New Mexico ranch sells for nine-figure sum
A New Mexico ranch more than half the size of the state of Rhode Island has sold after being listed for a staggering, nine-figure sum. The 540,000-acre Great Western Ranch was put on the market for $142 million in 2024 by the Horton family, the development dynasty that spent the last decade building the mammoth property.
Featuring 134 acres of pastureland, 1,900 calf pairs and 900 cows, it supports one of the largest livestock operations in the country. It boasts eight homes, including a primary lodge for guests and a ranch manager's house. Also located on the land is an equipment shop, wells, barns and corrals for livestock, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Sitting outside the rural community of Quemado near the Arizona state line, the ranch's headquarters is located about 150 miles from Albuquerque, according to listing agent Jeff Buerger of Hall and Hall. Buerger said the ranch has stayed true to its origins and includes a Native American settlement that features stone dwellings, petroglyphs, projectile points, flint chips and thousands of pottery shards.
'The sale represents a significant event in the world of large land holdings,' Buerger, who listed the property, told Mansion Global . 'This ranch is more than just land - it's a living testament to generations of thoughtful management.' Buerger himself spent time living at the ranch and told the Wall Street Journal that the lack of light pollution at night makes 'you feel like you're on another planet when you look at the stars.'
The seller was the family behind DR Horton, the Texas-based home construction company that has been the largest homebuilder by volume in the US since 2002. The Horton family built the sprawling property by acquiring three adjacent ranches over the last decade and connecting them, according to Jason Saulan, the regional manager of the family's ranch portfolio.
'I don't know what the opposite of claustrophobia is, but that's the feeling you get,' Saulan told the Wall Street Journal of the massive ranch. Buerger said the Horton family's stunning property is rare because it is also home to large-scale beef production and trophy hunting.
The Horton family has made headlines in the past over its homebuilding practices. The National Labor Relations Board brought a case against DR Horton, claiming the company had violated the National Labor Relations Act by requiring employees to sign an agreement that banned them from pursuing claims in a collective or class action.
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