This top ten list is as follows:

1)  Bend, Oregon: Once a destination town, now a highly sought after place to live, Bend represents a great place to find retirment real estate.

2) Las Vegas, Nevada: Into shows, gambling, and the sun.  Las Vegas has all of these.  Combine that with a giant inventory of homes, and prices 50% off what they were only a few years ago, and you’ve got a deal.

3) Phoenix, Arizona: See Las Vegas, without the gambling.

4) Napa, California: Fantastic weather, great proximity to a world class city and pristine vineyards, lower prices have made this a desirable place to find a retirement home.

5) Fayetteville, Arkansas: Home to the University of Arkansas, low home prices reign supreme for retirees.

6) Punta Gorda, Florida: If boating, fishing, and hugely discounted real estate is your thing, this place may be for you.

7) Burlington, Vermont: This beautiful Northeastern hamlet has great restaurants, outdoor activities, and the University of Vermont.

8) Ft. Meyers, Florida: See Punta Gorda, but bigger.

9) Santa Fe, New Mexico: If you’re reading this, you know why this place is so great. If you don’t, give us a call and come visit!

10) Santa Cruz, California: While still expensive, home prices have dropped. Combine that with some of the best California coastline and a laid back attitude and you possibly have retirement heaven.

Link to the U.S. News and World Report Here

Contact Matt Desmond and Ryan Bolton

Sited on over a half acre, this 2168 square foot home built in 1954 has all of the classic features expected in a quality Stamm home. Modern touches can be seen throughout as well, providing contemporary luxuries without sacrificing the original feel of the home.

As you enter through the beautiful stained wood front door you are greated by an entry foyer that leads to either the bedroom wing, the living room, or a laundry room/breezeway that leads to the kitchen. The living area is graced with a large fireplace with a natural wood mantle and a spacious dining space.  This room is perfect for entertaining and enjoying magnificient sunset views over the Jemez Mountains.    

The kitchen has been upgraded with modern amenities and expanded to fit today’s chef’s needs. Off the kitchen is a large family room with vigas, a powder room, and a storage area that accesses the one car garage and studio space.  The studio space would function perfectly for woodworking, an art studio, or a project space.  It could also easily be converted into a seperate bedroom with a private entry.

The bedroom wing offers a master bedroom with a 3/4 bath, and two other bedrooms and a full bath.  This wing is nicely separated from the living spaces of the home, and could be easily expanded if needed.

There are three distinct outdoor patio spaces that are fenced for privacy. One is located on the front side of the house and catches great morning sun. Another is located off the family room and has views of Sun and Moon Mountain. The third off the dining room is surrounded by fruit trees and  has amazing sunset and Jemez Mountain views.

This nicely located home would be a great fit for families seeking the Santa Fe lifestyle, or artists wanting a classic home with studio space.  Price at $575,000, this home is a great buy in Santa Fe.

See below for a video tour of the home.

Link To Full Listing Details Here

If you have questions or comments about this or any other home in Santa Fe, please contact us!

Contact Matt Desmond and Ryan Bolton

The United States Commerce Department announced that national housing starts rose in January to their highest levels in 6 months.  Starts were up 3% for the month, seeing increases in 3 of the 4 nationwide regions.  The only region that did not show increases was in the Midwest. Here in the West starts were up 9%, whereas in the South they were up 1%, and in the East, 10%.

The most recent quarterly report (4th quarter 2009) for existing home sales and condos showed a 14% increase in sales over the previous quarter. Trasactions increased in 48 of the 50 states, with double digit increases in 32 of those states.  Promising numbers, indeed. Once again, here in the West some of the highest numbers were seen, with a 16% increase over the previous quarter.  Contrary to the housing start data, the Midwest showed a sales increase of 15%. The South showed a 14% increase in sales and the Northeast, 11%.

Of the 151 housing markets followed by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), 67 showed higher median prices. 16 of the metro areas in the survey actually showed double digit increases in median prices. Another sign of a recovering market.

Here in Santa Fe the market seems abuzz with activity. We are seeing buyers in all price ranges, but particularly people looking to cash in on the first time home buyers credit which ends on April 30th (unless it gets extended). Hopefully, the market will continue to recover and thrive.

