Loving the Deal as Much as the Property
Courtesy Sotheby’s International Realty
While the stability of the national real estate market may still be in question, what’s not up for debate is that many Santa Fe market insiders are detecting encouraging signs. Myself being one of them. Most significantly, low interest rates and attractive housing prices have lured many buyers back into the market.
Unique and uniquely situated among its Western small-town brethren—it has one of the most robust art markets in the entire world, it now offers direct flights between it and Los Angeles, it boasts nationally renowned restaurants and a world-class opera, and it has plenty of outdoor activities and top-notch air quality—Santa Fe attracts homebuyers of all kinds, from young adults who want a safe, healthy place to raise children to middle-age empty nesters in search of a vacation home to artists who thrive on a communal creative vibe to retirees who like the active-but-relaxed pace of a small city.
Not so surprisingly, then, this mix of present and future Santa Feans is why Santa Fe real estate has maintained its value within the Rocky Mountain region and why its market remains notable for its steadiness. In the most recent nationwide real-estate boom, prices in Santa Fe never reached the stratospheric heights seen in resort towns like Jackson Hole, Wyoming and Aspen, Colorado. On the other hand, while Santa Fe certainly wasn’t immune to the recent price deflation, the percentage drops weren’t as dramatic as in other locales.
Despite prices still being off their record high, Santa Fe has nevertheless reasserted its allure among those prospective homeowners who might have been unwilling or unable to take the plunge just two or three years ago. As evidence of this encouraging trend, Sotheby’s began to see an uptick in purchase contracts around June of this past year, and buyer interest continues to pick up steam. (Hallelujah!)
One might ask what subtle changes have been taking effect. Over the last year or two, many buyers have waited on the sideline trying to time the market. Figuring out the bottom is always difficult, and there is often regret about buying too early or having missed out on the bottom entirely. This type of speculating, though, has begun to shift. For many people who are financially capable and who stay within their budget, today’s market offers tremendous opportunity. Home values, combined with mortgage rates that are as low as they’ve been in 50 years, have increased buying power substantially.
Also worth noting is that buyers poised to take advantage of attractive home prices have started to reenter the market, and are now arming themselves with facts rather than fear. They are relying more heavily on the expertise of their real estate brokers for professional advice, and these brokers are helping their clients make prudent, well-informed decisions. Emotions, then, are no longer driving the transaction. When buyers are looking at real estate now, they’re not only falling in love with the property, they’re also falling in love with the deal.
Darci Burson is a qualifying broker and vice president at Sotheby’s International Realty—Santa Fe Brokerage.
