There were 75 homes sold in December 2009. That's down 21% from the 95 sold the previous month. It's a decline of 13% from December 2008, and down 20% from December 2007.

There were 1321 homes on the market for sale in December 2009. That's down 6% from the previous month, down 5% from December 2008, and down 7% from December 2007.

View my most recent report on Santa Fe home prices December 2007 through December 2009.

© 2010 Martin Wright, CRS^®, e-PRO^®, TRC^®, Realtor^®

The legislation, which is part of a larger bill that also extends unemployment benefits, was signed into law by President Obama today. 

More people are now eligible to take advantage of the law, which includes a $6,500 tax credit for buyers who are current home owners and have lived in their home for five of the past eight years. 

Income limits for eligible home buyers were also expanded to $125,000 for single buyers and $225,000 for couples, up from $75,000 for individuals and $150,000 for couples. Qualifying home prices are capped at $800,000.

NAR economists estimate that approximately 2 million people will take advantage of the tax credit this year. 

Sources: NAR and The Associated Press, Julie Hirschfeld Davis (11/06/2009)

Source: Santa Fe County

Comment is still being heard at sross@santafecounty.org or 986.6279.  The public hearing followed several public workshops and hearings regarding the draft.  During the meeting, the CDRC heard comment from members of the public and development community regarding the draft and process used to vet those chapters.  The unanimous feedback was that the process has been a success and the CDRC should request that the Board of County Commissioners authorize publication of title and general summary of the first five chapters of the draft code.

A copy of the draft code is available at www.santafecounty.org.

Source: Santa Fe County

After January 1, 2010 all delinquent property discovered, valued and assessed by the Office of the Santa Fe County Assessor will be reported to the First Judicial District Attorney for possible prosecution under the Property Tax Code.  It is a fourth degree felony (7-38-92) to willfully attempt to evade the payment of any property tax and shall be fined $5,000.00 or imprisoned for 18 months or both.

Source: Santa Fe County

David Groenfeldt, Executive Director of the Santa Fe Watershed Association, welcomes this new policy.  "A flowing river provides priceless benefits to plants, wildlife, and people, and by releasing water into the river our community is starting to receive these benefits. It's a stimulus package for the river, which ultimately helps all of us," he said.

Source: City of Santa Fe

Home sales in the County were down 20%, from 103 down to 82, with the median price falling 8%.

The biggest shake-up last quarter was in the townhome and condo market. Sales in the city plunged by 58%, from 60 in the first quarter last year down to only 25 this past quarter.

I have prepared a detailed quarterly report of Santa Fe real estate prices for my customers, available to view, download, share and print.

A close inspection of my report reveals that the numbers for individual areas within the city show declines in the median price for all four of the areas in town. Yet the Realtors headline reads that median price is up 2%. The headline is a true statement, but it does not tell the whole story. The results of the statistical analysis are skewed because the number of sales in different areas changed at different rates. The volume of sales in the Southwest portion of town took a nosedive, down 48%. Thus, far fewer of the relatively-lower-priced houses in that area sold, and the sales of relatively-higher-priced houses in other areas pulled the median price up.

For the first time, the Santa Fe Association of Realtors this quarter is publicly disclosing land sales statistics. They show number of sales down 76% in the City and down 47% in the County, compared to first quarter 2008. In a recent meeting at Santa Fe Association of Realtors, the Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper cited loan officer Leroy Baca as saying that the reason for the decline in land sales is that under current conditions, with a glut of homes on the market, "it's cheaper to buy an existing home." In addition, "people are expecting to see values on lots drop" as the recession lingers.

Yet, the newspaper article also points to encouraging signs in the market. In January and February, the selling price was only 80% of the asking price. In March, however, the selling price rebounded to 89% of the asking price. The President of the Santa Fe Association of Realtors remarked, "this gives me hope," and Santa Fe appraiser Don Hall agreed that sellers are finally beginning to realize their homes are not necessarily worth today what they were a few years ago. "It's finally dawning on people they have to be realistic," he said.

