Santa Fe, New Mexico Real Estate News

Welcome to my newsletter dedicated to keeping you updated on news and trends in Santa Fe’s real estate market!  I hope you find this information helpful and that I can be of service to you in finding the perfect home in beautiful Santa Fe, New Mexico.

As a professional realtor specializing in Santa Fe properties, I am dedicated to working with buyers and sellers in the luxury home market of New Mexico’s state capitol.  My clients have discriminating taste and seek unique properties:  a compound in Las Campanas, ranch property for horses, mountain view  homes, customized golf course properties, or rural adobe estates.  Whether you are a buyer or seller, you will find that working with me and my team will be a pleasant and rewarding experience.

Why US Real Estate Investing Makes Sense for Europeans

There’s been a lot written recently by investment analysts on why Europeans can benefit from investing in U.S. real estate.  Here are some excerpts from the recent pension fund investment report by TIAA-CREF on asset management:

In addition to providing diversification benefits for dollar-denominated portfolios, investment in U.S. real estate can also be viewed as a diversifier vis-à-vis European real estate. In fact, diversification is perhaps the most powerful rationale for cross-border investment. Research has shown that domestic stock and bond portfolios benefit from international components.

…  Second, we demonstrate that U.S. real estate can be a source of attractive risk-adjusted return visà-vis stocks and bonds, and further, that U.S. real estate can be a source of attractive risk-adjusted return as compared with European real estate. Finally, we show that U.S. real estate is a key component of a “market-neutral portfolio,” and especially when viewed from a global perspective. The two other reasons for investing in U.S. real estate discussed in our initial paper — real estate’s inflation-hedging capacity and solid cash flows, especially for those concerned with liability matching — still apply … 

The amount of foreign investment in US real estate has shown dramatic growth:

In 2004, for example, European purchasers accounted for over 40% of total real estate purchases while Australian purchasers accounted for 19%.

 

Also, from the National Real Estate Investor:

Foreign investors poured $163 billion into U.S. commercial real estate in the first half of 2007, a 37% increase over the first half of 2006, according to real estate services provider Jones Lang LaSalle.

Nowhere is the shift more pronounced than among German funds, historically the largest source of foreign capital in U.S. commercial real estate. In 2006, the funds sold more than $11 billion in assets in the U.S. and bought only $2.8 billion. In the first half of 2007, German investors spent $2.26 billion — nearly as much as they spent in all of 2006 — even though they still remained net sellers by $1.4 billion.

Real estate in the United States, according to this early 2008 article, continues to look like a bargain for European investors:

Meanwhile, returns on investment for European real estate are declining because an excess of capital in those markets is driving up the prices, real estate executives said. By comparison, especially to European investors, American real estate looks cheap.

The analysts appear accurate, based on my observations of recent buyers coming into the Santa Fe, New Mexico luxury home market.  They view this market as providing tremendous value, and upside investment potential. 

 

News and Newsworthy

Santa Fe property values continue to rise, topping $6.2 billion dollars in the most recent report from the Santa Fe County assessor’s office.  Today’s estimated figure compares to $5.4 billion in 2006 and $3 billion in 1997.  The nearly 15% increase over last year’s figure is largely due to the construction of new homes, new subdivision lots, and the active appreciation in the real estate market.  Read more in today’s New Mexican.

Santa Fe Real Estate 2009

The year 2009 will prove to be an interesting and dynamic year for both investors and property owners in Santa Fe.  There continues to be great interest in the luxury home market.  Did you know that nearly 40% of home buyers in Santa Fe are buying a second home?  Most of these home buyers are looking for a place where they can get away from it all while enjoying the majestic setting in this high desert community.

Santa Fe’s real estate market typically does not experience the extreme highs and lows that characterize other real estate markets.  As such, there is less of a “soft landing” and less fluctation in price changes.

Santa Fe Real Estate Buyer Profile

Who’s buying real estate in Santa Fe, New Mexico these days?  Anyone who can see that it’s a buyer’s market is taking advantage of the lull in transactions.  Santa Fe has a long tradition of attracting an electric mix of home buyers:  international, ranching, spiritual, western, enviro-conscious, new age, and everything in between.

More than 40% of home buyers seek Santa Fe as a second home location.  That trend continues today, with more and more real estate investors taking advantage of the value of owning a home in northern New Mexico.

Here are some recent examples of what you can buy in Santa Fe:

Asking Price: $875,000.00

Acres: 2.070
Bedrooms: 3
Bathrooms: 3 (2 0 1)

Asking Price: $850,000.00

Acres: 1.900
Bedrooms: 4
Bathrooms: 3

 

These prices and values are beginning to attract a sophisticated European audience who understand the power of the strong Euro against the United States dollar.  Expectations are that investors from France, Germany, Great Britain, and Switzerland will soon be leading the pack of European investors.

 

More recent listings in Santa Fe, New Mexico can be found at my website.