{"id":90162,"date":"2020-03-13T05:03:09","date_gmt":"2020-03-13T11:03:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/is-aztec-becoming-durangos-bedroom-community\/"},"modified":"2020-03-13T05:03:09","modified_gmt":"2020-03-13T11:03:09","slug":"is-aztec-becoming-durangos-bedroom-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/is-aztec-becoming-durangos-bedroom-community\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Aztec becoming Durango\u2019s bedroom community?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Angela
Angela Romero moved to Aztec from Forest Lakes with her husband and three children because they were able to find a spacious and affordable home. Romero commutes to her nursing job in Ignacio.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

AZTEC \u2013 Born and raised in Durango, Angela Romero and her husband decided to venture into the world of homeownership when they learned the condo they leased was going to be sold.<\/p>\n

Yet, when Romero and her family finally decided on the perfect home \u2013 a three-bedroom, three-bath house with a spacious yard, including a garden and a fruit tree \u2013 it was not in Durango but in the town of Aztec, about a 40-minute drive south and across the New Mexico border.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe price was out of this world,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s at least half of what we would find in Durango.\u201d<\/p>\n

Romero\u2019s real estate agent, Stacy McConnell, said there is a growing trend of Durangoans being chased out of town by of rising housing costs and choosing to move to communities like Aztec and Farmington.<\/p>\n

\"Angela
Angela Romero commutes about 40 minutes one way from her new home in Aztec to her nursing job in Ignacio.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

McConnell, who holds a license in Colorado and New Mexico, said she first noticed the trend in 2003, but it has been steadily increasing in the past three years. For example, McConnell said she sold eight houses to people moving from Durango to Aztec and one house to someone moving from Durango to Farmington in 2019.<\/p>\n

McConnell, who also made the move from Durango to Aztec, said the affordable housing prices are the primary draw for many of her clients looking to move to Aztec, with the added benefit of living in a close-knit community. In October of last year, she sold a fixer-upper house in Durango for $450,000, but in Aztec, she said a similar house would sell for around $150,000.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s quite the difference,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

McConnell\u2019s experience is not an anomaly. Durango\u2019s median home value in 2019 was about $463,000, an increase of 3.4% over the past year, while the median home value in Aztec was about $174,000, according to Zillow.com, a real estate website. But the median home value in the town of under 7,000 saw an increase of 2.6% over last year with an estimated increase of 1.9% this year, according to Zillow.<\/p>\n

\"Angela
Angela Romero pets the family dog, Dallas, in the front yard of her Aztec home. More affordable real estate prices and milder weather are drawing Southwest Colorado residents to Aztec and Farmington.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

While half of the eight houses McConnell sold in 2019 were to families, she said she\u2019s also seen an increase in the number of Durango retirees looking to relocate farther south.<\/p>\n

Liz Tafoya, a real estate agent based in San Juan County, N.M., since 1992, also said a number of her clients have been retirees.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey like the affordability and the weather,\u201d she said. \u201cThey can sell their house (in Durango), come and buy over here with extra cash after.\u201d<\/p>\n

For many of her retiree clients, Tafoya said, the San Juan River and year-round fly-fishing are other popular reasons to relocate to Aztec.<\/p>\n

While Aztec is the primary location for people relocating from Durango, a few move to Farmington and Flora Vista, farther south of Aztec, Tafoya said.<\/p>\n

Farmington \u2013 a longer commute for Durangoans than Aztec \u2013 has the added benefit of even cheaper housing prices. The median price of homes in Farmington currently listed on the real estate site Zillow is $199,900.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a tourist town,\u201d Tafoya said of Durango, noting people have to pay higher prices because of it.<\/p>\n

\"Angela
Angela Romero in the kitchen of her new home in Aztec with the family dog, Benny. Romero and her family sold their Forest Lakes house and bought a home in Aztec. She commutes to her job in Ignacio.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Tafoya also said, in addition to more affordable homes and acreage, her clients also appreciate that there\u2019s greater availability of homes in communities like Aztec and Farmington and cheaper taxes than Durango.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur market hasn\u2019t been super crazy either, it\u2019s been pretty stable,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Yet, the increase in Durangoans moving to Aztec and Farmington does not necessarily mean an equivalent investment in those communities. Most of McConnell and Tafoya\u2019s clients who have relocated to Aztec maintain their job and the majority of their social life in Durango.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of the people who I have sold to work in Durango and the surrounding area so their lives are still pretty much there,\u201d McConnell said. \u201cMainly, the prices are what brings people in.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Romero and her family, the transition to life in Aztec from their previous home in Forest Lakes has been relatively seamless. Romero, a nurse in Ignacio, said the 40-minute commute to work has not been too bad, but she acknowledged the mild winter this year has certainly helped.<\/p>\n

Her kids, a 12-year-old, 7-year-old and 4-year-old, have enjoyed the transition, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey really like having a bigger yard,\u201d she said. \u201cThey meet so many people from different cultures.\u201d<\/p>\n

While more affordable housing prices and lower taxes originally drew her family to town, Romero said, \u201cAztec has been super welcoming.\u201d<\/p>\n

lweber@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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