What's Placitas like? (Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Bernalillo: for sale, real estate, house)

[nmguy]

What kind of place is Placitas? I'd appreciate hearing both the good and the bad.

Thanks.

[EnjoyEP]

I don't live in Placitas (live in ABQ), however, go there quite a bit for socializing.

My observations are that Placitas is just incredibly scenic, beautiful, and rural. Just a wonderfully scenic area to visit or live. You see some very magical sunsets / sunrises in Placitas, it is dark at night (with stars and moonlight vibrant and bright), and the homes are laid out throughout the foothills very well.

It is much cooler in general in Placitas - in the evenings especially - year-round than it is in ABQ, and they certainly can get more snow on occasion than ABQ does, due to their higher elevation and being situated in the foothills.

A major "con" of Placitas is its affordability. In general, Placitas is terribly expensive. Most homes are $300,000+. Placitas just wouldn't be affordable for my family to live in - not even close. However, the homes and the architecture are beautiful there, and I will say if I were a semi-wealthy person who lived in this general area, I would pick Placitas over Santa Fe any day (although that is truly just a matter of personal preference).

Probably another "con" of Placitas (although this "con" is what makes Placitas in general such a major pro), depending on how far you get into Placitas, you can be quite a drive away from most stores, gas stations, restaurants, grocery stores, etc. Placitas has a few stores (and I think one gas station), however, to get to more conventional retail, it can be a drive. I know one Placitas family we are friends with, for them, it takes literally nearly a 1/2 hour to get from their house to I-25, at least 20 minutes. And even then, to get into Albuquerque it is another 15 minutes or 20 minutes.

However, this "con" is just the price you pay to have the scenic beauty in the area without the commercialization everywhere.

Overall, while Placitas wouldn't be for myself (with much of that due to simple economics), I have always been highly impressed by the place, and it truly is one of my favorite places in the state.

[Crackerjack]

EnjoyEP, couldn't have described Placitas better! It is exactly my impression to the letter. A beautiful place like EnjoyEP said, but isn't for a middle or lower income family. A nice place though, if you can afford it.

[catman]

According to the other part of the site, the average price for a home in Placitas in 2000 was $267,700 (higher now, no doubt). That more or less removes it from my list of possibles, unfortunately.

[Crackerjack]

Yes, Placitas home prices are high. The homes tend to be larger too. They pay for the scenic views. A cheaper alternative would be Edgewood. They have mountain views, but costs less for a home.

[EnjoyEP]

Originally Posted by catman

According to the other part of the site, the average price for a home in Placitas in 2000 was $267,700 (higher now, no doubt). That more or less removes it from my list of possibles, unfortunately.

Yeah, that is actually surprisingly low, but I guess it was from back in 2000, when the real estate dynamic in terms of price - especially in the areas surrounding Albuquerque, but truly across the nation - was much different than it is just 6 years later.

Honestly, if you do an online search for Placitas homes for sale, or pick up a home sale real estate magazine, most any Placitas home you'll find are generally $350K through $500K+. I am sure you could still find some at $300 or maybe even a hare below, but they would be very few and far between.

(One aspect of Placitas that may bring down an average home price in the area as well perhaps is you will still see some - very occasionally - much, much older, smaller, maybe even slightly "run down" homes in the area, assuredly held over through the decades from when Placitas was much different - 1960s or 1970s...but those homes are few and far between, and surely are not the type of home being built there now).

Great, great place though if you want a little cooler weather than ABQ and you have the ability to foot $400K for a home.

[snomom2000]

Placitas is very beautiful. It has 1 gas station with the price of gas being, on average, $.15 higher than Bernalillo (the nearest town). There are many art galleries and one shopping center that has a grocery store, a restaurant and few other specialized shops. One thing to be wary of is the restrictions placed on homeowners. Also, there is a wild horse herd in the area that is quite a nuisance to homeowners. Of course if you don't mind horses in your yard then it's not a problem; many homeowners complain about the horses leaving "piles" in their yards and eating the grass, flowers and tress. Although, being a horse owner in the area and having these same horses frequent my yard I haven't had any trouble with them eating the trees or flowers, just "mowing" my yard. Placitas also has a problem with coyotes and wild dog packs. Very few yards are fenced. Another consideration is that while Placitas Elementary is an okay school, Bernalillo Middle and High Schools are very poor schools-constantly on academic probation. Most of the rich people drive their kids to private school in Albuquerque. The Christain Schools runs about $3000-$5000 per semester year and the other private schools run about $10,000 - $15,000 per year. There are many older homes in the area; real adobe homes. Many families have been in Placitas very several generations. It is a community that has existed since the 1800's.

[snomom2000]

I hit enter before I listed my links.

Local newspaper
http://www.sandovalsignpost.com/

NM State Public Education website
http://www.ped.state.nm.us/
Click on report card to see how various schools in the state rank

Placitas also just opened a charter school this year for K-3 I believe. The info will be on ped website.