Featured Listings Category
South County Realtors Association Wednesday Meeting
The South County Realtors Association (SCRA) meets for a real estate marketing session and new listing tour every Wednesday morning in Morgan Hill and every Thursday morning in Gilroy. Today was our last Morgan Hill real estate meeting of 2008. SCRA annually holds a fundraiser during the holidays to donate to local foodbanks and charities. We raise most of the funds during our meetings by raffling off prizes that we Realtors sign up to donate. Not only does this create a lot of comaraderie, but it is also an effective way to raise money. This year we raised about $5200.
There were four Morgan Hill properties on tour this morning. A large, attractive home in the Nordstrom School boundary is new on the market at 17027 Heatherwood Way. This home sold in 2003 for $1,185,000 and is now on the market for $1,289,000.
This is a 3,891 sq.ft. home with 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, large kitchen with slab granite, huge bonus room and lots of built-ins. In addition to this there is an attached guest quarter with a living room, kitchen, bathroom and bedroom – perfect set-up for elderly parents, au pair, et cetera. The lot is 13,939 sq.ft.
Another home on tour also has a separate living quarter but is a little less grand than the previous. 780 San Pedro Avenue in Morgan Hill is priced at $699,000.
This home is 1,786 sq.ft. and has been updated and refreshed. There is a separate living quarter in the back and a separate 4 car garage in addition to the 2 car garage attached to the home. All of this is on a roomy 28,908 sq.ft. lot. This home is not in the nicest of areas and is somewhat close to the freeway, but seems to be good value for $699,000.
For information about these properties or the other two real estate tour properties: 18241 Christeph Dr. ($899,000) and 800 La Crosse ($728,000), please contact me.
South County Realtors Association Wednesday Meeting
The South County Realtors Association (SCRA) meets for a marketing session and new listing tour every Wednesday morning in Morgan Hill and every Thursday morning in Gilroy. At today’s Wednesday morning meeting, there were five new listings on the tour.
Five homes were on tour today and three of those homes were new homes in the Viento Home Community that were not auctioned off during the auction which took place earlier this year. The three homes available are priced at $649,900, $674,900 and $724,900 for the model home in a good location. No photos were available for me to post at this time.
18635 Castle Lake Drive, priced at $1,570,000, was also on tour.
This is a large home in the hilly section of the northwest portion of Morgan Hill. It is a 5 bedroom, 3.5 bathroom 5735 sq.ft. home on 1.2 mostly unusable acres. This home has been on the market for about 7 months and was originally priced at $1,995,000. There have been some recent renovations and these updates, along with the price reduction, make this listing more appealing. The new finishes in the bathrooms and kitchen are very nice but there is a dated feel to much of the house due to the extensive use of honey oak.
The last home on tour was a comfortable 2360 sq.ft. home at 14740 Excaliber Drive, located near the intersection of Watsonville Road and Santa Teresa.
This 2360 sq.ft. home contains 4 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms. The home has been updated throughout with very attractive finishes and seems to warrant the $769,800 price tag.
If you would like a showing of these, or any other properties, please contact me to set an appointment.
Tuesday Morgan Hill Intero Real Estate Tour
This morning’s office tour visited two Morgan Hill homes. The first home is one that I featured in my Wednesday SCRA tour highlights last week located at 19085 Eagle View Drive in Coyote Estates. See my previous Wednesday post for details on this well-priced single story home.
We also toured a gorgeous, 2-year old home at 1524 Painted Feather Court located in the Alicante development off of Cochrane Road.
This 4875 sq.ft. home holds 4 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms plus an office with built-in bookshelving. All rooms surround an interior courtyard that features an outdoor fireplace. The home is situated on a 1/2 acre lot with a large pool and spa. The home originally came on the market priced at $1,849,000 in January, 2008 and has continued to drop in price. As of yesterday, it is priced at $1,399,000 and is a short sale at this price.
If you would like a showing or further details, please contact me.
South County Realtors Association Wednesday Tour
The South County Realtors Association (SCRA) meets for a marketing session and new listing tour every Wednesday morning in Morgan Hill and every Thursday morning in Gilroy. At today’s Wednesday morning meeting, there were five new listings on the tour.
Two of the listings have dropped substantially in price from the time that they were first listed. 19085 Eagle View Drive is located in Coyote Estates and is $100,000 lower than it’s original price of $919,000. It is now priced at $819,000 for a 2,327 sq.ft. single story home with 4 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms on a 10,454 sq.ft. lot. This is a lovely listing and it is located right across the street from the beginning of the Coyote Creek bikepath – very handy for runners and bicyclists.
Another listing that was on tour has dropped substantially in price. 16800 Zinfandel Circle in Morgan Hill was priced in 2007 at $1,295,000. It is currently on the market for $899,900. Oh, what a difference a year makes! This listing is a 2,995 sq.ft. home with 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms on a 8,712 sq.ft. lot with a pool and spa.
Both of these homes are located in the Nordstrom Elementary School boundary. If you would like a showing, please contact me to set an appointment.
Tuesday Morgan Hill Intero Real Estate Tour
This morning’s office meeting tour included one home in San Martin and four new homes at Eagle Ridge in Gilroy.
This cute home at 13365 Llagas Avenue in San Martin is priced at $679,000. The 3 bedroom/2 bathroom, 1700 sq.ft. home has hardwood floors and lots of curb appeal. It is a cozy home on a 12,000 sq.ft. lot with a large fenced backyard which the current owners use for storage.
