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Pick your own ideal angle of repose, but mostly its flat around here when you gather the numbers. Five months in the books for 2016 came up as almost identical to the same five months of 2015. Sales are strong in the lowest price ranges and the best of the rest takes some time to move. Some seem never to sell. Maybe they just become listless? The foreclosure inventory is still a factor in some neighborhoods. When there is a home within a block or two of your home and it is bank-owned or for sale in a distressed situation, it affects your home’s value and marketability.
We could call the current mood the calm before the storm or another catchy phrase, or is it the early blip of a small recession or downturn? It is quite difficult to predict things will head the wrong way right now as so much activity and robust sales are taking place in our surrounding states. Friends of mine in Denver and Dallas report plenty of buyers and strong sales. Arizona and Utah are doing well. We, on the other hand, are working toward acceptance that someone moves here for reasons other than overall economic health and a new job. Our City administration and many power brokers talk about attracting and keeping younger people… those whose futures are bright and need high speed internet, a larger airport and better housing close to services (walkability). They can consider Santa Fe and end up choosing another city. So the push is on for more nightclubs and places to consume alcohol as if that is the answer.
You may know of the plans for rapid transit thru the heart of Albuquerque (along Central Ave) that is intended to establish a backbone of economic growth. People will want to live near it and be able to get anywhere in 20 minutes. What is along that route? Old Town, Downtown, Hospitals, Rail Runner stations, UNM, Nob Hill and the farther reaches of East and West Central that is the historical Route 66. It has been a commercial route for decades and over the next 20 years we are likely to see many housing units built within a couple blocks of Central for people in all stages of life. Santa Fe does not have a similar geography nor the will to create the infrastructure that would support the growth of our economy and create jobs and the housing that people need. We don’t even know how to attract or keep our younger population or if we really want to. Some prefer to keep things the way they are now. Meanwhile the gap between the haves and the have nots increases and the average age of our citizens climbs higher.
An interesting statistic I just saw showed that nationally the average square foot size of a single family detached home reached 2500 square feet. That is the highest ever, I believe, yet the longer term trend lines show more single person households and smaller dwellings to be more in demand in the future. Maybe that is only for the progressive and innovative communities that are able to attract the most recent generations of workers that have a slightly different set of needs. 2 car garage? Maybe not so much in the future. A half acre of land surrounding your personal palace? How do you ever build a community when neighbors never talk but only wave as they come and go? Are communal spaces (shared gardens, parks, areas to get together) necessary for long term health and growth? Do we want to attract more folks my age (65) that are not going to be working much longer or do we want to attract people in their 20s and 30s that can build and expand their ideas and energy into making Santa Fe a place that has a pulse and a vibrancy? Many cities have serious questions to answer. Those are a few of ours.
