Sales increased by one this past week in the south Santa Clara County towns of Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy.  Last week there were 37 residences that went from active to pending status as compared to last week’s 36.  Of all the sales this past week, 34 were single family homes and 3 were townhouses/condominiums.  The highest priced listing sold last week was 18241 Llagas Creek Drive in Morgan Hill, a 3441 s.f. home on a 20,037 s.f. lot and priced at $1,014,000, down from the original $1,139,000 price when listed 125 days prior.  The lowest priced listing sold last week was a bank-owned home in the senior community of Village Green, 7745 Isabella Way in Gilroy, a 818 s.f. home priced at $198,000 and 12 days on the market.  Sixty-two percent of the sales this week were priced under $500,000 and 11% were above $800,000. 

Of these sales, the list price ranges were:

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

$200,000 - $500,000 = 22 sales (59% of total)

$500,000 - $800,000 = 10 sales (27% of total)

$800,000 - $1,200,000 = 4 sales (11% of total)

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

The number of active listings went down and pending sales rose.  As of July 12, 2009, there are 326 residential (single family homes and condos) listings active on the market in Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy.  There are currently 360 pending residential listings.  Therefore, 52% of the total listings are pending under contract as of this date.  However, many of the pendings are short sales and therefore take a long time to close.  This keeps our pending percentage up artificially high. 

Sixteen residential real estate listings closed escrow during the past week in the south county towns of Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy.  If homes continued to sell at this rate it would take 20 weeks to sell all south county listings.  Therefore, as of this past week, we have 5 months supply of inventory. 

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

active gilroy home Homescopes listings Morgan Hill pending listings real estate real estate listings residential listings San Martin Santa Clara County single family sq ft

Sales increased slightly this past week in the south Santa Clara County towns of Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy.  Last week there were 36 residences that went from active to pending status as compared to last week’s 33.  Of all the sales this past week, 32 were single family homes and 4 were townhouses/condominiums.  The highest priced listing sold last week was 15440 Carey Lane in San Martin, a 7525 s.f. home on an approximately 3 acre lot and priced at $1,699,000.  This home is a short sale.  The lowest priced listing sold last week was a short sale condominium at 7705 Murray Avenue in Gilroy, 908 s.f. home priced at $85,000.  Fifty percent of the sales this week were priced under $500,000 and 6% were above $800,000. 

Of these sales, the list price ranges were:

Less than $200,000 = 5 sales (14% of total)

$200,000 - $500,000 = 13 sales (36% of total)

$500,000 - $800,000 = 16 sales (44% of total)

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

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

This is the first week in quite a while that the number of active listings rose and the number of pending sales dropped.  As of July 12, 2009, there are 333 residential (single family homes and condos) listings active on the market in Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy.  There are currently 357 pending residential listings.  Therefore, 52% of the total listings are pending under contract as of this date.  However, many of the pendings are short sales and therefore take a long time to close.  This keeps our pending percentage up artificially high. 

Twenty-three residential real estate listings closed escrow during the past week in the south county towns of Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy.  If homes continued to sell at this rate it would take 14.5 weeks to sell all south county listings.  Therefore, as of this past week, we have 3.6 months supply of inventory. 

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

active gilroy home Homescopes listings Morgan Hill pending listings real estate real estate listings residential listings San Martin Santa Clara County single family sq ft

For months now, I’ve been stating in my weekly sales blogposts that many of the pending real estate listings reported are short sales and therefore take a long time to close.  This keeps our listings that are pending under contract percentage up artificially high because those listings stay at the pending status month after month.  And the number of listings that actually close escrow remains low in comparison.

There are several reasons the pending sales numbers are high but actual closed escrow numbers are not.  This was pointed out to me by a southern California colleague, Michelle Silverman, a Realtor in La Jolla, California. 

