But no Nordstroms?  Or even Whole Foods?  Luckily they’ve got Santa Fe….

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Independence Day, Last Man Standing, Last Stand at Saber River, Wild Wild West, All The Pretty Horses, The Lazarus Man, Earth 2, The Cowboy Way, Natural Born Killers, Wyatt Earp, White Sands, City Slickers, The Missing, North Country, Into the West, Comanche Moon, No Country for Old Men, Wild Hogs, 3:10 to Yuma, and most recently Cowboys and Aliens with Harrison Ford, Daniel Craig and Olivia Wilde, who wrote a wonderful Love Letter to Santa Fe after shooting here.

An exciting new development in town is the Santa Fe Studios, going up now on the Turquoise Trail that runs between Santa Fe and Madrid. It’s planned to be the world’s first LEED certified industry standard film studio facility.  Already it’s terribly impressive, looming 5 stories tall over the plains.

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Several sightings of  ”Pirates of the Caribbean” megastar Johnny Depp in Santa Fe recently, as he’s shooting Disney‘s The Lone Ranger here.  He is, of course, Tonto, with The Social Network‘s Armie Hammer as the Ranger.

Elsewhere around Santa Fe, it seems the adaptation of Dean Koontz‘ Odd Thomas is back in production, after a short break, as is the production of The Boys of Abu Ghraib starring Sean Astin.

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“While Santa Fe City and County single family home sales slowed in the 4thQuarter, condo and townhome sales  showed a modest  increase perhaps the first signs of the return of the second home market,” stated  JoAnne Vigil Coppler, 2011 President of the Santa Fe Association of REALTORS®.

“Sluggish sales in the 4thQuarter generally reflected the mood of the country as we settled in for the  national Election results.  More recently the market has shown an  upswing of activity and buyer interest especially when interest rates began to inch up,” she added.  “With a seasonal drop in inventory, single family home  sales  have  slowed  with values  holding steady in our housing market,” said Ms. Coppler.   “Buyers who are watching the market closely; particularly the increase in interest rates and stabilization of several federal tax policies, are beginning to move off the fence,” she noted.

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For people who can work anywhere, Santa Fe is a great place to work! Santa Fe has business basics – the airport connections (Albuquerque and Santa Fe airports), the broadband capability and the highway infrastructure I-25 and I-40) – as well as the lifestyle that’s made Santa Fe such a magnet. Recently, I’ve helped two professionals relocate to Santa Fe – one is a software support engineer working for an Israel-based company. His ‘area’ is Central and South America, and he travels there from his Santa Fe home a couple of weeks every month, often taking the non-stop flight from Albuquerque to Mexico City. He moved here with his wife from San Diego, looking for a change of pace in a location that would still allow him to do his work. The other professional moved here from the Midwest with his young family. This guy manages properties throughout the South and Southwest for a large national retail chain. His team is based in the Midwest, and he’s within a few hours of most of his properties, which range from Louisiana to Arizona.

These relocations are the leading edge of the fastest-growing labor demographic in the US – the home-based professional. Whether working for a large corporation as an employee or consultant, or running an independent business, such people can choose to live pretty much anywhere there’s a fast broadband connection. They choose locations such as Bend, OR, Telluride, CO, Madison, WI, Tucson, AZ or Santa Fe, NM. Why, therefore, choose Santa Fe, all other things being equal. The answer tends to be a single word, lifestyle.

The oldest capital city in the US, Santa Fe recently celebrated its 400th birthday. Situated at around 7000 ft above sea level, it is blessed with clear blue skies 360 days of the year, and four wonderful seasons. It has a population of around 100,000, a mix of Native Americans whose pueblos surround the city, the descendants of the Hispanic communities that settled here when Santa Fe was the northern outpost of the Spanish Empire, and the “Anglos” who started arriving down the Santa Fe Trail just over 100 years ago. This blending of histories and experiences forms the basis for a kaleidoscope of culture, from the world famous Santa Fe Opera to incredible museums and of course Santa Fe’s art market, celebrated as the third largest in the US. We have great music venues that nurture local bands and attract touring artists year round – most especially during the summer’s Santa Fe Bandstand series.

Outdoors, as befits a town at the foot of the Rockies, the hiking, biking and rafting are magnificent, with trails starting minutes from downtown, and Pecos and Rio Grande rivers less than an hour away.

Life is more than an office, a desk and a phone. Today’s professionals are motivated to combine excellence in their job with a desire for balance, ‘authenticity’ and just plain fun. Santa Fe’s a great place to do all of that, in a uniquely rich, beautiful, welcoming and special environment.

If you’re looking for an elegant, flexible Santa Fe property, consider this one in Santa Fe’s Museum Hill district.  Newly priced at $690,000, this property includes a house, guesthouse and studio, giving a total of 3500 sq ft. of living space (3 beds, 4 baths).  A sublime peaceful half-acre envelops the home, with views to Sun Mountain. More photos and detail at www.SantaFeFortUnion.com

Separate, large (800 sq ft+) studio with skylights perfect for arts & crafts, healing, office use. Fully accessible, dry and finished lower studio or storage area beneath studio (not included in square footage).

Contact me at 505.699.3985 to take a tour!

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Each morning I rode my bike through gorgeous tree-lined Garcia street to reach my coffee mecca, and after fueling up, wandered 10 feet next door to the greatest bookstore in Santa Fe, Garcia St Books. I have never left this bookstore empty-handed, which is why I am shipping home several boxes of books tomorrow so as not to unfairly weigh down the airplane. The owners, one of whom is pictured above, have impeccable taste, and offer a fantastic range of options. Whether you’re in need of Bukowski or Hergé, a Renaissance gardening book, or the latest Hitchens, it’s all laid out in irresistible, glossy piles for your splurging pleasure. I wish I could pack this bookstore in my bag and bring it back to Venice, CA, where we are desperately in need of a great, independently owned bookstore.

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Delighted to have this listing of a home in Santa Fe‘s Museum Hill district (Wood Gormley school zone). Beautifully finished property, on half-acre, that feels rural although it’s minutes from Santa Fe Plaza, Trader Joes, St Vincent Hospital, Schools (public and private), Racquet Club…. Three bedrooms, including the guesthouse, which can be kept separate or easily reconnected to the main house. This is a great, comfortable, flowing home with a wonderfully lush backyard. Contact Frank O’Mahony/505.699.3985/frank@omahony.com/evolveSantaFe.com to see it now!

Posted via email from Santa Fe Life & Real Estate

Good story in the Santa Fe New Mexican about the continued growth in real estate foreclosures.  I was quoted in this article and in a radio story on KSFR, my opinion being it’s not over yet, and we have more foreclosures to come in Santa Fe County before we start seeing daylight.

Frank O’Mahony, who opened up his Evolve Real Estate Santa Fe last year — the worst in at least a decade for home sales here — has done an analysis of the market on his website. He sees inventory rising whenever sales percolate.

“There is a huge overhang of people holding back, waiting to put their homes on the market,” he said.

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I have a wonderful Santa Fe home for sale in the Museum Hill district, which is about 10 minutes from downtown.  The home has a guesthouse, a studio and a main house – all three could be separate or integrated, and that’s what people seem to like about the place.   I had one son & mother very interested in the property and their plan was for the son to live in the guesthouse, the mother in the main house and the studio for guests and a meditation space.

Another Santa Fe home for sale is in the exclusive East Side and it’s really a compound too, with a main house, guesthouse, chapel (!) and a number of outbuildings.

Room for Grandma, space for the kids or grandkids (both of these properties are in great santa fe school districts), space to stretch, indulge in hobbies, arts & crafts….
Is the Compound the next thing?

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