Living at 16595 Rustling Oak Lane in Morgan Hill, CA is a daily pleasure.  From the moment you approach the striking custom front door, you know you’ve come home to a special place.  The first thing most visitors notice upon entering the home are the beautiful views of the valley and the mountains beyond.  There are views from most windows and there are multiple decks strategically located to take advantage of these views as well.

  

     This home has been lovingly remodeled with discriminating taste and comfort in mind.  The gourmet kitchen features a large slab granite island, custom cherry cabinets and bamboo hardwood flooring.  Appliances include a built-in Kitchenaid stainless steel refrigerator, a Thermador convection/conventional oven/microwave oven/warming drawer unit, a Thermador gas 5-burner cooktop, a wine refrigerator, an additional Kitchenaid oven in the island, and 2 Fisher and Paykel stainless steel dishwasher drawers.  There are two Franke stainless steel sinks featuring large Grohe faucets and one sink has a drinking water faucet for reverse-osmosis treated water and also an instant hot water faucet.  Both sinks also have counter-top push-button garbage disposal switches.  Adjoining the kitchen is a beautiful, large built-in desk with additional storage.

     The large living room adjacent to the kitchen is flanked by glass letting in lovely views of valley and mountains.  There is a new EPA-certified woodburning fireplace with wiring for a flat screen tv above.  There is built-in custom cabinetry adjacent to the  fireplace for holding a/v equipment and additional storage.  The bamboo flooring flows into the living room from the kitchen as well as the 9 1/2 foot ceiling.  Both the living room and the kitchen have excellent lighting from the recessed canned lights and also a built-in sound system.

                                                                                                       

     The huge master bedroom also boasts spectacular views from the windows and the sliding glass door which leads to one of the decks.  There are two closets in the master bedroom.  The master bathroom has a two-sink lavatory and a stall shower.  There are two other good-sized bedrooms upstairs along with an attractive, large remodeled laundry room where performing that chore won’t seem so bad.  The laundry room has a sink and lots of storage cabinets.

         

     Most closets have been remodeled with closet organizers.  All exterior doors and windows have been replaced and are dual-pane.  And all interior doors have been replaced with very attractive solid wood doors.

     An expansive family room is located downstairs and features a second wood-burning fireplace.  This room could serve many purposes including a game room or multi-media room.  There is a large 4th bedroom downstairs with a connected bathroom.  Additional storage areas are available downstairs as well.  The family room has a sliding glass door leading to a lower deck area and the backyard.

     The home has a new composition roof and large brand new deck/patio off of the kitchen.  The two-car garage has additional storage units which will remain.

     This home is listed at the price of $899,000.  It is located within the Jackson Oaks Homeowners Association where, with the very low association dues of $375 per year, homeowners have access to the huge association pool, the club house and admittance to the many social activities that take place through the association.

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.

I was “quoted” in the local papers, Gilroy Dispatch, Morgan Hill Times and the Hollister Free Lance.  I say “quoted” because I don’t remember saying the exact words they used, but hey, it was fun to be interviewed by the media and then to get a mention in the papers!  (And not in the Crime Watch section….!)

The article discussed the impact of foreclosures on our South Santa Clara County area and included a few personal stories.  My quotes are somewhere in the middle of the article.  One of the article’s authors, Nicole Baldocchi, had contacted me to ask me about the number of foreclosures hitting Morgan Hill and Gilroy and I helped direct her to some statistics regarding the impact on our local real estate market.  Nicole was able to find several families facing foreclosure.  These families had been misled by their real estate agents and lenders (too often one and the same person), and their stories are heartbreaking.

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.

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.

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 $849,999 More Details 1845 Silverwings Ct Morgan Hill, CA 4 BR | 3 BA $1,025,000 More Details

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