Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico
September 1, 2007
Most people are more likely to know Albuquerque as a tricky spelling-bee question than as the largest city in New Mexico. That’s understandable, given that the twin stars of Santa Fe and Taos get most of the limelight with their Georgia O’Keeffe color palettes and limitless landscapes. But that is changing.
Increasingly, retirees and business leaders are alighting at Albuquerque’s high-desert airport and staying put, intrigued by its staggering climate (more than 300 days a year of sunshine), natural beauty (accentuated by the nearly 11,000-foot Sandia Mountains and the mighty Rio Grande), and, perhaps most compelling of all, comparatively affordable housing (consider that in this natural oasis, $1 million puts you among the property-owning elite).
"You get a lot more house here than those other New Mexico hot spots," says David Waszak of Waszak Custom Homes, who for the past 17 years has been designing and building some of the city’s more interesting dwellings. "We’re seeing a lot of folks coming from the East Coast, Michigan and, of course, California. I think they find that property values are not overinflated, and there’s just more open space. Combine that with our climate and many are sold on the spot."Waszak’s projects typically unfold on an acre of land (priced from $350,000 to $600,000) and cost between $180 and $325 a square foot. Common elements include upscale kitchen and bath fixtures as well as pueblo-style plaster walls, or equally popular California Mission touches, such as clay-tile roofs and protruding wooden beams. Regardless of style, homes often boast a variety of shady retreats, given that the near-constant sun is that much more powerful at an altitude of 5,300 feet.
Another typical high-end home is one built by Steer Luxury Homes in Rio Rancho, a popular west side retreat due in part to its proximity to Intel, the California-based computer chip manufacturer that is one of a number of companies to open either satellites or headquarters in Albuquerque. Steer’s custom creation is a multi-peaked mini-mansion (4,233 square feet), which sits on 1.5 acres and features four bedrooms, three bathrooms, indoor and outdoor kitchens, a pool and a two-car-plus garage—the plus being a 55-foot-long and correspondingly high-ceilinged space designed solely for an RV. Price: $1.35 million.
"Most of the people who buy homes like this, either as a primary or secondary residence, are from out of state, because they can see the value instantly," says Steer co-owner David McDonald. "Things at the high end have been a bit slow of late, but that’s only because we don’t see the crazy surges and declines that places like Las Vegas and Phoenix do. So we’re more steady and, as a result, offer a more secure investment."
Albuquerque seems to be a town that wrinkles its nose at hype
and sizzle. Largely working class and decidedly multicultural, the town has yet
to see its average home price break a quarter-million dollars. Those
down-to-earth roots equal a natural insulation against overly inflated prices,
and in turn seem to guarantee that anyone spending north of seven-figures will
be able to demand the best in terms of materials and detailing—which is not the
case in markets where million-dollar homes are tear-down propositions.
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