The Santa Fe County Commission recently adopted the Code of the West, a guide on "How to Avoid Surprises and Be a Good Neighbor When You're Buying, Building, and Developing in Santa Fe County."

This nine-page document is designed to help individuals make educated and informed decisions as they consider purchasing or developing land in the unincorporated areas of Santa Fe County. The guide offers answers to questions about legal access to property in rural areas, the importance of Pueblo sovereignty, and how extreme weather can impact local roads.

You will also find information on getting utilities out to your part of the county, wells, on water rights, access to telephone services, wastewater treatment and how to get rid of your trash. The code helps explain potential property concerns regarding mineral rights and private covenants to keeping your dog in your own yard and away from livestock.

Check out the code at www.santafecounty.org/county_manager/county_reports.


Looking at year-end data, sales of single-family homes were up to 997 in 2010, compared to 966 home sales in 2009. The sale volumes of single-family homes also grew to $476 million in 2010 from $463 million the previous year.

The median price remained flat for single family homes: $354,000 in 2010 and $356,550 in 2009.

Santa Fe did see a 19 percent increase in condominium and townhome sales in 2010 at 277, compared to 233 in 2009. The median price of condominium and townhome sales grew by 13 percent, from $230,000 in 2009 to $259,000 last year.

Land sales slowed in 2010, from 131 in 2009 to 114 in 2010. The median of land sales also dropped, from $160,000 in 2009 to $142,250 in 2010.

The increase in both sales and prices for condominiums/townhomes may suggest a broad market trend of homeowners preferring a simpler lifestyle by downsizing and moving closer to urban amenities.


Should you make that investment upgrade in your property before you sell? This year's Cost vs. Value Report by Remodeling magazine would suggest that some upgrades are worth considering and boast a decent cost recovery.

The top five investment paybacks include replacing your entry door, replacing the garage door, replacing siding, remodeling the kitchen and adding a deck. Amazingly, a steel entry door replacement with a cost of $1,218 brought a resale value of $1,243 or cost recouped at 102.1 percent.

With a basic garage-door replacement, the survey noted that on average a homeowner can recoup about 84 percent. Fiber cement siding replacement, at a cost of $13,382, on average recouped a resale value of $10,707 or an 80 percent cost recovery. Costs for both kitchen remodels and deck additions on average offered a cost recouped at nearly 73 percent.

To access the full report, visit www.remodeling.hw.net/2010/costvsvalue/national.aspx.

Donna Reynolds is chief executive officer of the Santa Fe Association of Realtors (www.sfar.com).