On an optimistic note, the Santa Fe Association of Realtors President was quoted as saying that sales "really struggled in January and February. March was looking much better. Prices were up 12% in March. And we're also finding that April is looking much the same way. We appear to be gaining recently."

My interpretation of the current market is that it looks like an exceptionally good time to buy. And the hardest hit subset of the market, townhomes/condos which plunged 58% in sales volume over the year, provide the most obvious opportunity to buy a residence at a great value. However, I understand that this is a generalization, and that a property is only a good value if it's a good property for you. But whatever you buy in Santa Fe right now, inventory is high, interest rates are low, and Sellers are more motivated.

© 2009 Martin Wright, CRS^®, e-PRO^®, Realtor^®

The following question appeared on the ballot: "Shall the City of Santa Fe impose on purchasers an excise tax on the use by purchasers of transfer services to effectuate and facilitate the transfer of certain real property in the amount of one percent (1%) of the portion of the purchase price in excess of $750,000 to be used exclusively for affordable workforce housing?"

Opponents of the home tax had argued that it was illegal and inequitable tax, pointing out that it would not apply to all areas equally, because some areas of the city with newer homes were exempted. In a statement from the Santa Fe Association of Realtors last Friday, the President said "the election proved that the people of Santa Fe were listening, and were not willing to accept a poorly conceived Ordinance."

In November 2008, the City of Santa Fe announced a Living Wage increase from $9.50 per hour to $9.92.  The City of Santa Fe used the Consumer Price Index 12-month average from October to October as the figure for the previous year in order to give businesses and employees the most stable, up-to-date number while also providing enough time to plan for the upcoming year. 

Now that the January to January numbers have been released, the City is adjusting the Living Wage to $9.85 to best reflect the intent of the City's Living Wage law.  The ordinance states that "Beginning Jan. 1, 2009, and each year thereafter, the minimum wage shall be adjusted upward by an amount corresponding to the previous year's increase, if any, in the consumer price index for the western region for urban wage earners and clerical workers."

The City of Santa Fe's Living Wage Ordinance was adopted to establish minimum hourly wage rates. Santa Fe is a national leader in the Living Wage movement. Minimum wage laws promote the general welfare, health, safety and prosperity of Santa Fe by ensuring that workers can better support and care for their families through their own efforts and without financial governmental assistance. All profit and non-profit businesses with a business license or business registration issued by the City of Santa Fe, including part time and temporary employees as well as city contractors, are required to pay their workers according to the minimum hourly wage set by the city.

• Legislation would authorize over $100 million of federal appropriations for the construction of a regional water system serving the four pueblos in the Pojoaque Basin. 
• Under the Aamodt settlement agreement, the State and Santa Fe County will pay an additional $60 million (State $50M; County $10M) to enlarge and expand the system so that it will be available to most of the residents of the basin (including non-Pueblo customers) 
• The County and the four Pueblos will form a regional water authority that will operate and manage the regional system. 
• The water system will deliver up to 4,000 acre-feet a year of surface water diverted from the Rio Grande using water rights acquired as part of the settlement. 
• The water system would be complimentary to the wastewater system that Santa Fe County and Pojoaque Pueblo are planning. 
• The Settlement will end the long-standing Aamodt litigation by resolving the claims of the four Pueblos, protecting existing acequia and domestic well rights and by providing a reliable water supply for the future of the basin.

The Pojoaque Basin is located within the northern part of Santa Fe County. For the last 150 years the basin has been plagued by land and water disputes, pitting neighbor against neighbor and Pueblo member versus non-Pueblo people. Two U.S. Supreme Court cases and an Act of Congress have failed to settle the issues and the now 41-year-old Aamodt case has done no better. 

The Settlement would go a long way towards ending the divisions and allowing for harmony in the basin. Although Santa Fe County has virtually no litigation risk, the County supports the settlement and is willing to make a substantial local contribution to help implement it. The Settlement would finally resolve the pending litigation of claims of the four Pueblos and would provide a regional water system available to residents in the basin, Pueblo and non-Pueblo. The system would have the capacity to serve 16,000 customers.

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.