Historic, Acreage, Character Home
1942 Adobe in Reserve with Two Wood Stoves and Dual Porches — $79,000
6
out of 10
HousesUnder150K Score
Property Merit 50% · Condition 25% · Price/Sq Ft 15% · Market 10%
| Category | Wt. | Score | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property Merit | 50% | 7 | 1942 adobe, two wood stoves, dual porches, hunting/outdoor recreation destination town |
| Condition | 25% | 5 | No system dates provided; original construction noted positively but no updates confirmed |
| Price / Sq Ft | 15% | 5 | Listing $96/sqft; zip median PSF unavailable — scored neutral at 5 |
| Price vs. Market | 5% | 9 | $79K vs $249K zip median — 68% below, though only 2 sales; thin data caveat |
| Market Conditions | 5% | 7 | ZIP median DOM 336 days, 33% price drops — clear buyer's market signals |
Eighty-two years old and still standing on adobe walls. That's the thing about this house. The material does the work that insulation and HVAC try to replicate everywhere else: it absorbs heat during the day and releases it slowly at night, and it's been doing that here since 1942. Two wood-burning stoves handle the rest. In a town like Reserve, at this elevation, that's a practical setup, not a decorative one.
The house is small. 826 square feet, two bedrooms, one bath. That's a tight floor plan, and you should know that going in. Kitchen and dining share space, living room connects to it, and then you're out the back door onto the porch. There's a front porch too. Both of them matter when the house itself gives you limited room to spread out.
No update history was provided in the listing, which means you'd want to look hard at the systems before you commit. Roof, plumbing, electrical, the wood stoves themselves. Adobe construction holds up well structurally when it's been maintained, but 82 years is a long time, and the listing gives no dates on anything. That's the real unknown here.
Reserve sits in Catron County in western New Mexico and draws hunters, specifically elk hunters, along with people who want serious distance from anywhere else. The listing makes that point, and it's worth taking seriously. This is remote. If you want that, it's genuinely that. If you need regular access to larger towns, the drive is long.
At $79,000, this house is priced well below what similar zip codes are seeing. The data is thin, only two nearby sales to compare against, but the gap is wide enough that the price still reads as low for an original adobe with two porches and this kind of provenance. A hunting cabin, a part-time retreat, a full-time home for someone who wants simplicity and doesn't mind doing some work. The adobe walls have lasted this long. What you do with the rest is the question.
