Why fall is a good time to buy a home in Santa Fe

Fall is the best season to buy a home in Santa Fe for a simple reason: the summer buyers have gone home and the sellers who listed in June are still here. From mid-September through Thanksgiving you get less competition, more willingness to negotiate, and the clearest weather of the year to look at houses in.

The summer buyers leave

A large share of Santa Fe’s buyers live elsewhere and shop while they are in town for the Opera, Indian Market, or a summer rental. By the time Fiesta is over, most of them have left. The listings they were competing for are still active, and multiple-offer situations become rare. If a house you liked in July went under contract and came back on the market, fall is when you find out.

Sellers want to close before winter

A seller who listed in late spring and has not sold by October has usually been through a price reduction already and would rather not carry the house through January, when showings nearly stop. That shows up as flexibility on price, on closing dates, and on repairs. It is also the season when sellers who need to close within the calendar year for tax reasons get serious.

You see the house honestly

Fall is when you learn what a Santa Fe home is like to live in. Mornings are cold and afternoons are warm, so you can tell how the house holds heat, whether the radiant floor comes up in time, and which rooms the low sun reaches. Flat roofs show their drainage after the first storm. Portals and courtyards tell you whether they were sited for the afternoon or the wind. We cover what to check in getting a Santa Fe home ready for winter.

The weather is on your side

September and October are the clearest months of the year. The monsoon has ended, the aspens turn on the Sangre de Cristos, and you can walk a neighborhood on a weekday afternoon without heat or snow. We wrote a whole post on September in Santa Fe. It is also the easiest season to drive out and compare Eldorado, Tesuque, and the north valley in one day.

Lenders, inspectors, and appraisers have time

With fewer contracts in the pipeline, the people you depend on to close move faster. Appraisals that drag on in June come back quickly in October, and the good inspectors have openings. In a market where appraisals come in short more often than most places, having time to respond matters.

What to watch for

• Inventory is lower. Fewer new listings come on in fall, so what you see is largely what is left from summer. If you need a specific neighborhood and a specific size, start looking in late August so you know the field.
• Winter access. Some properties on the Northside and in the foothills sit on roads the city does not plow. Ask before you fall in love.
• Year-end closings get crowded. Title companies and lenders fill up in the second half of December. Aim to close before the 15th or after the holidays.

How to start

Get pre-approved in August so you can move when the right house comes on. Then read our guide for buyers, look through every active listing, and call us. We grew up here and will tell you what a house is like in February before you buy it in October.