San Martin the City?
I love San Martin. There is a certain charm unique to this area where you constantly encounter surprises such as a field of sunflowers, a growth of beautiful wild roses entwined over a fence, pygmy horses, alpacas or even llamas amidst the constant contrast of new construction and old farm homes. There is a lot of charm and personality to be found here in San Martin. But more than the charm, there are a lot of people who live in San Martin who want to be in charge of their own destiny and turn San Martin into its own city.
According to a recent article in the Morgan Hill Times, San Martin cannot incorporate because it is not financially self-sustaining. The county won’t consider paying for its road maintenance or allowing its independence to further drain county coffers as it seeks cityhood. LAFCO, which stands for the Santa County Local Agency Formation Commission, has been discussing San Martin’s plans to being a city since February 2007. If incorporated, the majority of its revenue would come from property taxes and transient occupancy taxes (hotel taxes) as well as vehicle license fees, sales taxes and a proposed utility user’s tax. Not surprisingly, the issue seems to revolve mostly around money. The county’s general fund could stand to lose $870,000 per year if San Martin incorporates. However, there is a strong contingent in the form of the San Martin Neighborhood Alliance who feels strongly that the people of San Martin will do a better job of preserving the real character of the town than the county will.
The latest update from the Morgan Hill Times reports LAFCO voted 4 to 1 to stop all work on the incorporation process at a public hearing last Friday as well as to prepare a resolution to deny the incorporation based on the proponents failure to pay staff fees. However, supporters of the incorporation are not giving up. You can learn more about what they have to say by going to http://www.smneighbor.org/ and hearing their side of the story.
Any comments?
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
More Gilroy Bank Owned Properties and Update!
Here are the more to follow -
9155 Desiderio Way (near Church Street) is a beautiful 3 year old 5 bedroom 3 bath home with 2783 Square Feet on a 5662 Square Foot lot. Most bank owned property sales are "as-is" which means you can still (and should) inspect the property and do your due diligence but the Seller will not be responsible for any repairs (which is basically the price of a good deal these days).
The property on the right is on 860 West 8th Street (near Orchard Drive) and is a 5 bedroom, 2 bath home with 2014 Square Feet on a 6930 Square Foot lot (and is 33 years old). Neither one of these homes jumped out at me as 'screaming deal' but we'll see how long they stay on the market.
Update from Chicago Title this week says Gilroy has 356 active single family homes on the market with 136 currently pending sale. There are 132 short sale properties with 54 in contract and 90 bank owned properties with 54 in contract. I think the following is more significant - 20 transactions closed this past week with 4 of them being short sales and 8 being bank owned properties.
The reason I think this is more significant is although the number of sales has increased throughout the year, the percentage of transactions actually closing is much less than those going in contract to begin with. I will publish those figures on a monthly basis and feel free to comment or contact me if you have any questions.
New Bank Owned Properties in Gilroy
New Bank Owned Properties on the Market
These 2 properties just came on the market this week. The one on the left is located at 8741 Church Street (near Ronan Ave) and is only 10 years old with 4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths and 1829 Square Feet on a 3920 Square Foot lot. This home is in good condition and has high ceilings and hardwood floors and is listed for $397,500 - worth checking out. The property on the right is located at 515 Ronan Avenue (near Wren Avenue) and is 14 years old with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths, 1380 Square Feet on a 5662 Square Foot lot for only $319,900. The home is a single sotry in good condition with a nice side and rear yard with patio - seems priced well.
There were a few more new listings that popped up this week that are also bank owned to follow.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Changing Loan Limits
Did you see the article by Sue McAllister in the Mercury News regarding loan limits?
A little history – For a long time, loan amounts have been broken down into conforming and jumbo loans. Right now, a conforming loan amount is under $417,000 and usually gets a better interest rate. And yes, you guessed it, jumbo loan amounts are larger than $417,000. Earlier this year, as part of the economic stimulus bill that was put into effect around February of 2008, a conforming jumbo loan amount was created for loans from $417,000 to $729,000 which gave a better rate than jumbo loans but not as good as conforming but provided more opportunities for Buyers.