Contact Ryan Bolton and Matt Desmond

The Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) is designed to help homeowners in states where home prices have fallen at least 20% statewide.  The five identified states are: Arizona, Nevada, California, Michigan, and Florida.  All of these markets have notoriously taken a big hit in the past few years due to previous rapid appreciation, speculation, and the weak economy.

Obama has blamed irresponsible lending practices for much of the problems, and is trying to make sure that the money is properly spent by state and local finance agencies. A very specific application process for lending institutions has been designed to create oversight for the program.

The program seeks to aid troubled homeowners by modifying their mortgage and lower their monthly interest rates through participating lenders. The lender then lowers the interest rate, and the feds provides subsidies to the lender and borrower. According to Herb Allison, assistant secretary of the Treasury for Financial Stability, the program should help approximately 3 to 4 million Americans before it terminates at the end of 2012. Currently, about 1 million homeowners have had their mortgages amended due to the plan.

Unfortunately, New Mexico isn’t currently part of the program, which does cause some concern.  Sure, our home prices haven’t dropped as a whole by 20%, but unemployment is high, and many homeowners are teetering on the edge of default. As with all governmental programs, this one may be ammended to fit more states, particularly if the money isn’t being spent in the currently eligible states.  Time will tell.

Contact Matt Desmond and Ryan Bolton

New Mexico has two of the top retirement spots in the US- Santa Fe and Las Cruces. Perhaps this is helping to stabilize our Real Estate Market.

 Boomers are willing to move farther than previous generations when they retire, and they are choosing places unlike stereotypical retirement hotspots, says Tom Brokaw in his report on Boomer retirement, airing on CNBC, Thursday, March 4 at 9 p.m. ET

The top places listed by AARP and explored on the show are:

1. Loveland/Fort Collins, Colo.
2. Las Cruces, N.M
3. Rehoboth Beach, Del.
4. Portland, Ore.
5. Greenville, S.C.
6. Sarasota, Fla.
7. Ann Arbor, Mich.
8. Tucson, Ariz.
9. Montpelier, Vt.
10. Honolulu
11. Santa Fe, N.M
12. Atlanta
13. Charleston, S.C
14. Northampton, Mass.
15. San Diego, Calif.

Source: CNBC, Paul Toscano (02/05/2010)

Foreclosures hit hard but less so in N.M.
By | The Associated Press

2/11/2010

The number of U.S. households facing foreclosure in January increased 15 percent from the same month last year, and a surge in cash-strapped homeowners who’ve fallen behind on mortgages could be on the way.

More than 315,000 households received a foreclosure-related notice in January, RealtyTrac Inc. reported Thursday. That number is down nearly 10 percent from 349,000 in December, which saw the third highest total since the company began tracking foreclosure data in 2005.

There were 107 foreclosures in Santa Fe County in January, according to RealtyTrac, most of them (33) in the 87507 Zip Code. That was followed by the 87505 Zip Code, where there were 22.

Santa Fe’s foreclosure rates for January 2009 were not included in RealtyTrac’s report, precluding a comparison with 2010′s rates. RealtyTrac’s data specialist could not be reached.

In New Mexico there were 1,281 new foreclosure filings and nine foreclosure sales, according to RealtyTrac. The average sales price of foreclosed homes in January was $208,841.

The rate of foreclosures in New Mexico remains low. In his most recent newsletter, Santa Fe title company executive Alan Ball said foreclosures in states such as California and Florida exceeded 400,000 last year.

In New Mexico, by contrast, there were just over 7,000 foreclosures.

Ball also said that Santa Fe real estate sales in January were up 58 percent from the same month last year.

“We have already thanked the first-time homebuyer tax credit law and can certainly do so again” for the increase in home sales, Ball said. “Does that account for the increase? That is difficult to say.”

In January, one in 409 homes across the country were sent a filing, which includes default notices, scheduled foreclosure auctions and bank repossessions. Banks repossessed more than 87,000 homes last month, down 5 percent from December but still up 31 percent from January 2009.

January marked the 11th straight month with more than 300,000 properties receiving a foreclosure filing. The numbers could stay above that level as unemployed homeowners who have tried to keep up with their mortgages finally start missing monthly payments.

Mortgage financier Fannie Mae reported in late January that the rate of borrowers who have a conventional loan on a house and are seriously delinquent was 5.29 percent in November, more than doubling the rate of 2.13 percent in November 2008. Borrowers are considered seriously delinquent if they are past due by three months or more, or are in foreclosure.

