Living in Santa Fe Blog

How to Live Like a Santa Fe Local

If you’re buying a home in Santa Fe, congratulations! You’ve decided to become a Santa Fe local.

You can look for a home in any season in Santa Fe. Just for the record, Santa Fe truly has four seasons, plus an average of 325 sunny days a year.

Santa Fe also sits 7,199 feet above sea level, which makes it the highest state capital in the country. Living like a Santa Fe local means becoming acclimated to the effects of altitude. Most sources say it generally takes several days to adjust to the elevation. Avoiding overexertion, staying hydrated, and getting enough sleep will help during your first few days here.

As you plan to settle in Santa Fe, there’s a lot on your to-do list. We pooled our…

722 Views, 0 Comments

Five Ways to Meet Your Neighbors After Buying a Home in Santa Fe

Congratulations! You bought a home in Santa Fe and you’ve moved in. And we do mean that literally.

You’ve moved in boxes, chairs, tables, beds, mattresses, and every coffee mug you own. Right about now, you may be juggling a host of tasks from connecting to wifi to completing your change of address.

But wait. Take a deep breath and maybe a sip of coffee from one of those mugs you unboxed. Just outside the door, there’s a new neighborhood to explore. Hit the pause button on unpacking and invest some time in meeting your neighbors and learning about your new community. The boxes will be there when you get back, honest.

Meeting your neighbors is just one of our 20 Things To Do First in Santa…

276 Views, 0 Comments

2021 Q2 Market Report

Spend a summer evening in the Railyard or downtown and it’s clear that Santa Fe has emerged as a top destination for both tourists as well as new residents. It should be no surprise, then, that our average and median prices are the highest we have ever experienced. There are signs, however, that we may be nearing the high-water mark as some properties are requiring price changes and days on market increase ever so slightly.

Buyers continue to be well qualified, staving off concerns of another housing bubble. The city and community partners have been working hard to address affordable housing needs and new homes continue to trickle into the market – hopefully providing opportunities for first-time buyers and relieving some of the pressure the…

241 Views, 0 Comments

Barker Realty is Now an Exclusive Member of Forbes Global Properties

Today we are excited to announce that Barker Realty is now Northern New Mexico’s exclusive member of Forbes Global Properties.

We continue to invest in our associate brokers and our clientele to ensure they will always receive the best service, most educated staff, and expert marketing opportunities here in Santa Fe and beyond. We are thrilled to offer the extended reach of the Forbes Global Properties platform to our clients with significant, influential, and exceptional properties while maintaining our Santa Fe style. 

A robust resource for buyers and sellers of significant properties around the globe, and an invitation-only group of international real estate experts, Forbes Global…

285 Views, 0 Comments

Here’s Why We Attract Top Brokers

A successful real estate transaction involves four main pillars: the broker, the client, the listing, and the current market conditions. These four elements are tied together in myriad ways: The success of a listing can depend on how the broker markets the home. Market conditions can favor the buyer or the seller or even a particular type of home.

No matter what’s happening in the market and no matter what type of property, however, a top-notch broker is essential—whether you’re the home buyer or the seller. That’s why Barker Realty puts a high priority on the quality of our brokerage team.

What does it take to attract the highest level of real estate talent to our brokerage? We’ve got 10…

262 Views, 0 Comments

A Homebuyer’s List of 20 Things To Do in Santa Fe

In the language of real estate, a home is a tangible property that can be a house, a building lot, a condo, a townhome, or an apartment.

In broader and perhaps more meaningful terms, a home is a safe haven and shelter, a place to live with loved ones and build a future. A home is also a location—as in when you buy a home here, Santa Fe becomes your home.

Settling into a new home, no matter what and where it is, takes time and attention. There are mundane but necessary tasks like unpacking moving boxes. There are tasks like getting TV, cable, internet, and phone service. School enrollment, starting a job, getting to know the neighborhood—it’s all happening for the first time in a new location.…

289 Views, 0 Comments

A Conversation with the Santa Fe Reporter

Our beloved hometown paper, the Santa Fe Reporter, moved into their new offices at Pacheco Street in December after more than 30 years at the former Marcy Street office. Our own Barker Realty Broker Jen Fong sat down with Julie Ann Grimm, the editor, and publisher, and Anna Maggiore, the associate publisher, and advertising director, for a post-move chat.

How do you feel in the new space?

Our team is pleased with our office in Pacheco Park. It’s a totally new scene from the downtown landscape that we were so used to for so long and the transition has been odd because it happened after we had essentially stopped using our downtown office four days a week because of the pandemic. We’ve had great…

311 Views, 0 Comments

2021 Q1 Market Report

Santa Fe has long been a tiny blip on the radar screen as a place for those looking for a new home in the U.S., typically attracting an older semi-retired demographic while our youth moved elsewhere for jobs and excitement not found here. This has dramatically shifted as we see the average age of those moving here dropping. The job market here together with a high quality of life are driving this change of our in-migration and provides our community with a new set of opportunities and challenges. Local political leadership is astutely managing these with sensibility and a balanced agenda.

252 Views, 0 Comments

The Ultimate Home Maintenance Checklist for New Santa Fe Homeowners

A year will take its toll on a home. You may not notice it from day to day, but the weather will chip away at your paint, clutter will accumulate, and appliances will wear down. As a Santa Fe homeowner, you’re going to have to run some basic maintenance on an annual basis. The good news is that you can spread out these tasks throughout the year, so there’s no reason to feel overwhelmed.

Our ultimate home maintenance checklist for Santa Fe homeowners can be adjusted to suit your needs and your schedule, but here are the essential chores to keep your home in top-notch shape.

Spring: Deep Clean and Declutter

• Check exterior paint. Look for chips and cracks in the exterior paint on…

316 Views, 0 Comments

Santa Fe Architectural Terms You Need To Know

Santa Fe is a city with a spectacular natural setting, a vibrant arts scene, unique cuisine—and its own architectural profile.

Homebuyers may be familiar with terms like camino, but do you know the difference between a nicho and a viga?

Never fear—our handy reference will put you in the know as you look for homes for sale in Santa Fe. It’s been said that we’re better at seeing subtle differences in color if we know the name of each shade, and the same goes for architecture.

Acequia

This refers to a traditional man-made ditch used for irrigation that is found throughout the State and dates back to the Spaniards.

Adobe

Clay homes are made from adobe, a material of mud and straw. The…

576 Views, 0 Comments