The conforming jumbo loans will expire December 31st. In Santa Clara County, the maximum for loans backed by Fannie and Freddie will drop to $625,500 as of January 1st, 2009. The new limits are affecting Buyers even earlier than January because many lenders won’t accept applications for conforming jumbo loans unless they can be closed by mid-December. Lois Jones of Bank of America here in Morgan Hill, says if you are depending upon a conforming jumbo loan, you should close your transaction by December 10th of 2008 at the latest.
Feel free to comment or contact me for additional information.
A little history – For a long time, loan amounts have been broken down into conforming and jumbo loans. Right now, a conforming loan amount is under $417,000 and usually gets a better interest rate. And yes, you guessed it, jumbo loan amounts are larger than $417,000. Earlier this year, as part of the economic stimulus bill that was put into effect around February of 2008, a conforming jumbo loan amount was created for loans from $417,000 to $729,000 which gave a better rate than jumbo loans but not as good as conforming but provided more opportunities for Buyers.
The conforming jumbo loans will expire December 31st. In Santa Clara County, the maximum for loans backed by Fannie and Freddie will drop to $625,500 as of January 1st, 2009. The new limits are affecting Buyers even earlier than January because many lenders won’t accept applications for conforming jumbo loans unless they can be closed by mid-December. Lois Jones of Bank of America here in Morgan Hill, says if you are depending upon a conforming jumbo loan, you should close your transaction by December 10th of 2008 at the latest.
Feel free to comment or contact me for additional information.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Wake up with Monday Morning Statistics for South County!
Monday Statistics
Good morning South County! Here are your weekly updates on what is happening in your neighborhoods. Feel free to contact me if you want more specific information. As of this week:
Morgan Hill has 287 active listings and 56 sale pendings
Gilroy has 357 active listings and 139 sale pendings
San Martin has 48 active listings and 9 sale pendings
Area 1 (all of the above) has 669 active listings and 203 sale pendings
We are up a little in inventory and a down a little in sales compared to last week. Last year at this time there were 726 properties on the market in Area 1 with only 67 sale pendings (and only 33 closed sales for the month of November).
Stay tuned for regular updates!
Good morning South County! Here are your weekly updates on what is happening in your neighborhoods. Feel free to contact me if you want more specific information. As of this week:
Morgan Hill has 287 active listings and 56 sale pendings
Gilroy has 357 active listings and 139 sale pendings
San Martin has 48 active listings and 9 sale pendings
Area 1 (all of the above) has 669 active listings and 203 sale pendings
We are up a little in inventory and a down a little in sales compared to last week. Last year at this time there were 726 properties on the market in Area 1 with only 67 sale pendings (and only 33 closed sales for the month of November).
Stay tuned for regular updates!
Saturday, November 8, 2008
What Buyers Want!
Survey of California First Time Home Buyers
California Association of Realtors conducted 500 telephone surveys with California consumers who purchased a home within the past six months. What I found interesting about the survey was the Buyers’ perception of their real estate agents and what they really wanted from an agent.
The three top reasons for selecting their agent had to do with competence (no surprise) – the real estate agent seemed like they would be the most aggressive on their behalf, the agent seemed like they would obtain the lowest price and they were the best prepared. The areas most Buyers needed the most help from their agent was price negotiation, determining what comparable homes were selling for, finding the right home to purchase and negotiating the terms of the sale.
When asked one thing the Buyer would like to change about their home buying experience, most Buyers wanted a better understanding on where the market is going, have their agent negotiate better on their behalf and have escrow close on time. The three top reasons Buyers were happy with their agent were that the agent worked hard on their behalf, was always quick to respond and listened to what they needed.
This is interesting – Advice to Give to Real Estate Agents to Improve their Service:
1) Improve the quality of your communications
2) Provide references for lenders who will perform
3) Provide Buyer references
4) Show how you can negotiate aggressively for the Buyer
5) Provide references for lenders who will recommend the best product for them
6) Improve the speed of communications
7) Listen to their needs better
8) Provide quality information on where the market is going and why
9) Find out about listings before they do
10) Pre-qualify homes before showing them
11) Provide information on where interest rates are going
I’d love to hear your experiences or advice – feel free to comment!