Michelle recently shared this Wall Street Journal blog post, Three Reasons Pending Sales Isn’t a Reliable Indicator.   The article discusses three reasons homes on the real estate market don’t close escrow after getting into contract.  One of the reasons is the one I state week after week, short sale pending contracts.  While the buyer and the seller wait for the seller’s short sale lender to approve the offer, the home sits in pending status on the multiple listing service.  Often the transaction falls through because the buyer gets frustrated with waiting for months and finds another home to purchase and sometimes the short sale lender does not approve the offer.

Another reason that homes under contract don’t close escrow is that mortgage rates have gone up, albeit a small amount.  However this raise in rates can knock out buyers who qualified at a certain interest rate when they first began their home search.  They aren’t able to go through with the purchase because now they don’t qualify for the higher monthly payment.  Buyers may also choose not to purchase due to the higher interest rates.

And the third reason pending sales don’t close escrow as discussed in the WSJ blog has to do with the latest difficulty besetting the real estate market:  appraisals.  There is a new law, The Home Valuation Code of Conduct, or HVCC, adopted May 1, 2009.  The law was formulated to elevate the independence and accuracy of the appraisal process.  To keep influence low, lenders are now required to use appraisal management companies.  In theory, this should be a positive move.  In actuality, many of the appraisers hired by the appraisal management companies don’t come from the area where the property is located and sometimes don’t even have access to the local MLS.   For example, I’ve heard of ill-informed appraisers using property sold in Gilroy as a comparable sale for property in Morgan Hill.  Some sales are falling through at the last minute due to under-valued appraisals.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, cautions that there could be delays in the number of contracts that go to closing. “Closed existing-home sales have improved but are coming in lower than expected because some contracts are delayed or falling through from the application of new appraisal rules for many transactions,” he said. “Rises in contract activity show buyers are becoming more active even as they face much more stringent loan underwriting standards. Speedy clarification of the appraisal rules could smooth a housing market recovery and support the overall economy.”

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Sales jumped up this past week in the south Santa Clara County towns of Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy, although no homes priced above $900,000 were sold. There were 46 residences that went from active to pending status as compared to last week’s 32.  Of all the sales this past week, 39 were single family homes and 7 were townhouses/condominiums.  The highest priced listing sold last week was 18175 Carriage Drive in Morgan Hill, a 3728 s.f. home priced at $899,000 that had been on the market for 343 days.  The lowest priced listing sold last week was a bank-owned condo at 7598 Monterey Street, #260 in Gilroy, a 706 s.f., 3 year old condo priced at $110,000 and located in the new mixed used development in downtown Gilroy.  Sixty-three percent of the sales this week were priced under $500,000 and only 4% were above $800,000. 

Of these sales, the list price ranges were:

Below $200,000 = 2 sales (4% of total)

$200,000 - $500,000 = 27 sales (59% of total)

$500,000 - $800,000 = 15 sales (33% of total)

$800,000 - $1,200,000 = 2 sales (4% of total)

As of June 7, 2009, there are 336 residential (single family homes and condos) listings active on the market in Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy.  There are currently 388 pending residential listings.  Therefore, 54% of the total listings are pending under contract as of this date.  However, many of the pendings are short sales and therefore take a long time to close.  This keeps our pending percentage up artificially high. 

Seventeen residential real estate listings closed escrow during the past week in the south county towns of Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy.  If homes continued to sell at this rate it would take 19.8 weeks to sell all south county listings.  Therefore we have 5 months supply of inventory. 

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

active bank owned condo gilroy Homescopes housing listings Morgan Hill pending real estate residences San Martin Santa Clara County short sale single family sold townhouse

This past week saw a decline in the number of sales in the south Santa Clara County towns of Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy, possiblya reaction to the jump in interest rates several weeks ago. There were 32 residences that went from active to pending status as compared to last week’s 42.  Of all the sales this past week, 28 were single family homes and 4 were townhouses/condominiums.  The highest priced listing sold last week was 1610 Arguello Court in Morgan Hill, a 4059 s.f. home on a 18,360 s.f. lot priced at $1,275,000 and a former Alicante model home.  The lowest priced listing sold last week was a bank-owned single family home at 7361 Eigleberry Street in Gilroy, a 1856 s.f. 3/2 home on a 7000 s.f. lot priced at $146.200.  Gilroy has some great bargains these days.  Sixty-nine percent of the sales this week were priced under $500,000 and 12% were above $800,000. 

