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YellieLu - We both live in locations with tremendous natural beauty, but having lived in communities across the country I think that the quality of life in Santa Fe surpasses most other places. You live in a quirky little town, and Santa Fe is a quirky little city (I was going to make a pun about Albuquirky - but it's quirkiness has by and large been greatly reduced over the years).
Our main "feeder" markets for real estate. i.e. people moving here from out-of-state are Dallas, Austin, Houston, Denver, Phoenix and L.A. We also see a lot of traffic from Washington, DC, N.Y., and the upper midwest. My clients from these places mostly say they are looking for a better quality of life, to escape ever-increasing traffic, high home prices and bad weather.
To your specific questions:
Housing - The rental market is very tight and rents are rising. If you wish to purchase, you can find houses in all price ranges.
Estimates are that prices will rise 10% in 2016; normally it's been from 1.5 - 3% per year. To purchase, figure on 20% down and 2 years of tax returns. If you both stay in the same fields, then banks will be able to pre-qualify you for a mortgage. If you change fields, you'll have a harder time qualifying in the near-term.
Job Market - Your husband should have no problem; we're a well-renowned foodie town. I don't imagine you'd have any problem either. I'd advise making contact and nailing down jobs before moving here.
Tourism impact on residency - Tourists need places to stay, so that contributes to the tight rental market. Some decide they want a place here as a second or third home which they can rent out when they are not here, and that is contributing to rises in home prices primarily in the condo market.
Wow! Thank you so much for the amazing input. I have been doing quite a bit of research and everything you laid out is right in line with my research and you nailed why we want to move to Santa Fe. My husband has been reaching out to the fine dining establishments, we are not going anywhere until we have the employment end of things is locked down. I am amazed at how much further your real estate dollar goes in Santa Fe and thanks for the heads up on lending. Neither of us plan to change careers as he is very well established in his field and I am on that track as well. We have been looking in 200k - 400k range and have pleasantly surprised at what's available especially in the condo market. I had heard that there are issues with flat roofs leaking, is this a common home owner issue?
I had heard that there are issues with flat roofs leaking, is this a common home owner issue?
Flat roofs are MORE prone to leaking than pitched roofs - if not properly designed and maintained. Ponding of snow melt and rain water is the problem that needs addressing at the time of construction. Traditional adobe homes built in early times were nothing more than wattle and adobe and shed rainwater fairly well through drain tiles set around the roof perimeter.
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