This home would be perfect for someone who would like a large backyard to build a workshop or possibly an inlaw unit. It may be overpriced for this current real estate market.
Next we visited four never-occupied homes in Gilroy at Eagle Ridge Golf Club. Two of these homes come furnished and are decorated model homes. The homes are located on Eagle Ridge Drive and Killarney Court.
These homes range in price from $799,000 to $999,000 and they have from 3 to 5 bedrooms with 3 to 4 bathrooms. The square footage of the homes range from 3,048 to 3,772 sq.ft. and the lot sizes span from 7,917 to 11,764 sq.ft. One of the homes has a gorgeous view of the 14th fairway. All of the homes feature distinctive amenities including stainless kitchen appliances, upgraded surfaces, built-in entertainment centers and bookshelves and one home has a pebbletech pool. These homes are well-priced.
Tuesday Morgan Hill Intero Real Estate Tour
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!
South County Sales Week of October 8 – October 14, 2008
I don’t know if it was the uncertainty and fear of the economic turmoil last week or the typical Fall slow down in the market, but we had slow sales week in the south Santa Clara County area of Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy. My money is on economic concerns and their paralyzing effects. There were 17 residences that went from active to pending status. Of these, 16 were single family homes and 1 was a condo/townhouse.
Of these sales, the list price ranges were:
$200,000 – $500,000 = 8 sales (47% of total)
$500,000 – $800,000 = 7 sales (41% of total)
$800,000 – $1,200,000 = 2 sales (12% of total)
$1,200,000 – $2,000,000 = 0 sales
As of October 14, 2008, there are 739 residential listings active on the market in the Morgan Hill, San Martin, Gilroy area, and 234 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!
South County Sales Week of August 13 – 20, 2008
How many south Santa Clara County resdential listings went from active to pending status this past week? In the towns of Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy, there were a total of 41 listings that went under contract last week! That is a very healthy number and shows that buyers are finally getting the message to take advantage of this market.
Of these 41 sales, the list price ranges were as follows:
$200,000 – $500,000 = 27 sales
$500,000 – $800,000 = 9 sales
$800,000 – $1,200,000 = 2 sales
$1,200,000 – $2,000,000 = 3 sales
This is indicative of our lowering median and average prices in the south county due to the low price range of what is selling. It is interesting to note that out of these 41 residential sales last week, only one of the sales was a townhouse/condo.
Tune in next week to see how we fare in sales in the market!
Chasing that Elusive Downwardly Adjusting Market
In conversations with home sellers here in south Santa Clara County, it is important to remind them of the potential of loss in equity in this downwardly adjusting real estate market. Sellers still want to “test the market” by pricing their homes a little higher than the latest comparables are indicating that they should be priced. After the “test” confirms that they are priced too high, they will then lower their list price. This is called “chasing the market down.” Every day a seller chases the market, they may be losing equity.
An important concept to understand in this type of real estate market is that the most competitive price often sells first. The seller who sells first is the seller who jumps the market and is the most competitively priced. That seller receives the highest possible price at that point in time.
The homes that are selling quickly in south Santa Clara County are the homes that attract the attention of buyers and Realtors alike due to their aggressive pricing. These homes are receiving multiple offers and often are selling for over list price. The sellers in these cases sell early during the adjusting market and have more options later. They can stop chasing and relax.
What is Your Home Worth?
The seller sets the price of the home but ultimately the buyer determines the value. My job is to supply you, the seller, with facts about what has sold recently and what is for sale now. This information will help you make a decision on pricing your home. There are five essential ingredients that comprise the formula for a successful sale of your home:
- Marketing: Multiple Listing Service, internet exposure, yard signs, advertising, etc.
- Location: Views, neighborhood, schools, traffic, accessibility, etc.
- Condition: Maintenance and amenities
- Market: Competition, economy, interest rates, mortgage availability
- Price: The #1 most important factor in the sale of your home
The consequences of improper pricing are painful. Too low and you literally give away money that should have been in your pocket. Too high and your home will sit unsold for months, developing a reputation of a problem property.
Remember:
- What you paid for your property does not affect it value.
- The amount of money that you need to get out of the sale of your property does not affect its value.
- What you think it should be worth has no affect on value.
- What your neighbor says your property is worth does not affect it value.
- An appraisal does not always indicate what your property is worth on the open market.
What does determine the value of your property? The value of your property is determined by what a qualified, informed, ready, willing and able buyer will pay for it.
Benefits of Proper Pricing
- Faster sale: The proper price gets a faster sale, which means you save on mortgage payments, real estate taxes, insurance and other carrying costs.
- Less inconvenience: As you may know, it takes time and energy to prepare your home for showings, keep the property clean, make arrangements for children and pets, and generally alter your lifestyle. Proper pricing shortens market time.
- Increased salesperson response: When Realtors are excited about a property and its price, they make special efforts to contact all their potential buyers and show the property whenever possible.
- Exposure to more prospects: Pricing at market value will open your home up to more people who can afford it.
- Better response from advertising: Buyer inquiry calls are more readily converted into showing appointments when the price is not a deterrent.
- Higher offers: When a property is priced right, buyers are much less likely to make a low offer, for fear of losing out on a great value.
- More money to sellers: When a property is priced right, the excitement of the market produces a higher sales price in less time. You net more due to the higher sales price and lower carrying costs.
Gretchen Merrick
cell (408) 892 9015
