Announcements:
Ray announced that on July 29 the District Governor is coming, and we’re going to have a potluck at Kathy’s home at 5:30 pm on that day. She’d like to know by next week what everyone is bringing. They will be a brief board meeting after this meeting.

 

 

Kathy said the District Governor and his wife are close friends of hers, and she is happy to be hosting them while they are here.
Peter Falley had greetings from Sunny Kellerman who will be in town tonight and said that she was happy to hear the board had made her an honorary member.

 

Ray introduced our First Lady of Silver City, Becky Smith, as our speaker. Her topic was the real estate market in Silver City, Grant County—past, present, and future. Becky’s mother got into real estate when Becky was in the first grade. Her mother joined a lady named Fern Shell, and they had a cubbyhole office in the lobby of the Murray Hotel. Their motto was “Buy and sell with Smith and Shell.” In 1964 her mother was President of the Board of Realtors. In 1964 when Shell retired, she tripled the office space by moving to another cubbyhole in the Palace Hotel. Around that time her father got his real estate license and joined her mother doing all the ranch and land showings. Her mother retired in 1984, and the National Association of Realtors awarded her with a Realtor Emeritus Award. Becky said she believed she was meant to be a
realtor at a very young age because her mother had saved a drawing she had done showing a street with houses for sale. When she was a kid, her mother would take her to the office on
Saturday morning and put her to work stuffing envelopes; and later when a teenager she sat at the front desk and typed on an electric typewriter. She finally went to work in real estate full
time in 1977 and took over the management of the office when her mother retired. In 1988 she realized she needed more help so she began recruiting people and moved to a larger office. By
1993 they were bursting at the seams and moved to their current location at 505 W. College in 1995. There are four generations of their family working in their office. The history of our town and its real estate transactions make great reading. She told us about
some of the transactions that have made Silver City interesting. In the 60’s a lot was going on. The Tyrone mine was reopening and some developers decided we need some new subdivisions, and she pointed out Silver Acres where lots were being sold for $1500 an acre with $20 down and $20 a month. Also in the 60’s Silver City lost track of its architectural heritage and a lot of old buildings suffered the consequences as they were demolished. In the
70’s the Silver City Museum was going strong, Silver City got its first K-Mart, and the Anchor ranch was broken up into a new subdivision called Indian Hills. In the early 80’s real estate took
a time-out when interest rates skyrocketed up to 20 percent. In the 80’s Silver City Main Street got its start. The Murray Hotel closed its doors, we got Walmart, and J. C. Penny’s moved out
of downtown. Gila Theater closed its doors. In the 90’s several new subdivisions were built: Dos Griegos, Pine Ridge and much of the Turner Ranch. Also in the 90’s New Mexico’s very first preservation easement happened right here in Silver City right behind the Murray Hotel on Yankee Street. Boston Hill also happened in the late 90’s. Everyone got together to create a great “open space” area for hiking. Listings using the internet was a new thing. The Murray Hotel was revitalized and reopened about 2010. In 2020 Covid became one of the best things to happen to real estate as many were moving to this area. In 2025 with the 7.5 percent interest rates, the activity has slowed, and Becky believes we’re headed back to a buyer’s market for now. Homes priced in the $300,000- $350,000 range are selling more readily. The upper- end priced homes are kind of just sitting currently. And we still have more supply than demand right now. It’s a tricky market to read depending on national news, what’s happening in other parts
of the country. She believes Silver City’s future is bright because we still have our base supply of quality constructed architecture and our jewel of downtown. There is a lot of help available,
both local and state levels, if you’re interested in rehabbing an old house. There are four historic regions in Silver City that are protected by zoning. Main Street had a T-shirt that said,
“Protecting our Future While Preserving our Past” which is still relevant today. She hopes to see a continued commitment to preserve what we have.

 

After a question and answer period, the meeting was adjourned at 1:00 pm.