National Air Quality Report

The annual “State of the Air” report published by MSNBC this week on the best and worst places to live in terms of air quality stated that both Santa Fe and Albuquerque were among the top 25 cleanest U.S.  cities for long-term particle pollution.  In fact, Santa Fe was second best in the nation and Albuquerque placed 17^th.  Since Placitas is in between and a bit higher in elevation than Albuquerque, we don’t get the pollution they get when there is an air inversion.  And according to the American Lung Association, Sandoval County which includes Placitas got an A rating for air quality.  So I surmise from all this that Placitas is among the top communities in America with excellent air quality which makes it a terrific place to live.  We who are here already knew that but it’s wonderful to be verified nationally!

Home Sales are up Nationally & in Placitas

We have some Good News!  Home sales in Placitas in February were up 300% from the previous year.  Lawrence Yun, National Association of Realtors chief economist, said we’re seeing the continuation of an uneven but higher sales pattern. “The spring home buying season looks bright because of an elevated level of contract offers so far this year,” he said. “If activity is sustained near present levels, existing-home sales will see their best performance in five years. Based on all of the factors in the current market, that’s what we’re expecting with sales rising 7 to 10 percent in 2012.”

2011 Certificate of Achievement

I just wanted to share some of my own good news.  I was recently awarded a Certificate of Achievement from the Greater Albuquerque Association of Realtors for having produced sales greater than $2 Million during 2011.  This honor particularly touches me as these last few years have been so tough on our real estate market.  It is really encouraging to think I was able to do this in such a difficult time. It feels like 2012 is already gearing up to be a tremendous year and I know I'll be selling lots of beautiful property.  I'm working with several hopeful sellers and quite a few excited buyers right now, and I've already sold two homes to my buyers this year.  Other than the Spring wind which is howling away out there today---Life is Good in Placitas!

Market is Looking Up

Wow, it’s the end of February already.  Time is flying and we’re really busy here at La Puerta.  Today there are 21 homes and 3 pieces of land that are under contract in Placitas and there are 6 homes and 3 pieces of land that have closed since January 1^st.  As usual, La Puerta is involved in almost all of the transactions.  Our brokers were responsible for 4 sides (either representing the buyer or seller) in the 6 homes sold, 5 sides in the 3 pieces of land sold, 10 sides of the 21 homes in pending and 1 side in the 3 pieces of land in pending.  That is significant considering we have only 12 agents in our office!  I brought the buyer who purchased one of the homes in February and I also brought the buyer for a home sale in Jemez Springs. Yesterday, I also got a Certificate of Achievement from the Greater ABQ Association of Realtors (GAAR) for achieving greater than $2 million in Sales in 2011.  Not bad for a slow market!  Spring has sprung.  The Junipers are giving us sneezing fits, but Life is Good in Placitas.

OUR FIRST DECADE

Valentines Day is the 10th anniversary of La Puerta Real Estate Services having been in business.  We are throwing a party for ourselves and inviting the community to join us. It will be Saturday, February 11th from 11AM to 4PM. We're going to have lots of great food and giveaways, so I hope to see you there!

NEW FOOD OPTION IN PLACITAS

Oh Yay! Oh Yay!  We have a great new addition to the Placitas Food Scene!  Kimberley Calvo, a seasoned chef and Placitas resident is parking a food truck in the west La Puerta parking lot offering lunch and dinner Tuesday through Friday and breakfast on Saturdays, though this schedule is not yet set in stone.  She's just started this week and welcomes feedback and suggestions. She is very excited about her new venue as are we, here at La Puerta.  Her food is fresh and seasonal, tending towards organic as much as possible and definitely healthy and delicious. The menu changes regularly so we won't get bored and she may be posting her menus on her website. She says she'll also have a selection of kids' food so when you're driving starving children home from town, you can stop by and pick up a healthy meal for them without your having to rush to prepare their dinner while they're becoming little grumps. We welcome Kim and her assistant chef Alan to our neighborhood and hope you'll all come out to support this fine new local endeavor.

Good news on Home Values

Wow, I was really surprised this weekend when I did a market analysis on a 1900+ square foot home in Placitas that I had also evaluated 16 months ago and the value had gone up $36,000.  So things really are looking up around here!  What a relief.