Of these sales, the list price ranges were:

Below $200,000 = 3 sales (9% of total)

$200,000 - $500,000 = 19 sales (60% of total)

$500,000 - $800,000 = 6 sales (19% of total)

$800,000 - $1,200,000 = 3 sales (9% of total)

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

As of June 7, 2009, there are 354 residential (single family homes and condos) listings active on the market in Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy.  There are currently 382 pending residential listings.  Therefore, 52% of the total listings are pending under contract as of this date.  However, many of the pendings are short sales and therefore take a long time to close.  This keeps our pending percentage up artificially high. 

Twenty-two residential real estate listings closed escrow during the past week in the south county towns of Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy.  If homes continued to sell at this rate it would take 16.1 weeks to sell all south county listings.  Therefore we have 4 months supply of inventory. 

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

active listings gilroy morgan hill pending listings real estate real estate listings residential listings santa clara county san martin single family sq ft home

Residential real estate sales remained steady this past week in the south Santa Clara County towns of Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy.  There were 47 residences that went from active to pending status as compared to last week’s 45.  Of all the sales this past week, 44 were single family homes and 3 were townhouses/condominiums.  The highest priced listing sold last week was 1645 Cochrane Road in Morgan Hill, a 3806 sq.ft. home on a one acre property priced at $1,595,000.  The lowest priced listing sold last week was a bank-owned home at 525 Grant Court in Gilroy priced at $139,000.  Sixty percent of the sales this week were priced under $500,000 and 8% were above $800,000. 

Of these sales, the list price ranges were:

Below $200,000 = 6 sales (13% of total)

$200,000 - $500,000 = 22 sales (47% of total)

$500,000 - $800,000 = 15 sales (32% of total)

$800,000 - $1,200,000 = 3 sales (6% of total)

$1.200,000 - $2,000,000 = 1 sale (2% of total)

As of May 24, 2009, there are 381 residential (single family homes and condos) listings active on the market in Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy.  There are currently 382 pending residential listings.  Therefore, 50% of the total listings are pending under contract as of this date.  This is a record amount!  However, many of the pendings are short sales and therefore take a long time to close.  This keeps our pending percentage up artificially high. 

Twenty-five residential real estate listings closed escrow during the past week in the south county towns of Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy.  If homes continued to sell at this rate it would take 15.24 weeks to sell all south county listings.  Therefore we have 3.8 months supply of inventory. 

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

active listings gilroy morgan hill pending listings real estate real estate listings residential listings santa clara county san martin single family sq ft home

The graph above of Santa Clara County residential real estate transactions visually tells the story of our bumpy ride the past five years.  At the far right of the graph, you’ll see 05/01/09.  Notice how the pink line (pending single family residence listings) and the blue line (active single family listings) are approaching each other.  That’s a good thing!  We are approaching a much more balanced market.

Now notice one year previous, May of 2008.  The blue and the pink line have a huge gap between them.  Listings pending under contract were rarer at that time, but the active listings were plentiful.  Can you say buyer’s market?  Now glance back to the left of the graph for the years 2004, 2005 and roughly the first half of 2006.  This shows that the pending sales were right on par with the active listings.  Very much a seller’s market because there was a small supply of homes available and there was a large demand.

This graph tells the story visually of how market conditions effect can effect pricing, days on market and other real estate metrics.

The pace of selling residential real estate remained brisk this past week in the south Santa Clara County towns of Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy.  There were 49 residences that went from active to pending status as compared to last week’s 52.  Of all the sales this past week, 44 were single family homes and 5 were townhouses/condominiums.  The highest priced listing sold last week was 9568 Estates Drive in Gilroy, a remodeled 3756 sq.ft. home on a 5 acre property priced at $1,189,000.  The lowest priced listing sold last week was a short sale home at 8887 Lilly Avenue in Gilroy priced at $139,000.  Sixty-nine percent of the sales this week were priced under $500,000 and only 2% were above $800,000. 

