Wanting To Buy Land In New Mexico (Albuquerque, Las Cruces: sale, house)

[GregW]

I have seen many blocks of land on Realtor.com in the area south and east of Las Vegas. They seem to be in fairly large (quarter section or more) blocks and in the price range you mentioned. there are a number of realator sites linked to this forum. Good hunting.

[GregW]

Look for farms/land east of Las Vegas. Whole sections (160 acre) are available.

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by GregW

Look for farms/land east of Las Vegas. Whole sections (160 acre) are available.

A section is 640 acres.

[GregW]

Sorry, I meant quarter section. BTW - for the rest of you - a section is one mile square or 640 acre.

[mortimer]

KimK warns:

> Please be wary of donating it to any open space protection
> organization. ... land flipper organization.

The intent of my original suggestion was to donate it to the city/state/feds. I hadn't even considered private land trusts.

> Hence, you may believe that you have given in perpetuity
> but sadly you have just facilitated land swapping.

Theoretically, if you were looking to preserve land in general, swapping would have no effect, but what if they swap 1 acre for 10 acres that you donated?

If you were looking to specifically preserve a piece of land, this would be a big issue. It gets back to my question about what happens after you are dead?

In the end, any human effort to preserve land is futile as long as people continue to have babies in numbers greater than those that are dying off.

Land in Sandia Heights - now just about the most valuable and coveted in the whole state of New Mexico, was thought to be desolate, worthless scrub just a few short decades ago.

We all may be dead by then, but some day the whole corredor from ABQ to Santa Fe might be developed for miles on either side of the freeway supported by water pipelines from Lake Superior. Or not.

[GreatSantaFe]

To be honest, there're great land deals all over NM. It's a big state, so you might figure out first the answers to some pertinent questions like:
Do you want to live in or near a large city (if so, Albuquerque is the only one in the state)?
Do you mind traffic?
Do you want to see the stars at night?
How important is proximity to health care services/hositals?
What about proximity to cultural activities (movies, museums, concerts, art galleries, etc.)
Do you want 4 distinct seasons or a more moderate climate?
Do you want to be close to skiing? Close to Mexico?
If you like travelling, what about proximity to an airport?

Anyhow, you get the point. I think NM is one of the best places to live. I've lived all over, and for me northern NM can't be beat - but I agree with other posters that places such as Silver City, Ruidoso and Las Cruces are attractive as well.

Good Luck!!

[santafescribe]

I agree with the Edgewood idea, and (of course!) I'd add some land surrounding Santa Fe, especially to the north, where the pueblos are expanding and the city is coming out to meet them. Of course land is more expensive there, relative to other parts of NM, but the demand around Santa Fe can only grow, as most of the large acreage is Pueblo, BLM or State owned.

[Devin Bent]

Originally Posted by santafescribe

I agree with the Edgewood idea, and (of course!) I'd add some land surrounding Santa Fe, especially to the north, where the pueblos are expanding and the city is coming out to meet them. Of course land is more expensive there, relative to other parts of NM, but the demand around Santa Fe can only grow, as most of the large acreage is Pueblo, BLM or State owned.

Agreed. You look at a map and you see that four pueblos and BLM constitute a barrier across the northern county with the two mountain ranges and the Forest Service holding the flanks. (The maps are a little misleading since there are areas of traditionally private ownership.)

This barrier is part of the reason why the land on the north side of Santa Fe (City and County) is already more expensive than land on the south side. The problems at Los Alamos NL (leading to lesser demand) have recently held price growth down in the northern Santa Fe county (IMO) especially the adjacent (to Los Alamos) Pojoaque Valley and present a window of opportunity. But the growth of Santa Fe will drive the prices up as soon as the economy turns. You see this some already -- my neighborhood was once largely inhabited by Los Alamos employees. Recent buyers work in Santa Fe.

I'd guess that there are other areas of the state where growth is hemmed in by topography and public/reservation ownership -- but it is not so apparent yet to the casual observer. A clever investor with good maps might do well.

PS I am NOT a realtor. Anything I say is IMO.

[abasicservice]

Strictly investment, I would not want to live there. Truth or Consequences projected growth due to two major leisure and science developments. Hot Springs Motorplex with estimated 4000 new jobs if and when it arrives. Spaceport, with another 6000 jobs is soon a sci fi reality.

[boomergirl]

check out Poncho Villa Ranches, south of Deming. I picked up a couple 10 acre parcels. I'm going to Deming in a couple weeks. So far I've only seen them on google earth, which is a great tool for your vacant land search. Good luck!!!