President Donald Trump has renewed calls for New Mexico to be rebranded "New America," claiming that the name change would "add great value and prestige" to the state and increase home values and incomes. "New Mexico should immediately change its name to New America," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social on Monday. "We are not Mexico, we are the United States of America!
The name would add great value and prestige to the State! Home Values and Incomes would rise, and you would be even prouder while saluting our beautiful American Flag! Maybe even the Crooked Elections, that New Mexico is known for, would become honest again!" The president had already pushed for the name change last month, sharing a mock-up of a New Mexico state map with the word "Mexico" struck through and replaced with "America" on his social media platform.
In a separate post, he stated that "many people suggested changing the name of New Mexico" to "New America," which he described as a "much more prestigious and beautiful" name for the state. The suggestion fits into Trump’s efforts to rebrand geographic landmarks and places with a patriotic twist, including the Gulf of Mexico—which he renamed "Gulf of America"—and Lake Ontario, which he has designated "Lake America." The average value of a typical New Mexico home is currently $315,812, up 1.7 percent over the past year, according to Zillow data. By comparison, the national average home value is now $366,157, up 1.2 percent from a year earlier, based on the real estate marketplace.
While still lower than the national average, home values have risen significantly in the state since the pandemic, driven by low inventory and higher demand. In January 2020, according to Zillow historic data, the average New Mexico home value was just above $203,000. According to Realtor.com senior economist Anthony Smith, "there isn’t any current evidence that a rebrand would increase property values state-wide," in New Mexico or anywhere else.
"Home values rise or fall due to a variety of factors such as employment opportunities, school quality, infrastructure investment, and the pull of views, lifestyle and amenities," Smith told Newsweek. "We see this across New Mexico. Los Alamos has strong employment anchoring its higher property values, and Santa Fe draws buyers with its views, culture and luxury amenities." New Mexico already has direct experience with a rebrand.
"In 1950, the town of Hot Springs renamed itself Truth or Consequences to win a promotion from a radio show of the same name, in hopes of attracting publicity, tourism and investment," Smith said. "Without significant investment or new economic drivers behind it, the new name left T or C a small town with an intriguing name, but not a boom in property values or population," he added. "The name change took place in March of 1950, with a population of 4,700.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
