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Renting vs buying and I'm talking renting a house (single family) vs an apartment or condo. I've tried looking for rentals and there are some online but most are vacation rentals - which would be OK while we are house hunting if we decide to reinvest in a house.
Thoughts on the rental market in SF?
Or housing in SF in general, I keep hearing that the housing market will plummet but while I've seen it slow down a little (here in DFW), I don't really see drastically falling prices and once (if) the economy recovers, I can't imagine it not going back up due to supply and demand.
I know "they" say don't use a house as a guaranteed invest opp but renting to me seems... like a waste of money long term. Especially with (compared to Texas) low property taxes. We'd be reinvesting house-sale money from here into a house there (or somewhere) or we'd just rent. Our monthly housing budget would remain the about the same whether we rent or buy - trying to keep it to what our mortgage payment is here (or preferably less, which doesn't seem likely in the NM market).
Any 'odd' things to consider when buying in Santa Fe?
I've been hoping somebody with actual first-hand knowledge of this would chime in for you. What I know is second-hand or lower.
But, here goes. The rental market here is tough for renters. There are too few units and an increasing number of renters. That is reflected in the rents. The people I know that rent are largely in houses, and some of the rent increases they have seen are enormous. And a couple for dumps that need a bulldozer hooked up to them, but no bulldozer is coming and the only improvements to the problems are relatively cosmetic. We have one friend who is pulling up stakes and leaving the area due to a huge rent increase for a bulldozer candidate, and her other options are not much better and no cheaper than the new rent. We had another friend leave the area for, in part, the fact her rent has skyrocketed in recent years and her income can't keep up (and she is in a management position).
You probably already know the problem with retiring as a renter. Especially in markets like this, your housing costs are nowhere near fixed. One can say they never are, because taxes, maintenance, and insurance increases if you own, but the actual housing is fixed (or $0 if you own outright).
My wife brings up renting out of frustration every time we have a maintenance issue pop up or do any sort of improvement (which is also maintenance, just pre-emptively). I have this same conversation with her.
There are markets that renting in retirement makes sense. If the rent is less volatile, it largely removes maintenance and taxes from the equation. But, I don't think Santa Fe is one of them. Our rental market is not Jackson, Wyoming, but we are closer to it than a lot of other places.
The other caveat is that that the equation does change if we are talking about retiring to a senior living (independent) or assisted living facility. Focusing strictly on independent living rentals vs. owning (apples to apples), there are other benefits to be considered in such a facility. That does not sound like what you are looking for, however.
Even if housing prices recede, that still does not necessarily flow to the rental market. There is some intersection between those two markets (people that can do either, like yourselves), but overall they are different markets.
@TheMule
Thanks for the feedback. Good to know about the enormous rent hikes. Looking at both the rental & buying markets, it’s all right unless you are looking at housing over $1.5M. Ugh! We have those convos too every time we have to clear brush, or do some maintenance on our house… why aren’t we renting. Lol
We did a quick trip to SF this past weekend for our anniversary & to start scoping things out. Luckily, I guess, we have some time to make decisions & who knows what will happen in 4.5 yrs. We also need to make decisions on our expectations, really look at needs vs wants, etc.
@TheMule
Thanks for the feedback. Good to know about the enormous rent hikes. Looking at both the rental & buying markets, it’s all right unless you are looking at housing over $1.5M. Ugh! We have those convos too every time we have to clear brush, or do some maintenance on our house… why aren’t we renting. Lol
We did a quick trip to SF this past weekend for our anniversary & to start scoping things out. Luckily, I guess, we have some time to make decisions & who knows what will happen in 4.5 yrs. We also need to make decisions on our expectations, really look at needs vs wants, etc.
Take a look at El Dorado. It's not Santa Fe, but it's more affordable. Check out rentals and homes to buy. It's close enough to SFe that you can participate in events, enjoy dining, access various amenities, but it's a bit more affordable, and is a nice community. Has a good grocery scene.
Take a look at El Dorado. It's not Santa Fe, but it's more affordable. Check out rentals and homes to buy. It's close enough to SFe that you can participate in events, enjoy dining, access various amenities, but it's a bit more affordable, and is a nice community. Has a good grocery scene.
I second the "nice community/has a good grocery store." It is a nice, quiet community that is within a 20-25 minute drive of the Plaza. Not so sure on the "more affordable" part any more.
My data is about 5 years old, however, so take my cost estimate with several grains of salt.
I second the "nice community/has a good grocery store." It is a nice, quiet community that is within a 20-25 minute drive of the Plaza. Not so sure on the "more affordable" part any more.
My data is about 5 years old, however, so take my cost estimate with several grains of salt.
RE has gone way up in the last decade, and especially in the last two decades since I arrived in Santa Fe, but it's still cheaper than SF, and always will be. It's all relative. But nice homes there no longer sell for something in the $200K-$250K range, that's for sure.
RE has gone way up in the last decade, and especially in the last two decades since I arrived in Santa Fe, but it's still cheaper than SF, and always will be. It's all relative. But nice homes there no longer sell for something in the $200K-$250K range, that's for sure.
We initially looked at El Dorado, but could not find a home that "fit" us. We finally bought our current Santa Fe home 5 years ago, and rented it out thru a property manager. When my wife retired, we moved here from the Los(t) Angeles area. We have been here almost exactly two years.
In the three years between buying and moving in, the market value of the house went up approximately 60%. It has since stabilized a bit, but still...!
Sounds like Los Alamos is throwing gas on the Santa Fe housing market. They are ramping up hiring there, but there's no housing in Los Alamos so it sounds like people just commute from Santa Fe up to Los Alamos.
Sounds like Los Alamos is throwing gas on the Santa Fe housing market. They are ramping up hiring there, but there's no housing in Los Alamos so it sounds like people just commute from Santa Fe up to Los Alamos.
They commute from Santa Fe, but also from the villages north of it, like Tesuque, even parts of Pojoaque and Nambe pueblos, and White Rock, on the way up the hill to LA. Also Las Campanas, which I think is just outside the SF city limits to the north/northwest.
We initially looked at El Dorado, but could not find a home that "fit" us. We finally bought our current Santa Fe home 5 years ago, and rented it out thru a property manager. When my wife retired, we moved here from the Los(t) Angeles area. We have been here almost exactly two years.
In the three years between buying and moving in, the market value of the house went up approximately 60%. It has since stabilized a bit, but still...!
Wow, that's quite a story!
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It has since stabilized a bit, but still...!
