Victoria Murphy's Blog

Travel and Leisures names Top Five!

One of the Top Five Cities in North America!

Travel and Leisure names Santa Fe in the top FIVE of Places to Visit.!

Travel and Leisure Magazine's announced on the Today Show with Matt Lauer (you know the really really good lookng one) that Santa Fe is in the top 5 of all cities in the U.S. and Canada!

The others cities joining us in this wonderful destinction of travel destinations were New York City, San Francisco, Quebec City, and Charleston, SC.  Our Santa Fe visitors appreciated the city's diversity and the ability to connect with the locals.

The August 2009 edition of Travel and Leisure will feature Santa Fe and the four other top destination cities in North America.

In 2008 Santa Fe was #8 in the top 10, and now we've increased our ranking to the top 5! 

We were also recently named to the Top Ten cities to appreciate over the next ten years by US World and News Report.

I just love my beautiful and diverse city!

I Love Sign Calls.  It shows me there are buyers out there.  I shows me that their are buyers interested enough in my listing to stop and take down my information or pick a brochure out of the box.  It tells me that very soon I may sell this listing.

But do I really love sign calls?  Sign calls are potentially dangerous especially if the home is vacant as mine is.  We have to remember to play is safely

• Have the person meet you in your office and make a copy of their drivers license.  Put the persons cell number on it and hand it someone in your office.
• Have someone in your office phone you shortly after the appointment time to check in on you.
• If you do meet them at the home.  First call them back to verify the phone number is actually theirs.
• Give their name and number to an associate and have them call you. 
• All remember to play is safe and have an escape route planned.

Most of all enjoy your business - play it safe  - and sell those listings.

I will come out and say it I am a registered Democrat and that is about the gist of it.  I serve as the chair of our local real estate government affairs committee, the vice-chair (incoming chair) of our state associations legislative committee, and finance chair of our county democratic committee.  I am also an RPAC trustee.  All of this is great since in the real estate committees we do our best to stay non-partisan and address issues which effect property rights.

But boy can it be scary when you get in a car with potential clients and they begin asking those soft political questions.  I just smile and tell the real estate committees I sit on but I am very careful not to let anymore slip.  In the car with clients is not the place to spew our political beliefs, it is the place to talk up our cities and all the amenties they will offer the future homebuyer.  I can tell you I have had a bloodied tongue on occasion just having to bite down on it.  But at the end of the day when you have given it your all - you know it was the right thing to do and keep politics out of the home selling process.

Buyer Dependancy

I have come to realize that some of my buyers (those I have been working with for many, many months) have become dependant on my company.  They speak about how they are going to miss my company after they find a home.  Try as I may to explain to them that I remain in touch with all of my clients and actually become very great friends with most. 

Because of this I have began to wonder if perhaps some buyers are reluctant to find a home because they fear they will then end the companionship.  I will need to assure some of my buyers that I will still be a part of their lives after they had made their purchase.  After all it is in that relationship and trust that we get our referrals.

The Benefit of Raising Prices

Recently I had a seller who wanted to drastically lower the price of their home.  We did and we changed the demographic of the people coming to see the property.  We began getting very very low offers.  So I recommended we bring the price up abit - that worked and better offers followed. 

I have another listing that has done some major improvements and we have decided it is time to raise the price.  We had been the lowest in the area in price per square foot and found people were looking for the faults in the home which were very minor and very few.  I suspect by raising the price we will be reaching a different group of more qualified buyers.

I can not say enough wonderful things about my little city (pop. approx. 68,000).  Santa Fe has so much to offer every and any one.  We have government jobs with the city, county, state and federal.  We have some the best restaurants and hotels in the country.  We have a tremendously huge arts community with live theatre, opera and numerous galleries. 
Because we are considered to be a resort community we have not seen the housing slump so many of our neighboring states have.  Our home prices have remained strong leading to a strong surge in 1031 exchanges.
Come to Santa Fe - you will love it and you will stay.

While Santa Fe has the reputation of pulling up the streets at 9:00 pm we do feature some of the most wonderful restaurants around.  Here are a few of my favorites:

Cafe Cafe - wonderful fresh Italian  505-466-1391
Chocolate Maven - the name says it all  505-984-1980
Clafoutis - wonderful French Bistro (breakfast/lunch)    505-988-1809
El Farol - Spanish Tapas   505-983-9912
Gabriel's - Guacamole made at your table   505-455-7000
Geronimo - Outstanding, superb .....   505-982-1500
Harry's Roadhouse - save room for dessert! 505-989-4629
Museum Hill Cafe - perfect little stop over    505-820-1776
Rio Chama Steakhouse - Best Bar - great food    505-955-0765
Tia Sophia's - A local hangout for breakfast & lunch 505-983-9880