$391,066Average Value$261Average Price per Sq Ft5Homes For Sale
Small desert artist colony near Santa Fe and Los Alamos
Right on Highway 84, El Valle de Arroyo Seco is a remote desert community around 22 miles north of Santa Fe. “It’s the most desert stretch of land in Santa Fe County,” says David Horpedahl, a Broker with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, who has experience selling and buying in the area. “All of it was under water 6 or 7 million years ago, which is what carved the arroyo and the gorges we around here call barrancas." Horpedahl continues, "The big thing here now is affordability. The area’s been slow to grow because of how dry it is, but all the artists and spiritual people who make Santa Fe great can better afford the prices here. Nearly everyone has a studio, and the community hosts studio tours a couple of times a year.” Access to 84 makes for an easy 23-mile commute to the Los Alamos National Laboratory — New Mexico's biggest employer — and the community scores a 1 out of 10 on the CAP Crime Index, lower than the national score of 4.
El Valle de Arroyo Seco is about 30 minutes away from the historic Santuario de Chimayo.
Arroyo Seco's community features area-affordable homes and beautiful desert scenery.
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Santa Fe-style and manufactured homes
Strewn along sunbaked roads and dirt paths, single-family homes in Arroyo Seco are surrounded by windy desert plains, oak brush and tumbleweeds. Most sit in small, one-street subdevelopments like Ojito Estates and were built in the Santa Fe-style between the 1950s and ‘90s. Often set on an acre or two, these three-to-four-bedroom homes feature reddish stucco exteriors, flat, rounded roofs and rambling layouts that make them appear like sandstone rock formations; prices can range between $330,000 and $600,000, depending on the number of bedrooms and access to private wells. Manufactured homes are also common here. Set in mobile home communities like the Juniper Hills Mobile Home Park, these properties are nearly all two-to-four-bedroom doublewides; prices can range between $250,000 and $400,000, depending on the number of bedrooms. Due to Arroyo Seco’s remote desert location, some mobile homes lack direct access to plumbing. Homeowners should ensure their lots or manufactured homes have plumbing with their respective mobile home community association.
Santa Fe style homes feature flat roofs and stucco covered exteriors in Arroyo Seco..
A few larger, custom style homes can be found throughout El Valle de Arroyo Seco.
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Hunting, hiking and golfing in the high desert
Arroyo Seco is surrounded by vast stretches of public land. “You’ve got all these rolling hills all around you with chamisas, junipers and all sorts of native plants and barrancas,” Horpedahl says. Immediately north of Arroyo Seco, La Puebla Recreation Area offers miles of desert trails surrounded by vivid red rock formations. Nambe Falls, around 16 miles south, is popular for its namesake waterfalls that descend from the Sangre de Cristos. Elk can be seen in the Sangre de Cristos to the east and the Badlands to the north, and big game hunting is popular in the area. And around 3 miles west in the Santa Clara Pueblo, the 18-hole course at the Black Mesa Golf Club is a patch of green amid rugged hills, with cottonwood trees and wind vanes that give it an Old West feel.
The rugged neighborhood of Arroyo Seco lies near the Santa Cruz Valley and river.
La Puebla Recreation Area to the north is filled with unique rock formations & sandy hills.
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Local artists and nearby shopping in Pojoaque
Local businesses can be found along the Highway 84 corridor. The tiny Blue Zone is a health-focused vegan eatery known for its colorful fruit smoothies, and Meyer’s Steel Design makes custom art with plasma-cut steel plates. The Pojoaque Pueblo, immediately south, is also home to a host of casual restaurants and casinos, including Cities of Gold, New Mexico's only casino with dollar-coin slot machines. Around 4 miles north, the small town of Española is also home to numerous grocery stores, including Walmart and the small Center Market. Downtown Santa Fe, 22 miles south, has everything from fine dining establishments like La Boca to chocolate apothecaries like Kakawa Chocolate House.
Locals can head to the Santa Fe Plaza 30 minutes away to shop from local vendors.
Enjoy an evening of entertainment at the Cities of Gold Casino just minutes away.
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Local Pojoaque Valley schools
Local kids can attend Pojoaque Valley Schools, which offer trilingual services in English, Spanish and Tewa. Students between kindergarten and Grade 3 can start at Pablo Roybal Elementary, which Niche scores a B and ranks among the top 10 elementary schools in Santa Fe County. They can continue to C-rated Pojoaque Valley Intermediate for Grades 4 and 5, and B-minus-rated Pojoaque Valley Middle for Grades 6 through 8. Pojoaque High receives a C-plus, and on top of offering after-school film and engineering clubs, it earns high marks for its teachers, sports programs and diversity.
Quick commutes to Santa Fe and Los Alamos
Highway 285 runs through the center of Arroyo Seco, leading 4 miles north to Española and 22 miles south to Santa Fe. The highway also merges onto New Mexico State Road 502 in Pojoaque; from there, the Los Alamos National Laboratory is 17 miles west. Traffic on the 285 can become relatively heavy during rush hour, but frontage roads running parallel to the highway help residents get around the valley safely. The Presbyterian Española Hospital 4 miles north is the closest medical center with an emergency room. The tiny Española Municipal Airport is 5 miles north, Santa Fe Regional Airport is 31 miles south, and Albuquerque International Sunport is 87 miles south.
Cuatro Villas MDWUA
As a remote desert community, Arroyo Seco has dealt with water scarcity in the past. In 2000, the villages of Arroyo Seco, La Puebla, Cuartelez and La Mesilla formed the Cuatro Villas Municipal Development Water Users Association (MDWUA)to support the growing need for potable water in the region. As of 2021, Consumer Confidence Reports show that Cuatro Villas has successfully installed fire hydrants throughout the villages and delivered safe drinking water to its members despite uranium contamination found in the area. Residents must apply to join the MDWUA and live within the four villages’ boundaries in order to receive water. Additional surface- and ground-level water rights may also be attached to individual properties or applied for with the New Mexico State Engineer. “Because the whole area used to be underwater millions of years ago, there are underground lakes that can be accessed through wells,” says Horpedahl.
GreatSchools:
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El Valle de Arroyo Seco Demographics and Home Trends
On average, homes in El Valle de Arroyo Seco, Espanola sell after 36 days on the market compared to the national average of 52 days. The median sale price for homes in El Valle de Arroyo Seco, Espanola over the last 12 months is $481,250, down 6% from the median home sale price over the previous 12 months.
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Build your dream home or develop on this 5-acre property offering wide-open potential and essential infrastructure already in place. Enjoy the convenience of a private well, installed septic system, and electricity to the lot—saving you time and money as you plan your next steps. This parcel is zoned Traditional Community, welcoming manufactured homes and providing flexibility for a variety of
Discover the charm of Northern New Mexico in this inviting two-bedroom, two-bathroom home. Sited to take in the striking high desert terrain through large windows or perched on the ample outdoor viewing deck, this 1,750+/- square feet home on 2.5 acres will enchant you. Abundant natural light fills the space with tile and hardwood flooring, recessed lighting, and high ceilings to augment the
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