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world-class skiing and dining. It was home
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celebrity
chef Julia Child and was the inspiration for artist Georgia O’Keeffe. Taos, N.M., offers excellent values for luxury-home buyers. While a $1 million price tag seems normal in most mountain resort towns, luxury homes are priced somewhat lower in Taos, says Judy Buck, broker/owner of Coldwell Banker Lota Realty in Taos. For $1 million to $2 million, homebuyers can find a historic, five-bedroom, four-bath adobe house on more than 2 acres of land; a compound with multiple outbuildings and high-end finishes; or a furnished mountain home in the ski valley with a hydrotherapy pool and eight bedrooms. On the market at press time was a $4.13 million, 2,320-acre ranch with a main house boasting spectacular views, as well as a manager’s house, a | ||||||||||
| guest
house, a party barn with Japanese hibachi cooking area, and an eight-stall horse
barn with corrals and training pen. But despite the values available here, Buck and other Realtors report that prices have been steadily rising. “Construction costs have gone up this year, and people are also building a higher-quality product,” Buck notes. Adds Paul Johnson, associate broker at Prudential Schantz Realty in Taos, “Things are still affordable here, but we are just beginning to crack the million-dollar market.” | ||||||||||
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of
the most sought-after items for Santa Fe luxury-home | |||||||||
| buyers?
Historic properties, recreational amenities and acreage, Realtors say. Historic homes within walking distance to the town’s Plaza generally cost $1 million to $1.5 million and tend to be on small lots less than one-half acre, with 3,000 to 4,000 square feet of interior space. Outside town, more acreage can be found in development Las Campanas, where homes reach $3 million. Las Campanas’ amenities—e.g., tennis, swimming, health spa and Jack Nicklaus golf—are so popular, that some people buy a historic or older property within Santa Fe and then purchase a lot in Las Campanas to have a membership for these recreational offerings, says Christopher Webster of Sotheby’s International Realty in Santa Fe. | ||||||||||
| However,
Santa Fe homebuyers are increasingly enamored of compound properties, in which
an estate also includes a detached guest house, studio or other outbuildings. Many home shoppers seeking acreage look to Tesuque, a rural community just outside the northern city limits of Santa Fe. For example, Ranch del Lago, at $4.195 million, offers a house, guest house, barn/stable complex, swimming pool, a pond and a stream, and looks out to the Sangre de Cristo mountain range. “It is the epitome of what people look for when they come to Santa Fe,” Webster says. Local Realtors also report that single-story properties are tops among shoppers, many of whom are approaching retirement age or want to accommodate elderly parents when they visit. “For anybody over 50, if I take them into a home and they see a staircase, they’ll turn around and walk out,” comments Dale Heinemann of Town & Ranch Inc. Naturally, homes that allow residents to soak in New Mexico’s great climate are well in demand, and outdoor spaces like patios and courtyards are becoming more elaborate and are outfitted with fireplaces, high-end grills and outdoor kitchen equipment. | ||||||||||
