"We are just barely started getting set up here," Sam Medford,who relocated from San Francisco to Santa Fe to lead the campaign.Taking the helm as senior associate, Medford also is scouting foroffice space in the city. "Santa Fe is our primary target becausethat's where everything is happening," he says.

Medford tells GlobeSt.com that it's too early to pinpoint anumber, but he's hoping in the coming months to assemble a teamwith seven to 10 transactions professionals in all market segments.Medford's specialty is hospitality so he's looking to pick upretail, multifamily and office brokers in a market that'soverwhelmingly represented by the single-family segment.

Equally challenging will be to find owners willing to part withtheir New Mexico deeds. "People really want to invest here,"Medford says. "We just want to find the people who want to sell."He says there are willing sellers based on his preliminary legworkand comments from the residential sales crowd. Meanwhile, he'sarmed with a black book of buyers from Hawaii, Texas, Florida andIllinois.