Buying a home should be fun, not stressful. I help my clients by taking on much of the behind-the-scenes details, which lowers their stress.  As you look for your dream home, keep in mind these tips for making the process as peaceful as possible.

1. Find a real estate agent who you connect with. Home buying is not only a big financial commitment, but also an emotional one. It’s critical that the REALTOR® you chose is both highly skilled and a good fit with your personality.2. Remember, there’s no “right” time to buy, just as there’s no perfect time to sell. If you find a home now, don’t try to second-guess interest rates or the housing market by waiting longer — you risk losing out on the home of your dreams. The housing market usually doesn’t change fast enough to make that much difference in price, and a good home won’t stay on the market long.3. Don’t ask for too many opinions. It’s natural to want reassurance for such a big decision, but too many ideas from too many people will make it much harder to make a decision. Focus on the wants and needs of your immediate family — the people who will be living in the home.4. Accept that no house is ever perfect. If it’s in the right location, the yard may be a bit smaller than you had hoped. The kitchen may be perfect, but the roof needs repair. Make a list of your top priorities and focus in on things that are most important to you. Let the minor ones go.

5. Don’t try to be a killer negotiator. Negotiation is definitely a part of the real estate process, but trying to “win” by getting an extra-low price or by refusing to budge on your offer may cost you the home you love. Negotiation is give and take.6. Remember your home doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Don’t get so caught up in the physical aspects of the house itself — room size, kitchen, etc. — that you forget about important issues as noise level, location to amenities, and other aspects that also have a big impact on your quality of life. 7. Plan ahead. Don’t wait until you’ve found a home and made an offer to get approved for a mortgage, investigate home insurance, and consider a schedule for moving. Presenting an offer contingent on a lot of unresolved issues will make your bid much less attractive to sellers.8. Factor in maintenance and repair costs in your post-home buying budget. Even if you buy a new home, there will be costs. Don’t leave yourself short and let your home deteriorate.9. Accept that a little buyer’s remorse is inevitable and will probably pass. Buying a home, especially for the first time, is a big financial commitment. But it also yields big benefits. Don’t lose sight of why you wanted to buy a home and what made you fall in love with the property you purchased.10. Choose a home first because you love it; then think about appreciation. While U.S. homes have appreciated an average of 5.4 percent annually over from 1998 to 2002, a home’s most important role is to serve as a comfortable, safe place to live.

We had our weekly meeting and listing tour this morning.  Only one home was on tour:  181 Tarragon Avenue.

This is a lovely six year-old home in the Capriano development in the northwest part of Morgan Hill.  The home is priced competitively at $989,000 and is being sold by the original owners.  It is a 3706 sq.ft. home with 4 bedrooms/4.5 bathrooms and is situated on a 9583 sq.ft. lot.  The backyard feels private and comfortable and boasts a very large spa with no pool but the spa is often the most used portion of a pool/spa combination anyway!

At our meeting we discussed the drop in interest rates due to the Fed’s purchase of $500 billion in mortgage backed securities.  Rates dropped below 6%.  This bodes well for purchases and refis.  Should be a happy Thanksgiving for many who may be helped by this and will be able to stay in their houses!

Today marks a change in my weekly sales report for the south Santa Clara County area.  From now on, I will be publishing this update on Mondays.  I switched from my typical Wednesday updates for various and sundry reasons.  Hope you’re all okay with that!

Sales last week were still robust in our area of the south Santa Clara County towns of Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy - and by far the most sales were priced below $500,000.  There were 39 residences that went from active to pending status.  Of these, 34 were single family homes and 5 were condo/townhouses. 

Of these sales, the list price ranges were:

Below $200,000 = 2 sales (5% of total)

$200,000 - $500,000 = 32 sales (82% of total)

$500,000 - $800,000 = 3 sales (8% of total)

$800,000 - $1,200,000 = 2 sales (5% of total)

$1,200,000 - $2,000,000 = no sales

As of November 23, 2008, there are 704 residential listings active on the market in the Morgan Hill, San Martin, Gilroy area, and 235 pending residential listings.  Therefore, 25% of the listings are pending under contract as of this date.  Active listings are down most likely due to the upcoming holidays.

Tune in next week for an update on the number of sales in South Santa Clara County!

As I mentioned in my last post, I showed a lot of bank-owned residences in Los Banos on Friday.  One thing that struck me was that for the most part (with a few exceptions), the properties were in good condition.  Out of the ten that we saw, at least half of them had been freshly painted and new carpet was installed.

This goes against what most people think of when they consider the condition of REOs and short sales.  But the condition of these homes is sometimes ”turn-key”, meaning that you could move into the home and not have to do anything.