“There’s a lot of foreclosures in the pipeline, and the number is going to continue to get bigger,” said Patrick Newport, an economist with IHS Global Insight.

Last month’s foreclosure activity followed a pattern similar to that of a year ago, when a double-digit percentage increase in December was followed by a 10 percent drop in January.

The dip in January’s numbers may be due to processing delays by lenders during the end-of-year holidays, said Rick Sharga, senior vice president of RealtyTrac, which is based in Irvine, Calif.

“I don’t think it’s an early sign of the coming of the end of the foreclosure crisis,” Sharga said.

A record 2.8 million households were threatened with foreclosure last year, and the numbers are expected to rise to between 3 and 3.5 million homes this year, RealtyTrac said.

Slowing the foreclosure rate is a key step in the recovery of the real estate market and the overall economy. The foreclosure crisis forced the federal government and several states to come up with plans to prevent or delay the process to help delinquent borrowers.

Foreclosed homes are usually sold at steep discounts, so they often lower the value of surrounding properties. Cities lose property tax dollars from foreclosure homes that sit empty and from declining home values, straining local economies. Home prices have stabilized in some cities, but are still down 30 percent nationally from mid-2006.

Economic issues, such as unemployment or reduced income, are expected to be the main catalysts for foreclosures this year. Initially, subprime mortgages were mostly the culprit, but homeowners with good credit who took out conventional, fixed-rate loans are the fastest growing group of foreclosures.

Among states, Nevada posted the nation’s highest foreclosure rate, followed by Arizona, California, Florida and Utah. Rounding out the top 10 were Idaho, Michigan, Illinois, Oregon and Georgia.

The metro area with the highest foreclosure rate in January was Las Vegas, with one in every 82 homes receiving a foreclosure filing. It was followed by Phoenix and the California cities of Modesto, Stockton, and Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario.

The New Mexican contributed to this story.

Here is a link to the Original Story

Additionally, the usually relatively negative Standard and Poors Case Shiller index also reported a rise in 14 of 20 major markets it tracks. This report represented the sixth consecutive month of price increases. 

The mortgage industry is also reporting good news for potential home buyers. Rates ranging in the 4.5% range (at least in the Santa Fe area) are being offered by the lenders we know in town, and they believe that this trend will continue for quite some time.

What does this all mean to the Santa Fe Home buyer? In our opinion…it’s a great time to buy.  The signs of a nationwide financial turnaround combined with relatively low home prices and historically low financing make home buying a better option than it has been in the past 30 + years. There are loads of great properties on the market in Santa Fe, and most seller’s have come to terms with the fact that their property values have taken a bit of a hit, resulting in competitively priced houses.

So if you’re in the market to buy in Santa Fe, give us a call!

Contact Ryan Bolton and Matt Desmond

Real estate loans strike at banks’ bottom lineLos Alamos National Bank chief sees values stabilizing, buyers emerging
Bob Quick | The New Mexican
Posted: Tuesday, February 02, 2010          

Los Alamos National Bank, the largest bank in Northern New Mexico, may have suffered setbacks in the real estate market, but bank chief executive officer William C. “Bill” Enloe is confident things maybe looking up.

“Our income (in 2009) was down, which was due to larger than normal transfers for bad debts,” he said. “We’re experiencing everything every other bank is, which is more loans with problems. That affects our income.”

Los Alamos Bank has $1.87 billion in assets. That compares with $719 million for First National Bank of Santa Fe and $499 million for Century Bank.

LANB’s most recent call (quarterly) report indicates LANB’s income for the year was only $10.8 million after the bank wrote off $24 million in nonperforming loans.

“We felt very fortunate that we had income,” Enloe said. “Our peer group average was a loss of 0.4 percent. We were certainly below expectations, which was disappointing, but it was encouraging we have been able to address the issue.”

Enloe doesn’t think the bank’s expansion, the newest branch is on Cerrillos Road in Santa Fe, is bad for the bottom line. He said the three branches now form a triangle that covers all of Santa Fe “pretty well.”

In a news release, Enloe said although values have begun to stabilize and buyers to emerge, “we remain concerned about how general economic conditions in the nation and in New Mexico have affected and potentially could affect our customers and markets, and we have taken measures to properly manage these risks.”

