The Neil Lyon Group
About Neil Lyon
Neil has been the top producing broker in Santa Fe for most of the past 9 years. A licensed real estate agent since 1975 and a licensed broker since 1979, Neil moved to Santa Fe in 1993 and was the managing broker of Sotheby’s International Realty until 2002, when he stepped down to devote 100% of his time and energy to working with sellers and buyers.
Neil has been associated with Sotheby’s International Realty since 1984, with the exception of a 12 month period, when he was president and CEO of a 15 office real estate brokerage in Fairfield County, Connecticut. The sale of that company reunited Neil and Sotheby’s International Realty in 1991.
Neil specializes in luxury homes and building sites in and around Santa Fe. His serious work ethic and his ability to get difficult transactions completed are his hallmarks, evidenced by his high level of productivity, which since January 2005 has been over $258,000,000 in closed sales volume. An impressive record for a market whose median residential sales price is $330,000. In 2011 year to date, Neil has closed just under $45,000,000 in sales, generated by 26.5 closed units. This equates to an average sale of $1,695,000. In March of this year Neil closed on one on the largest residential sales in New Mexico’s history, at a price of $10,500,000. He worked with both the buyer (a past client) and the seller. His least expensive sale this year was valued at $200,000. He too worked with both the seller (a past client) and the buyer.
Neil’s business is almost equally split between working with sellers and buyers. Of the buyers that he works with, well over 75% are either moving to Santa Fe or purchasing a vacation home.
The Neil Lyon Group is comprised of 3 licensed brokers, including a Marketing and Operations Manager (Vanessa Rios y Valles), who has been licensed since 2004 and a 2nd broker (Evelyn Spiker) who is involved in every aspect of the Group’s business. Evelyn was a top producing broker who left a competing firm in the summer of 2010 to join Neil’s group.
Neil was honored as Santa Fe’s 2001 Realtor of the Year. Neil also served as the President of the Real Estate Brokerage Manager’s Council in 1992 and Chairman of the Realtors National Marketing Institute in 1995. Neil has earned professional designations that include Certified Real Estate Brokerage Manager (CRB), Certified Residential Specialist (CRS) and Graduate, Realtor’s Institute (GRI). He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Real Estate Finance from the University of Oregon.
Neil is married to Cindy and they have two children. Victoria attends the University of Richmond, and is now studying abroad in Madrid, while Jake attends Santa Fe Preparatory School and is attending the Mountain School of Milton Academy in Vermont this semester. The family is rounded out by Montepulciano (Monte), a purebred Bengal cat, who completely ignores Neil except when he is hungry or really lonely.
About Evelyn Spiker
Evelyn has been a resident of Santa Fe for 14 years. Born in Canada, she grew up in Chicago, lived in Ottawa for 17 years, then Minneapolis and Boston before finding her true home in the Southwest.
She is a strong believer in continuous education and staying informed, especially important in an ever-changing market. Some of this education resulted in certifications and designations including 1) Member and Designee of the Council of Residential Specialists (CRS), 2) Transnational Referral Certified (TRC), 3) GREEN Certified, 4) Resort and Second Home Property Specialist (RSPS), 5) Certified Fine Homes International, 6) Certified Relocation Specialist. From her first year as a Realtor, she has consistently earned national and local awards, including President’s Circle (top 3%).
Her love of nature caused her to study Biology for 3 years, but she later decided that a degree in Psychology was far more relevant to business, project management and consulting which was her chosen career path. After leaving the corporate world and moving to Santa Fe, she founded a Special Events company before starting her real estate career. What this background means to her real estate clients is that she truly understand the psychological impact of this important process, approaches real estate sales as a business, and uses her project management skills in handling negotiations and the contract process. Her clients receive organized follow-up and thorough guidance.
Her personal interests include outdoor sports, gardening and entertaining, and she particularly enjoy the beautiful mountains of Santa Fe – year round. She has served on the Buckaroo Ball Board and Rotary International, the Board of her Homeowner’s Association and its Architectural Review Committee.
About Vanessa Rios y Valles
Vanessa Rios y Valles first joined Sotheby’s International Realty as Head of Marketing for the entire Santa Fe brokerage. Realizing the advantages in having such an individual on his personal team, Neil asked Vanessa to join his staff in September 2004.
In June of 2005, Vanessa obtained a New Mexico real estate brokers license. Thus, in addition to her marketing skills and over 15 years of office administration experience, she provides a full range of services and information to our many clients and customers.
Vanessa is active in the Santa Fe theater scene, holding a BFA in the theatrical arts. Before relocating to the City Different in 2000, she lived in Mexico, Texas, London, and Portland, Oregon where she jointly managed an award winning theater company for over 5 years. She is happily married and has 2 furry, long-tailed children: Boddhi and Babu.