South County Sales Week of October 15 - October 21, 2008
Date: Wednesday October 22, 2008Posted in: real estate market, real estate, Morgan Hill, South Santa Clara County, San Martin, Gilroy, statistics, pending sales, list price, housing inventory, housing
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!
South County Financially Distressed Sales
Date: Friday October 17, 2008Posted in: REO, real estate, short sale, Morgan Hill, South Santa Clara County, Gilroy, foreclosure, pending sales, housing
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.
Morgan Hill’s City Manager Speaks at SCRA
Date: Thursday October 16, 2008Posted in: City of Morgan Hill, housing, ballot measures
Yesterday, Morgan Hill’s City Manager, Ed Tewes, spoke at our weekly South County Realtors Association. I reported on Mr. Tewes’ previous update to our Association from this past July in this post: http://southcountyrealestatetoday.com/2008/07/26/update-from-morgan-hills-city-manager/. With the upcoming election, Mr. Tewes touched on the two local measures that will be on the ballot, but first he spoke about upcoming development in the city.
The projects slated for development in Morgan Hill which he mentioned have already opened or are very close to opening. These include two new restaurants opening downtown. (The rumor I’ve heard is that Maurizio is developing both of these restaurants….) He also mentioned that the shoe store, DSW has opened in the new Cochrane/101 shopping center. (Can my closet fit any more shoes??)
The first ballot issue Ed Tewes discussed was Measure H, which would provide an exemption for 500 downtown housing units. Everyone has something nice to say about Morgan Hill’s charming and attractive downtown, but most people also have reservations about the health of the commercial enterprises there. Measure H would expand the number of residential units downtown and bring a new vitality to the 20-block area. In order to do this, Morgan Hill’s Residential Development Control System (RDCS) has to be modified but will still meet strict requirements while also meeting Morgan Hill’s population ceiling. I am voting “YES” on Measure H.
The other ballot measure is Measure G, which would establish a 2% utility tax. The monies would be used to hire additional police force. I have not made up my mind how I’m going to vote on Measure G and I’m going to do a little more research.
Roadways slated for development in the next few years: 1. Tennant Avenue will be widened at the 101 overpass from 2 lanes to 4 lanes and the interchange will be a cloverleaf. 2. Butterfield Boulevard will extend south from Tennant Avenue, curving so that it will meet Watsonville Road at Monterey Avenue. 3. Santa Teresa Boulevard will be built from the south end of Hale Avenue/Main Avenue, curving through residential areas, and dead-ending into DeWitt Avenue near Spring Avenue.
Ed Tewes also reminded us of the Morgan Hill’s housing element update which will be discussed at a public meeting tonight at the CCC at 6:45 p.m. Every five years, the city is required by the state to update the housing element. Some of the issues to be discussed will be Below Market Rate units and the unbuilt housing units that have already been approved in previous RDCS competitions.