Those measures included doubling the bank’s provision for loan losses and bringing in a federal regulator, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, to work with the bank on its problem loans.

In a FDIC report, the bank’s ratio of equity capital to assets was 9.61 percent. Banks like to keep that number at 10 percent.

The call report indicated LANB added $30.4 million in loans on nonaccrual status during the past quarter.

Enloe sees that trend slowing down. “It peaked around August of last year,” he said. “Since then our substandard loans have decreased 20 percent, but it is still at a much higher level than we consider normal.”

The problem loans are primarily residential real estate loans on properties in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, Enloe said.

Despite the tough times, the bank has maintained a staffing level of 316 people, Enloe said.

Enloe added that the bank’s pre-reserve earnings were “very strong” and that the bank has “a lot of equity.”

As of Dec. 31, 2008, LANB had equity capital of $121 million, the call report indicates. That amount came to $153.1 million by Dec. 31, 2009, an amount bolstered by an injection from LANB’s holding company, Trinity Capital Corp., of $35 million.

Trinity Capital also received $35.5 million in funds from the federal Troubled Asset Relief program, Enloe said, adding that the bank is in no rush to pay the money back.

“We don’t have the incentive the large banks do to return the money,” he said.

LANB has a rating of 3.5 stars, or “good,” by Bauer Financial Ratings, a bank analyst. Bauer’s highest ranking, five stars, is “superior.”

Trinity Capital has about 3,000 shareholders, 8.5 percent of them members of an employee stock ownership program.

On Monday, Los Alamos National Bank announced that it had entered into an agreement with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, its primary regulator, “to further solidify our financial soundness against the uncertain consequences of a deep recession,” a statement said.

The agreement came after an on-site examination of the bank by the OCC and is intended to reduce the bank’s classified loans and reduce its loan concentration in commercial real estate.

“The bank has made measurable progress in addressing the requirements to date, including an approximate 18 percent decrease in classified loans since June 30, 2009,” the statement said. “The bank already has programs in place addressing most of the provisions of the agreement.”

According to the statement, LANB still enjoys a “well-capitalized status” and remains “strongly capitalized,” with more than $252 million in liquid funds. The bank also has an additional $8.5 million in reserves for loan losses not included in capital.

Another bank with a large presence in Santa Fe, First State Bancorporation, parent company of First Community Bank, has reported a loss of $28.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2009. For the year, First State reported a net loss of $110.5 million.

“The net loss for the quarter and year ended Dec. 31, 2009, resulted primarily from the significant provision for loan losses due to the level of non-performing assets and charge-offs and write downs of other real estate owned,” said H. Patrick Dee, president and chief executive officer of First State, in a statement.

The pain may not be over yet.

“While overall classified loans remained stable for the second straight quarter,” he added, “we experienced another increase in non-performing loans,” Dee added.

Here is a link to the original article.

When you are ready to Buy or Sell, contact us.

There are probably many reasons for the drop in house size. The obvious one is economics. During the recent economic and housing downturn buyers are needing to save money, and, thus, sacraficing space. Smaller bedrooms, smaller kitchens, and less “extra” rooms (I always think of the two, not one, “present wrapping” rooms that were noted in the Beverly Hills estate of the late T.V. producer Aaron Spelling). Additionally, larger homes are more expensive to maintain, heat, cool, etc. Here at homesinsantafenm.com we have also noticed that some people are wanting to “simplify” their lives. They are accomplishing this by living in smaller, more manageable homes that cost less money both to buy and maintain.

Looking into the crystal ball, what do we see? In Santa Fe we still have clients looking for all types of houses.  Families still want larger houses that can accomodate all of their needs, some retirees still want large homes to entertain, and some buyers want room to grow and roam.  However, other buyers are wanting to downsize, some retirees want less space to manage, and some families are realizing that they need less space. Basically, there is still a market in Santa Fe for all sizes of homes.

Contact Ryan Bolton and Matt Desmond 

That brings the donation by Brutsche and his wife, Janice, to a total of 335 acres. In 2007, the couple donated the first 77 acres. The land is part of a 495-acre parcel called the Grevey property that Brutsche bought for a high-end subdivision. The original preserve was 190 acres.

