3990 Old Santa Fe, Santa Fe, NM – SOLD

About the property

3990 Old Santa Fe is an early house by Philippe Register, on nearly an acre of the Old Santa Fe Trail close to town. The house runs to 2,043 square feet with two bedrooms and three baths, and an adjoining studio adds 833 more, for 2,876 square feet in total.

The Webster Estates team represented the seller in 2021.

The house and the studio

The vocabulary is the one Register worked in: vigas, kiva fireplaces, arched doorways, and skylights, with ceiling fans and four mini-split units handling the climate. It came to market as a diamond in the rough, and the listing said so rather than pretending otherwise. The bones are excellent and the finishes wanted a hand.

The studio is the part that gives the property its character. The house was lived in for many years by an artist and art lover, and the adjoining studio hosted exhibitions, gatherings, and a great many evenings. It is 833 square feet, adjoining rather than detached, which means it can be a working studio, a gallery, or simply the room where everybody ends up.

Outside there are mature rose gardens, a two car carport, and privacy, on 0.96 of an acre.

The neighborhood

This stretch of the Old Santa Fe Trail sits between Tatum Lane and Zia Road, close enough to town for the hospital, the schools, and shopping to be a short drive, and far enough out for the lots to be measured in acres rather than feet. It is the historic road south out of the Plaza, and it remains the most graceful approach to downtown from this side.

Our guide to Northern New Mexico vernacular homes covers the tradition the house works in, and the Santa Fe market archive collects our work across the city. Our Select Solds are the record of what we have closed.

The schools are Wood Gormley Elementary, Milagro Middle, and Santa Fe High. On the parallel corridor, see our Old Pecos Trail neighborhood guide.

About the transaction

We represented the seller at 3990 Old Santa Fe. The seller had never lived in the house and could not provide a disclosure, which on a property already described as needing work compounds a buyer’s uncertainty. We priced and presented it for exactly what it was, an architecturally significant house wanting attention, and it went under contract in eight days above the asking price. Buyers forgive condition. They do not forgive a listing that misrepresents it.

Frequently asked questions

Q: Who designed the house? A: It is an early house by the Santa Fe architect Philippe Register.

Q: How large is the property? A: 2,043 square feet in the house plus an 833 square foot adjoining studio, 2,876 square feet in total, on 0.96 of an acre.

Q: What is the studio? A: An adjoining 833 square foot space used for many years by the artist owner for exhibitions and gatherings. It suits a working studio, a gallery, or a large flexible room.

Q: Which side did Webster Estates represent? A: We represented the seller.

Q: What condition was it in? A: The listing described it plainly as a diamond in the rough, with the architecture intact and the finishes wanting work.

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The Webster Estates Team handled this transaction. Chris Webster, Patti Webster, Christopher Webster III, and Paisley Mason Webster, Associate Brokers at Sotheby’s International Realty, operating from 54½ Lincoln Avenue on The Plaza since 1976.