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!

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!

Sales weren’t quite as robust this past week in the south Santa Clara County area of Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy.  There were 30 residences that went from active to pending status.  Of these, 28 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 = 21 sales (70% of total)

$500,000 - $800,000 = 5 sales (17% 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 4, 2008, there are 732 residential listings active on the market in the Morgan Hill, San Martin, Gilroy area, and 231 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!

Another busy week last week in the south Santa Clara County area of Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy.  There were 43 residences that went from active to pending status.  Of these, 41 were single family homes and 2 were condo/townhouses.  This past week there were more sales in the higher price ranges than compared to some of the previous weeks.  For comparison, look at my previous weekly posts on Wednesdays.

Of these sales, the list price ranges were:

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

$200,000 - $500,000 = 22 sales (51% of total)

$500,000 - $800,000 = 12 sales (28% of total)

$800,000 - $1,200,000 = 5 sales (12% of total)

$1,200,000 - $2,000,000 = 3 sales (7% of total)

As of October 28, 2008, there are 730 residential listings active on the market in the Morgan Hill, San Martin, Gilroy area, and 252 pending residential listings.  Therefore, 26% 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 Santa Clara County has some extreme price differentials going on these days.  A few years ago, I never thought we’d see a single family home priced below $200,000 again.  And we still have some high quality estates priced in the several millions range.  Here are South County’s least expensive single family home and most expensive home on the market today.

The least expensive home shown above, 7450 Rogers Lane in Gilroy, is a bank-owned property that has been on the market for over a year.  It is a two bedroom, two bathroom fixer-upper priced at $175,000 and is 1204 sq. ft. on a 3483 sq. ft. lot.  This home sold in March of 2003 for $321,000.

On the opposite end of the price range is 2400 McDonald Lane in Morgan Hill.  This lovely home is priced at $4,350,000 and was built 8 years ago.  It is a 7550 sq. ft. home with 6 bedrooms and 5 1/2 bathrooms sitting on 21 acres in the hills east of town.  There are many amenities that add to the value of this home.

In addition to these two homes, there are another 664 single family residences actively listed in the south County that are priced between these two extremes!

Residential sales were up 58% from last week in the south Santa Clara County area of Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy.  There were 40 residences that went from active to pending status.  Of these, 33 were single family homes and 7 were condo/townhouses.  This week marks the first week that I’ve had the “below $200,000 price range” as a category for price ranges.

Of these sales, the list price ranges were:

Below $200,000 = 4 sales (10% of total)

$200,000 - $500,000 = 24 sales (60% of total)

$500,000 - $800,000 = 8 sales (20% of total)

$800,000 - $1,200,000 = 3 sales (7.5% of total)

$1,200,000 - $2,000,000 = 1 sale (2.5% of total)

As of October 21, 2008, there are 741 residential listings active on the market in the Morgan Hill, San Martin, Gilroy area, and 243 pending residential listings.  Therefore, 25% of the listings are pending under contract as of this date.  We’ve managed to stay at this ratio of roughly 25% for the past 6 weeks.

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

RealtyTrac, an online foreclosure marketplace, contains nationwide foreclosure information and is a good source for finding out what is happening with distressed properties locally.  RealtyTrac shows that Gilroy currently has 446 bank-owned properties and 295 pre-foreclosure properties (one where the owner has received a Notice of Default.)  As a comparison, Morgan Hill has 154 properties that are bank-owned and 163 pre-foreclosure properties.  So, all-in-all, Gilroy has 424 more properties that are in some stage of foreclosure than does Morgan Hill.  These include commercial properties, but the vast majority are residential.  Even San Martin has their fair share of bank-owned homes.  According to RealtyTrac, there are 154 bank-owned properties in that small community.

                                                  

However, both Gilroy and Morgan Hill are seeing a majority of the sales that are occurring are “financially distressed” sales, meaning either bank-owned or short sales.  See my blog post from September 8th for the description of short sales and bank-owned properties:  http://southcountyrealestatetoday.com/2008/09/08/a-brief-primer-on-distressed-properties/

The Multiple Listing Service shows that in the past month, there were 77 residential listings in Gilroy that went under contract.  Of those that did, 58 were either bank-owned or short sales.  In other words, just over 75% of the recently sold homes in Gilroy were financially distressed.

And in Morgan Hill, there were 40 residential listings that went into contract in the past month.  Of those, 27 were either bank-owned or short sales.  That would be just over 67% of the recently sold homes in Morgan Hill that were financially distressed.  Still a very high number.

And, finally, San Martin has had two sales in the past month - both were short sales.

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!

We had another jump in sales in the south Santa Clara County area of Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy.  There were 43 residences that went from active to pending status.  Of these, 40 were single family homes and 3 were condo/townhouses.

Of these sales, the list price ranges were:

$200,000 - $500,000 = 27 sales (63% of total)

$500,000 - $800,000 = 12 sales (28% of total)

$800,000 - $1,200,000 = 3 sales (7% of total)

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

Because of the large percentage of homes selling under $500,000 every week, our average and mean sales prices have dropped.  For our south Santa Clara County area, the average sale price for a single family residence in September was $549,448 and the median was $470,000.  For condo/townhouses, the average sale price in September was $282,937 and the median was $270,000.  We haven’t seen prices like this for a very long time!

As of October 7, 2008, there are 724 residential listings active on the market in the Morgan Hill, San Martin, Gilroy area, and 246 pending residential listings.  Therefore, 25% 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!

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Gretchen Merrick Phone:408-892-9015 gmerrick@interorealestate.com Featured Listings 16830 Edwin Jones Court Morgan Hill, CA 4 BR | 3 BA $749,000 More Details 16771 Dry Creek Ct Morgan Hill, CA 5 BR | 3.50 BA $749,000 More Details 16868 De Witt Ave Morgan Hill, CA 6 BR | 4.50 BA $849,999 More Details

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