The conservancy plans to build a public trail through the property to connect to the 22-mile Dale Ball Trails system. “Our next task is to figure out how the trails will go through the preserve, probably just for hikers,” said Terry Sullivan, executive director of The Nature Conservancy in New Mexico.

The latest donation was part of Brutsche’s commitment to protect land between his 107-lot High Summit III development along Hyde Park Road and the Santa Fe Canyon Preserve.

Sullivan said The Nature Conservancy still has to review the deed for the property and record it with Santa Fe County before the donation is completed.

Property owners can take a tax deduction for land donations equal to the market value of a piece of property. Sullivan said it was hard to estimate the land’s worth now because of fluctuations in real estate values. “Certainly multiple millions of dollars, probably in excess of $6 million,” Sullivan said.

The Brutsches’ attorney, Karl Sommer, did not return a call for comment.

The preserve has a 1.5-mile loop trail that takes hikers past wetlands and remnants of the old Two Mile Reservoir. Black bears, cougars, beavers and a large variety of birds live in or near the preserve.

Sullivan said The Nature Conservancy is working with the Santa Fe Watershed Association to restore a part of the Santa Fe River through the preserve and expand the riparian area. And “we will continue to monitor and cheer on the large colony of beavers that have moved into the preserve,” he said.

The Nature Conservancy owns and manages six preserves covering more than 1.4 million acres of land in New Mexico and millions of acres more in the U.S. and around the world.

Staci Matlock | The New Mexican

“It appears our Association has been the target of a large-scale embezzlement scheme, involving tens of thousands of dollars carried out in a two-month blitz,” Eldorado Community Improvement Association President Ed Benrock wrote in an undated letter to Eldorado residents.

Debby Padilla, who worked for the association for more than 14 years, has been arrested in connection with the theft — which apparently involves passing forged checks, according to Benrock’s letter.

Benrock said Albuquerque police contacted the association last week and told them something was “going amiss” with ECIA accounts and that the organization suffered “a substantial theft.” He said he wasn’t sure what prompted the call and declined to specify how the theft occurred.

“It’s not appropriate to comment on that,” he said.

In his letter to homeowners, Benrock said Padilla, who also served as the association’s office manager, allegedly forged checks drawn on ECIA accounts “to systematically steal from the Association.” Padilla, who was also the association’s office manager, is suspected of having “several accomplices” not associated with the ECIA in the scheme, Benrock’s letter states.

“There also appears to have been alteration and destruction of financial records, possibly complicating the Association’s ability to carry on its business for the next few weeks,” Benrock’s letter states.

Benrock said he’d ordered an audit of the association’s accounts and didn’t know specifically how much money Padilla allegedly stole. He said he didn’t yet know why the theft wasn’t discovered by the association itself. The association has insurance against such a loss, according to Benrock’s letter.

“This appears to be a serious breach of the trust that the staff, board and members had placed in Debby over a 14-year period,” the letter states.

The incident is being investigated by Albuquerque police and state police, the letter states.

Padilla came to the attention of Albuquerque police after a man tried to cash a check at a Wal-Mart that looked “weird” using a driver’s license that also was suspect, said Officer Nadine Hamby, an Albuquerque police spokeswoman. Officers took the man into custody and he told them he received the checks from Padilla in Santa Fe, she said.

That prompted an officer to call the Eldorado homeowners’ association and warn them that they were likely being ripped off, Hamby said. Hamby didn’t have the man’s name, didn’t know any details about the check the man tried to cash and didn’t know the date of the incident. She said the case involving the Santa Fe theft was turned over to state police, while APD only handled the Wal-Mart incident, Hamby said.

Padilla was charged with fraud, forgery, tampering with evidence and two counts of conspiracy in relation to the Wal-Mart case, according to online Albuquerque Metropolitan Court records. The charges occurred on Nov. 17, the records say.

Online Santa Fe County jail records indicate that a Debby Padilla, 47, was arrested Nov. 20 on an unspecified state police warrant. She was released on bond three hours later, the records state.

Lt. Eric Garcia, a state police spokesman, said Albuquerque police called state police when they discovered the theft crossed jurisdictions. He said that agency is taking the lead on one case related to Padilla, while state police officers have discovered evidence of further criminal activity by Padilla and are investigating a second case against her. Garcia had no details about that case, but said he thought it had to do with passing forged checks.

Jason Auslander | The New Mexican