Ventana Ranch in Northwest Albuquerque

Ventana Ranch is located in Northwest Albuquerque on top of the mesa. The boundaries of the neighborhood are Paseo Del Norte, Universe Blvd to the east and Irving Blvd to the north. The Rio Rancho border is less than a mile away.

Ventana Ranch is a quiet, bedroom community known for desirable schools and low crime. Until recently access to Ventana Ranch was difficult, but traffic times were reduced by the Paseo del Norte extension in 2007. Soon Unser blvd will be completed and traffic throughout the area will move even more freely.

Ventana Ranch Schools are recognized by many to be the finest schools on Albuquerque's west side. Overcrowding was a big issue, with many classes being help in portable classrooms and overcrowded hallways, until recently when four new public schools were opened. Volcano Vista High School was opened in 2007, and quickly has become one of the more desirable high schools in Albuquerque. Tony Hillerman Middle School opened in 2009 as did Tierra Antigua and Sunset View Elementaries.

The new facilities are in great shape and new schools are popular with teachers too. Principals interview even the most experienced teachers when they are opening up a new school, which should assure parents that the teachers at the newer schools are some of the best.

Other fine schools that Ventana Ranch Children attend are Ventana Ranch Elementary and James Monroe Middle School. To check the schools for an address you can visit the APS Website and use the Albuquerque Public School "Find a School" tool.

Central New Mexico Community College has a new campus in Ventana Ranch as well.

Ventana Ranch Subdivisions

There are many small subdivisions in Ventana Ranch built by a variety of home builders. Most of the homes are stucco homes, although there are some brick homes too. There is a nice variety of one and two story homes too and a wide variety of price points available. The number of through streets is limited in the subdivision, so there is not much traffic, however there are walking trails that wind through the whole neighborhood.

Ventana Ranch Builders

You'll find examples of homes by almost every popular westside builder including Pulte, DR Horton, KB Homes, Centex, Longford Homes, Sivage Thomas Homes, Oppel Jenkins, RayLee, Vantage, and Kim Brooks. Building in recent years has been focused to the west in Ventana Ranch West and to the south in The Trails at Ventana Ranch.

Ventana Ranch Homes for Sale

Currently there are 181 homes for sale in Ventana Ranch. Distressed properties make up about 30% of the homes listed for sale, with 39 of the homes being short sales and 16 being bank owned homes, so they are definitely impacting values in the neighborhood. The average list price of non-distressed homes is $212,817, with short sales only slightly lower at $207,151. However bank owned homes are discounted more; Their average list price is $177,169.

New Construction in Ventana Ranch

Several builders are still active in the Ventana Ranch area including Dr Horton, Tiffany Homes, Paul Allen Homes and Vantage Homes, plus there are custom builders still building too. DR Horton is the most active builder with two communities located near Volcano Vista High School, but Paul Allen Homes is running a close second place with their energy star certified and Leeds Gold level homes. You can buy a newly built Ventana Ranch home for as low as $150,000.

You'll know you are in Ventana Ranch immediately upon entering the subdivision because of the beauitiful landscaping and the walking trails that weave through the neighborhood. Ventana Ranch is also full of parks. There are at least 9 Ventana Ranch parks that I know of including neighborhood parks in Pinon Pointe, Briar Ridge, Country Meadows, Country Hills, Las Terrazas and the Trails subdivisions. There is also a soccer field and a dog park at the Trails as well.

There's also a huge park, Ventana Ranch Community Park, that is just getting ready to open. There are two lighted soccer fields in addition to two basketball courts and a picnic area, and that's just phase one, there will be more.

Ventana Ranch is a bedroom community located away from large stores and restaurants, but shopping and dining is not loated too far away. There's shopping in nearby Rio Rancho and in Northwest Albuquerque too including Cottonwood Mall, Best Buy, Borders, Barnes and Noble, Kohl's, Sam's Club and Costco.

There are some fast food restaurants in Ventana Ranch, including a Blake's Lotaburger, Little Anita's Mexican Restaurant and Jasmine Chinese Restaurant, but you'll have to drive a little further to get to the restaurants near near Cottonwood Mall including the Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Pei Wei Asian Diner, Chow's Asian Bistro, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dion's Pizza, Gardunos, Chili's, Outback Steakhouse and Pelican's to name a few.

Some of Albuquerque's largest westside employers are nearby too. Intel in Rio Rancho is 4.9 miles away, Lovelace Westside Hospital is 4.1 miles away, and the new hospital in Rio Rancho that is currently under construction will be approximately three miles to the east.

The commute to downtown Albuquerque from Ventana Ranch takes about 25 minutes, the drive to the Albuquerque Sunport and Kirtland AFB takes about 45 minutes.