In Albuquerque, NM, historic homes are becoming chic and trendy with a younger generation!

Last Sunday's issue of the Albuquerque Journal focused on the new popularity of the Huning Castle neighborhood,  Albuquerque's established and historic Country Club area. It seems a whole new generation is discovering the benefits of the big, 50-year-old trees, pedestrian-friendly walking routes, and charming and unique homes of this downtown neighborhood.

Adjacent to the old Albuquerque Country Club, and convenient to Downtown, this neighborhood continues to be in high demand, commanding top-dollar prices. Extensive remodeling of older homes to bring kitchens, baths, and master suites up-to-date are highly popular, and the few remaining vacant parcels are quickly snapped up if they appear on the market. But the paper was reporting on a new twist to Country Club area real estate, which may be the beginning of a new trend.

Last Sunday's article focused on a young couple who had looked all over Placitas and the North Valley, seeking a lot on which to build their custom dream home, but even at prices over a quarter of a million, did not find the kind of location they really wanted. That location actually proved to be the Country Club area, where the couple finally purchased a 50-year-old home, originally intending to do extensive remodeling. They later decided it was nearly as cost-effective, and suitable for their needs to demolish the old home (saving the soaring, ancient cottonwoods in the front yard) and build their 3000 SF dream home! Effort was taken to make sure the home's single-level design and old-style roof tiles meshed well with the older homese surrounding it.

This couple is hardly alone in their appreciation of Albuquerque older, historic neighborhoods. The article quotes Fred Rivera, a local real estate agent and the webmaster for the Huning Castle Neighborhood Association, as saying, "Houses are selling quickly even in this market." He estimates average sales times in the area as ranging from a week or two to perhaps a couple of months. That's pretty impressive in the slowing market of recent months!

A close-in, convenient location and lot of unique homes full of historic charm are drawing more and more young people to abandon the brand-new subdividions of "cloned" homes for the appealing lifestyle in a true, old-fashioned downtown neighborhood like Huning Castle, or similar neighborhoods like Nob Hill, Altura Park and Ridgecrest.

For more information about Albuquerque's historic homes and neighborhoods, visit the website www.HistoricHomesNM.com, or give Choices Real Estate a call at (505)263-0665. We specialize in historic homes!