In the south Santa Clara County cities of Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy, there are currently 346 distressed residential properties that are either REOs (bank-owned) or short sales.  See my previous post that defines the meaning of these types of sales.  These homes range in price from $1,999,999 for a short sale at 12895 Ales Place in San Martin,

to $104,900 for a bank-owned townhouse at 7759 Murray Avenue in Gilroy:

Both of these properties appear ready to move into.

If you like the prices of the distressed properties that are on the market now but are reluctant to even look at them because you are concerned that all distressed properties are going to be terribly damaged, please reconsider.  As your agent, I can weed out the properties that are in poor condition and only show you the properties that require very little work to make them habitable.

I have many great repeat clients and two of them have called me within the past week to help them in locations other than Santa Clara County.  I suggested to each of them that they may want to use a Realtor who is located closer than I am to their property sale or purchase, but both sets of clients insisted on working with me.  And who am I to refuse?!  Not only do I know that I can do a “way beyond expectations” job for them by doing a lot of research up front along with the excellent service I always offer, but I also get to spend time with some wonderful people and help them achieve their real estate goals.

The first call came from some previous clients who asked me to do our sixth transaction together.  They’d like me to sell some investment property they have in Santa Cruz.  I sold this home to them several years ago.

  They now have some very fortunate tenants living there from UCSC who are lucky enough to live in a beautifully remodeled home with a lovely backyard.  This home has a wonderful floorplan with 4 bedrooms and 2 1/2 bathrooms.  The choices in colors and finishes are incredible.  Look for it on MLS sometime early next week.

So yesterday I had lunch at Cafe Sparrow in Aptos (so delicious!) with the Santa Cruz clients.  Life is good.  Then today, I trek off to Los Banos with my investment buying clients.  Life is still good.  I hadn’t been to Los Banos in a while and it has grown into quite a city.  Many new businesses and nice housing developments.

My clients and I both did a lot of research on the city regarding investment property prior to our house tour today.  I talked with several people who gave me first-hand accounts on the excellent rental market in Los Banos.  My clients and I saw 10 homes today that met their criteria:  5 years or newer, 4 bedrooms, and priced under $150,000.  Homes meeting the age and bedroom criteria in 2005 would have been selling in the $400,000s.  We found some homes that may fit the bill for my clients.  We’ll see how the REO negotiations go….

Most of the homes we saw in Los Banos were bank-owned homes and, although this home pictured above was also bank-owned, most of them had dead grass in the front yard, and no landscaping at all in the back yard.  And most appeared to be in good condition, with a few exceptions.

Obviously, I travel far and wide for my clients.  If you need help anywhere in the Bay Area, I can help you with advice, with agent referrals or with my very own expertise!

Quite a jump in sales last week in the south Santa Clara County area of Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy - especially considering that it is mid November!  There were 38 residences that went from active to pending status.  Of these, 36 were single family homes and 2 were condo/townhouses. 

Of these sales, the list price ranges were:

Below $200,000 = 1 sale (3% of total)

$200,000 - $500,000 = 26 sales (68% of total)

$500,000 - $800,000 = 8 sales (21% of total)

$800,000 - $1,200,000 = 2 sales (5% of total)

$1,200,000 - $2,000,000 = 1 sale (3% of total)

As of November 18, 2008, there are 719 residential listings active on the market in the Morgan Hill, San Martin, Gilroy area, and 228 pending residential listings.  Therefore, 24% of the listings are pending under contract as of this date. 

Tune in next week for an update on the number of sales in South Santa Clara County!

   I’ve had several clients and friends recently ask me just what, exactly, have home prices been doing in south Santa Clara County since they peaked.  And, by the way, just when did they peak?  To answer that question, I turned to MLSListings Pro where Realtors go to look at the Multiple Listing Service.

Here’s what I found for Morgan Hill:  Morgan Hill’s average home sale price peaked in September, 2006 at $1,091,144.  The average sale price for the year of 2006 was $945,240.  The average sold home price in 2007 didn’t dip too drastically, but did fall 5% to $901,582.  Our most recent data for 2008 through the third quarter shows an average sale price of $767,900.

For Morgan Hill, that is a total drop in average home sale prices from the year of 2006 to the end of the third quarter in 2008 of 19%.

And for Gilroy, the statistics look a little gloomier:  Gilroy’s average home sale price peaked in the year 2006 with an overall average sale price for single family homes of $800,620 for that year.  The average sale price for a Gilroy home in 2007 barely moved from the previous year and was $796,676.  But through the third quarter of this year, the average sale price for 2008 is $565,278.

For Gilroy, that is a total drop in average home sale prices from the year of 2006 to the end of the third quarter in 2008 of 30%.

