing market conditions," Gaylord adds. He says consumers are recommended to take a traditional long-term view, which means taking the time to thoughtfully research the market. 

Despite the annual decline in the fourth quarter median home price, the typical seller who purchased their home six years ago still saw a very healthy gain. The median increase in value for sellers who purchased that home in the fourth quarter of 2001 is 31.2 percent, and the median home equity accumulation is $49,000.

What does this all mean for Santa Fe real estate? See the latest statistics for the First Quarter of 2008 in the Santa Fe area.
Martin's web tip: web browsers (like Internet Explorer) do more than just go forward and backward. To follow a link without losing the page you're reading:
1) right click on the link
2) click Open in New Window
3) on your keyboard, hold down the Alt key and hit the Tab key to switch from one window to another.
The whole world is talking about Santa Fe. Read these recent articles praising "The City Different."
Santa Fe #2 Top City for Artists

Sperling's Best Places and Businessweek.com in a 2007 Survey named Santa Fe the second best place in the United States for artists and creatives. View the slide show of the top cities. Read why Business Week calls Santa Fe a great place to invest in real estate right now. 
 

Santa Fe #2 Best Place to Live

Santa Fe takes the number two spot in the nation in Sperling's Ten Best Places to Live. Describing the city as a "haven for artists," Sperling notes that "Santa Fe's air is crisp and clean" and it is "surrounded by over 1.5 million acres of national forest, offering excellent hiking, camping, and downhill skiing." Their Cost of Living Calculator can give you an idea how expensive it is to live in Santa Fe.

Santa Fe Rated #2 for Air Quality

Santa Fe places #2 on the list in MONEY Magazine's Best places to live 2006: Top 25 cities with the best air quality index. The city scored an air quality index of 100%, which is the percentage of days the AQI is ranked as good. View more Santa Fe information from the article.

Santa Fe cited as the Soutwest's best place to live in 2007

Outside Magazine notes "Each year, more than a million tourists come to ogle the signature adobe buildings - along with conquistador-era streets, world-class opera, and the 300 galleries that make the city the third-largest art market in the U.S." Outside moved their operations here in 1994. In their recent publication of Best Towns 2007  they say "the 12,500-foot Sangre de Cristo mountains east of town offer year-round adventure, from the powder of Santa Fe Ski Basin to the singletrack of the Winsor Trail, which rises 3,500 feet as it winds through ten miles of pine-and-aspen forests. Add the whitewater of the Rio Grande, and four more ski resorts within two hours, and the 300 sunny days a year aren't enough."
Current weather and forecasts for the Santa Fe, New Mexico area
Click for Santa Fe, New Mexico Weather Forecast
Sign hanging on Albert Einstein's office wall at Princeton:
"Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts."
Real Estate in Santa FeTM has been online since 1998. Martin expresses his gratitude for every individual's every visit.
 
A refreshing look at the winter snow in the mountains of Santa Fe.
click to see larger image
Select photos of Santa Fe area courtesy of local artist C. Lake. Click on the image above for the big picture: "Aspen Shadows."
Bookmark this page / add to Favorites! With so many great links, you'll make this your primary reference for Santa Fe. For high quality photos of featured Santa Fe properties, take a peek at our sister web site:
www.SantaFeStar.com
Site updated: May 2, 2008
Martin is committed to equal opportunity for all customers.
EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY
Contact your broker in Santa Fe.
Martin  Wright, CRS®
Real Estate Broker
505  473  0698
800  775  5550  ext  355
martin@santafestar.com
See all of the listings all of the time.
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About Coldwell Banker®
Since 1906, the Coldwell Banker® organization has been a premier full-service real estate provider. In 2007, Franchise Times magazine's prestigious Top 200 issue ranked the Coldwell Banker system No. 1 in real estate for the eighth straight year and 12th among franchisors in all industries. The Coldwell Banker System has approximately 3,800 residential real estate offices and nearly 120,000 sales associates in 46 countries and territories. The Coldwell Banker System is a leader in the industry in residential and commercial real estate, and in niche markets such as resort, new home and luxury property through its Coldwell Banker Previews International® division. It is a pioneer in consumer services with its Coldwell Banker Concierge® Service Program and award-winning Web site, www.coldwellbanker.com. Coldwell Banker Mortgage is one of the largest telephone/Web-based lenders in the country. Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC is a subsidiary of Realogy Corporation, a global provider of real estate and relocation services. Coldwell Banker® is a registered trademark licensed to Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. Each office is independently owned and operated.
Visit the Coldwell Banker Santa Fe web site  COLDWELL BANKER® TRAILS WEST REALTY, LTD.   2000 Old Pecos Trail,  Santa Fe, NM 87505   505  988  7285
Each office is independently owned and operated. All figures and measurements are approximate. Information from various sources, deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
 © 2008 Martin Wright, Real Estate in Santa FeTM All rights reserved. All brand names, trademarks, and registered trademarks are the property of their respective holders.
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