Of these sales, the list price ranges were:

Below $200,000 = 6 sales (12% of total)

$200,000 - $500,000 = 28 sales (57% of total)

$500,000 - $800,000 = 14 sales (29% of total)

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

As of May 3, 2009, there are 419 residential (single family homes and condos) listings active on the market in Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy.  There are currently 373 pending residential listings.  Therefore, 47% of the total listings are pending under contract as of this date.  Many of the pendings are short sales and therefore take a long time to close.  This keeps our pending percentage up artificially high. 

Twenty-six residential real estate listings closed escrow during the past week in the south county towns of Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy.  If homes continued to sell at this rate it would take 16.1 weeks to sell all south county listings.  Therefore we have 4 months supply of inventory. 

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

acre property gilroy morgan hill price ranges real estate real estate listings residential listings santa clara county san martin single family south santa clara south santa clara county

This past week in the south Santa Clara County towns of Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy was quite active with a high number of residential sales.  There were 52 residences that went from active to pending status as compared to last week’s 38.  Of all the sales this past week, 48 were single family homes and 4 were townhouses/condominiums.  The highest priced listing sold last week was 9805 Burchell Road in Gilroy, a 10 acre property priced at $1,450,000.  The lowest priced listing sold last week was a short sale condo at 1231 Juniper Dr. #C in Gilroy priced at $97,500.  Sixty-nine percent of the sales this week were priced under $500,000. 

Of these sales, the list price ranges were:

Below $200,000 = 6 sales (11% of total)

$200,000 - $500,000 = 30 sales (58% of total)

$500,000 - $800,000 = 14 sales (27% of total)

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

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

As of April 26, 2009, there are 450 residential (single family homes and condos) listings active on the market in Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy.  There are currently 363 pending residential listings.  Therefore, 45% of the total listings are pending under contract as of this date - an amazing amount.  Many of the pendings are short sales and therefore take a long time to close.  This keeps our pending percentage up artificially high. 

Twenty residential real estate listings closed escrow during the past week in the south county towns of Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy.  If homes continued to sell at this rate it would take 22.5 weeks to sell all south county listings.  Therefore we have 5.6 months supply of inventory. 

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

Another healthy round of real estate sales this past week in the south Santa Clara County towns of Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy.  There were 47 residences that went from active to pending status as compared to last week’s 44.  Of all the sales this past week, 43 were single family homes and 4 were townhouses/condominiums.  The highest priced listing sold last week was a new construction listing at 16100 DeWitt Avenue in Morgan Hill, priced at $1,895,000.  The lowest priced listing sold last week was a short sale home at 555 Polk Court in Gilroy priced at $150,000.  Fifty-eight percent of the sales this week were priced under $500,000 as compared to 66% last week and 73% week prior.  This is a good trend to see.

Of these sales, the list price ranges were:

Below $200,000 = 6 sales (13% of total)

$200,000 - $500,000 = 21 sales (45% of total)

$500,000 - $800,000 = 13 sales (27% of total)

$800,000 - $1,200,000 = 5 sales (11% of total)

$1,200,000 - $2,000,000 = 2 sales (4% of total)

As of April 12, 2009, there are 463 residential (single family homes and condos) listings active on the market in Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy.  There are currently 342 pending residential listings.  Therefore, 42% of the total listings are pending under contract as of this date - an amazing amount.  Many of the pendings are short sales and therefore take a long time to close.  This keeps our pending percentage up artificially high. 

Eighteen residential real estate listings closed escrow during the past week in the south county towns of Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy.  If homes continued to sell at this rate it would take 25.7 weeks to sell all south county listings.  Therefore we have 6.4 months supply of inventory. 

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

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