Less than a year after Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, were found dead inside their Santa Fe compound, the property is already moving toward a sale.
The 53-acre estate entered contingent contract just days after being listed for $US6.25 million ($A9.3 million) on January 16, according to Realtor.
A contingent offer signals that a buyer has been secured, though inspections and other conditions must still be satisfied before the deal closes, the New York Post reports.
The swift interest comes despite the home’s tragic recent history, which listing agents acknowledged could narrow the buyer pool.
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Gene Hackman’s longtime Santa Fe compound has found a buyer less than two weeks after hitting the market. Picture: Aram Herrera for Sotheby’s International Realty via NY Post
The Oscar-winning actor and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, had lived quietly at the compound for decades after Hackman purchased the land in the 1990s. Picture: Getty Images
“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.”
Ms 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 February 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 estate has since been cleared of personal belongings and professionally staged.
The home has gone under contingent offer less than a year after Hackman and Arakawa were found dead. Picture: Aram Herrera for Sotheby’s International Realty via NY Post
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,” Ms Earley said.
“You would see them in town and they were not treated as celebrities.”
Over the years, Hackman and Arakawa added a three-bedroom main house, a separate three-bedroom guesthouse and a dedicated studio space, along with amenities that include a lap pool, a hot tub and a putting green.
The estate features large expanses of glass, including floor-to-ceiling windows that frame the surrounding landscape, a hallmark of renovations Hackman undertook with architects Harry Daple and Stephen Samuelson of Studio Arquitectura.
“The house was horrible. It was a 1950s block building that had sat empty and had deteriorated,” Mr Samuelson previously told Architectural Digest.
“But it was a great site, and the foundation had been well placed on the land.”
Records show the 53-acre estate entered contract by January 27. Picture: Aram Herrera for Sotheby’s International Realty via NY Post
The estate will cover the cost of a needed new roof, and while the home requires some maintenance. Picture: Aram Herrera for Sotheby’s International Realty via NY Post
Rather than replicate traditional pueblo architecture, the couple opted for something more elemental.
“It’s not purist at all,” Mr Samuelson said.
“It’s more primitive, like a barn converted into a house, massive and cozy at the same time.”
Hackman once explained his deep connection to the area, telling Architectural Digest that Santa Fe had “a kind of magic in it,” and describing his renovation philosophy as an act of interpretation rather than reinvention.
“It’s like being an actor. I interpret what’s already there,” he said.
“I guess I like the process, and when it’s over, it’s over.”
Parts of this story first appeared in the New York Post and was republished with permission.
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