California Association of Realtors conducted 500 telephone surveys with California consumers who purchased a home within the past six months. What I found interesting about the survey was the Buyers’ perception of their real estate agents and what they really wanted from an agent.
The three top reasons for selecting their agent had to do with competence (no surprise) – the real estate agent seemed like they would be the most aggressive on their behalf, the agent seemed like they would obtain the lowest price and they were the best prepared. The areas most Buyers needed the most help from their agent was price negotiation, determining what comparable homes were selling for, finding the right home to purchase and negotiating the terms of the sale.
When asked one thing the Buyer would like to change about their home buying experience, most Buyers wanted a better understanding on where the market is going, have their agent negotiate better on their behalf and have escrow close on time. The three top reasons Buyers were happy with their agent were that the agent worked hard on their behalf, was always quick to respond and listened to what they needed.
This is interesting – Advice to Give to Real Estate Agents to Improve their Service:
1) Improve the quality of your communications
2) Provide references for lenders who will perform
3) Provide Buyer references
4) Show how you can negotiate aggressively for the Buyer
5) Provide references for lenders who will recommend the best product for them
6) Improve the speed of communications
7) Listen to their needs better
8) Provide quality information on where the market is going and why
9) Find out about listings before they do
10) Pre-qualify homes before showing them
11) Provide information on where interest rates are going
I’d love to hear your experiences or advice – feel free to comment!
Friday, November 7, 2008
More Statistics (Current & Local)
Chicago Title Statistic Update –
There are currently 288 single family homes actively on the market in Morgan Hill. 57 homes are pending sale (currently in contract) equaling 17% of the market. Out of those totals, there are 54 Short Sale properties with 25 pending sales. REOs have an inventory of 36 listings with 16 pending sales.
Also (and I think this is very important to note), 14 transactions closed this past week in Morgan Hill. Out of those 14, 3 were Short Sales and 7 were REOs.
There are currently 358 single family homes actively on the market in Gilroy. 148 homes are pending sale equaling 29% of the market. Out of those totals, there are 131 Short Sales with 59 pending sales. REOs have an inventory of 87 listings with 55 pending sales.
In Gilroy, 32 transactions closed including 8 Short Sales and 16 REO properties.
Chicago Title has been my title company of choice for many years. They have provided me with the above statistics regarding the percentage of homes selling, including breaking it down amongst Short Sales (transactions where the loan amount is greater than the current value of a home) and REOs (bank owned property). These statistics are from this current week.
My 2 Cents once again – I think it is important to note that although there has been a healthier proportion of homes going into contract, there is a smaller percentage that are actually closing. I have been monitoring these numbers for several years and was struck by the discrepancy. I was mostly reporting them to my clients on a monthly basis but it’s interesting to see it on a weekly basis as I’ve shown here.
There are currently 288 single family homes actively on the market in Morgan Hill. 57 homes are pending sale (currently in contract) equaling 17% of the market. Out of those totals, there are 54 Short Sale properties with 25 pending sales. REOs have an inventory of 36 listings with 16 pending sales.
Also (and I think this is very important to note), 14 transactions closed this past week in Morgan Hill. Out of those 14, 3 were Short Sales and 7 were REOs.
There are currently 358 single family homes actively on the market in Gilroy. 148 homes are pending sale equaling 29% of the market. Out of those totals, there are 131 Short Sales with 59 pending sales. REOs have an inventory of 87 listings with 55 pending sales.
In Gilroy, 32 transactions closed including 8 Short Sales and 16 REO properties.
Chicago Title has been my title company of choice for many years. They have provided me with the above statistics regarding the percentage of homes selling, including breaking it down amongst Short Sales (transactions where the loan amount is greater than the current value of a home) and REOs (bank owned property). These statistics are from this current week.
My 2 Cents once again – I think it is important to note that although there has been a healthier proportion of homes going into contract, there is a smaller percentage that are actually closing. I have been monitoring these numbers for several years and was struck by the discrepancy. I was mostly reporting them to my clients on a monthly basis but it’s interesting to see it on a weekly basis as I’ve shown here.
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