Good News About Placitas Home Sales

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.” Good News Indeed!

Sandy Poling, Associate Broker

I am truly blessed to live and work here in Placitas Each time I walk out of my work place I marvel at my beautiful view of the Sandias. Sometimes I just go out to see what pleasure awaits me.

Gail McGough-Maduena, Associate Broker

You know it is spring when the bees are bringing several different shades of pollen. I tried to get a picture of them coming back to the hive showing their pollen sacks filled but they don't stop and pose for me. I will have to work on that. The colors range from white to almost a chartreuse green and it is a combination of the elm trees, juniper and wild mustard, I am sure there are other things opening too but these are the ones I know. There are lots of fruit trees that will be opening soon and they will be getting the pollen from those too. That old saying "busy as a bee" is really true!

Julie Denison, Associate Broker

Great Skiing in New Mexico Close to Placitas

Wow, what a great winter it has been! Snow in the mountains means great Southwest skiing -warm, mild sunny days, and Rocky Mountain powder. From Placitas, skiing is abundant! Sandia Peak, 30 minutes to the tram and a glorious ride to the top - Santa Fe Ski Basin, just over an hour - Taos and Angel Fire, 2.5 hours. Not to mention Red River, Pajarito and Sipapu ski areas. Here's a great website for additional info: http://www.skinewmexico.com/ .

Load up on sun screen, head to the slopes and no snow to shovel at home!

Jennise Phillips, Associate Broker

Placitas Real Estate Statistics/Placitas in the Spring

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 1st. 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! Not bad for a slow market! Spring has sprung. The Junipers are giving us sneezing fits, but Life is Good in Placitas.

Sandy Poling

Associate Broker

Placitas: No UFO's - just the beauty of wildlife and angels

Some places in New Mexico boast UFO's. We attract wild horses, bears, wildcats and angels. :)

Pepi Strahl, Associate Broker

My First Home in New Mexico

In April of 1971, as a college sophomore on spring break from Indiana University, I visited New Mexico. It was love at first sight, even though I was raised in southern Indiana on the Ohio River where it is very humid and lush. I found the dry climate, unending views and daily sunshine very liberating. Upon returning, I immediately applied to the University of New Mexico. I was accepted and the rest, as they say, is history.

By that August, I had started school, stumbled across Placitas and the cooperative community called Tawapa. It was such a unique place then with five families who had built their own houses, while trying to live self-sufficiently off the land. After going to the community dinners a few times and hanging out by the stream, swimming in the pond and enjoying the shade of the cottonwoods, I knew that little valley was for me.

I was invited to join the group and build my own place. Since I was totally inexperienced in construction, I took some friendly advice to build a dug-out house. This sounded good, not because it entailed a lot of back-breaking digging, but it required very little carpentry or masonry knowledge. With two buddies who volunteered their labor and my wonder dog, Herbie helping with the digging, we picked and shoveled a big hole in the side of a hill next to the stream.

Porter, left, one of two brothers, Bruce or

Barry Haas from Indiana, "Herbie", center front

Once the hole was dug, we made trip after trip in my VW bus to pick up free ten-foot-long `end cuts’ from the Bernalillo sawmill. These were the left-over pieces from the cut trees that had three square sides and a jagged outer edge. The plan was to construct a big wooden box outside of the hole using some donated four-by-four-inch beams, upright, with the `end cuts’ nailed on the outside and inside. This created four inches of space to back fill with the dirt from the hole. The result was a type of rammed-earth house that was energy efficient for the desert climate.

I then bought four vigas, a window, a door and some hardware and got help installing those. Then we hauled the rest of the dirt from the hole onto the roof, and `presto’ I had a completed shell. We salvaged a fifty-five gallon oil drum to make a wood stove, threw some straw on the floor and hung some lanterns. Water was from the spring, the bathroom was behind the third bush from the left and before I knew it, I had a house for under 300 bucks. Soon, friends were dropping by to play the drums and I had my first home in New Mexico!

My Dug-Out Home, Carolyn from Wisconsin (I think!)

Porter Dees, Associate Broker