Gene Hackmans longtime Santa Fe home has found a buyer after 11 days for sale

Less than a year after Hollywood icon Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, were found dead inside their secluded Santa Fe compound, the storied property is already moving toward a sale.The 53-acre estate, which spans two parcels in the gated Summit neighborhood, entered contingent contract just days after being listed for $6.25 million on Jan.16, according to Realtor.com. A contingent offer signals that a buyer has been secured, though inspections and other conditions must still be satisfied before the deal closes.   The swift interest comes despite the home’s tragic recent history, which listing agents acknowledged could narrow the buyer pool.“There will be some buyers that are just averse to purchasing a property where a death has occurred,” Tara S.

Earley of Sotheby’s International Realty previously told the Wall Street Journal. “There are other buyers for whom that doesn’t matter.We are selling the property on its virtues and all of the positives.” Earley added, “We just priced it based on what we felt was the fair market value.”Hackman, 95, and Arakawa, 65, were discovered at the home on Feb.

26, 2025.Investigators later determined Arakawa died days earlier from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, while Hackman succumbed to heart disease with complications from Alzheimer’s. The couple had lived quietly at the compound for decades after Hackman purchased the land in the 1990s, expanding it over time to include a primary residence, a guesthouse and a studio.The roughly 13,000-square-foot estate has since been cleared of personal belongings and professionally staged.

While some maintenance is required, including a new roof that will be paid for by Hackman’s estate, the home reflects years of thoughtful updates overseen by the actor himself.“The Hackmans embraced Santa Fe, and Santa Fe embraced them,” Earley said.“You would see them in town and they were not treated as celebrities.”The compound itself reflects decades of caref...