Gilroy has been particularly hard hit with foreclosures and short sales and those “distressed” listings seem to be what is selling there, so of course, that will drag down the average sale price for the city.  If you live in Gilroy and you want to know how much your home may be worth now, don’t just automatically take 30% off what you think your house was worth in 2006.  Each house is still valued individually and there are many factors that make up its worth.  Call me for a thorough, in-depth market analysis if you are considering selling your home.

       Because most people know that I’m a Realtor, I am always asked about the real estate market.  Some people are shy about asking because they think I might be tired of talking about the subject.  But I love to talk about real estate and can expound monotonously on the topic when given the opportunity!  No topic fascinates me more than the many facets of Gilroy and Morgan Hill real estate - just get me going and you’ll be looking for the “off switch”!

One place where I have a captured audience is my morning exercise boot camp class.  Real estate topics often come up there and I’ve been able to educate my fellow boot campers on short sales, foreclosures, loan modifications, as well as some of the screaming good deals that are on the market right now.  I try not to bore them too much or make any of them run the other way when they see me coming.  As a matter of fact, much of the time I’m gulping for air and can’t speak because I need that oxygen to just keep my lungs from exploding!

We’re a small group of women and have gotten to know each other in the wee hours of the morning as we do our push-ups, squats and lunges.  I really can’t think of a better way to start the day than boot camp.  Our boot camp is put on by a small company, AlaVie, that hosts boot camps in several Bay Area locations.  For me, exercising outside in the fresh air is the way to go.  I find going to the gym claustrophobic after becoming a boot camp regular.

So don’t be afraid to ask me about the real estate market - and if I gasp for air, I’m either doing crunches or it may be because I find the topic so exciting!

 

1. Decide what you can afford. Generally, you can afford a home equal in value to between two and three times your gross income.

2. Develop your home wish list. Then, prioritize the features on your list.

3. Select where you want to live. Compile a list of three or four neighborhoods you’d like to live in, taking into account items such as schools, recreational facilities, area expansion plans, and safety.

4. Start saving. Do you have enough money saved to qualify for a mortgage and cover your down payment?  Ideally, you should have 20 percent of the purchase price saved as a down payment. Also, don’t forget to factor in closing costs. Closing costs — including taxes, attorney’s fee, and transfer fees — average between 2 and 7 percent of the home price.

5. Get your credit in order. Obtain a copy of your credit report to make sure it is accurate and to correct any errors immediately. A credit report provides a history of your credit, bad debts, and any late payments.
6. Determine your mortgage qualifications. How large of mortgage do you qualify for? Also, explore different loan options — such as 30-year or 15-year fixed mortgages or ARMs — and decide what’s best for you.

7. Get preapproved. Organize all the documentation a lender will need to preapprove you for a loan. You might need W-2 forms, copies of at least one pay stub, account numbers, and copies of two to four months of bank or credit union statements.

8. Weigh other sources of help with a down payment. Do you qualify for any special mortgage or down payment assistance programs? Check with your state and local government on down payment assistance programs for first-time buyers. Or, if you have an IRA account, you can use the money you’ve saved to buy your fist home without paying a penalty for early withdrawal.

9. Calculate the costs of homeownership. This should include property taxes, insurance, maintenance and utilities, and association fees, if applicable.

10. Contact a REALTOR®. Find an experienced REALTOR® who can help guide you through the process.

Sales were basically on par with the week before in the south Santa Clara County area of Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy.  There were 29 residences that went from active to pending status.  Of these, 28 were single family homes and 1 was a townhouse. 

Of these sales, the list price ranges were:

$200,000 - $500,000 = 20 sales (69% of total)

$500,000 - $800,000 = 6 sales (21% of total)

$800,000 - $1,200,000 = 2 sales (7% of total)

$1,200,000 - $2,000,000 = 1 sale (3% of total)

As of November 11, 2008, there are 730 residential listings active on the market in the Morgan Hill, San Martin, Gilroy area, and 216 pending residential listings.  Therefore, 23% of the listings are pending under contract as of this date.  This percentage is down slightly from the past few months.

Tune in next week for an update on the number of sales in South Santa Clara County!

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Gretchen Merrick, CRS, GRI Phone:408-892-9015 DRE#:01317499 Intero Real Estate Services gmerrick@interorealestate.com Featured Listings 16868 De Witt Ave Morgan Hill, CA 6 BR | 4.50 BA $0 More Details 1845 Silverwings Ct Morgan Hill, CA 4 BR | 3 BA $1,025,000 More Details 2220 Liberata Dr Morgan Hill, CA 5 BR | 6 BA $2,495,000 More Details

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