Sales ticked up last week in the south Santa Clara County towns of Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy.  Last week there were 24 residences that went from active to pending status.  Of these, 22 were single family homes and 2 were townhouses/condominiums. 

Of these sales, the list price ranges were:

Below $200,000 = 3 sales (12.5% of total)

$200,000 - $500,000 = 16 sales (67% of total)

$500,000 - $800,000 = 3 sales (12.5% of total)

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

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

As of January 4, 2009, there are 580 residential (single family homes and condos) listings active on the market in Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy, which is 41 less than last week and 88 less than 3 weeks ago.  There are currently 222 pending residential listings.  Therefore, 28% 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 could keep our pending percentage up artificially high. 

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

It has been quite a few years since a Bay Area residence could be purchased for investment purposes and have a positive cash flow from the income received from rent.  But with the large drop in real estate sale prices, it appears that not only will there be great potential for gains in equity appreciation, but that the property will have a positive cash flow.

Let’s look at an example case study on a real property currently for sale in Gilroy.  I chose this property because the Multiple Listing Service states that it is currently rented for $1900/month.  This property is located at 9110 Church Street, has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, is 1132 sq.ft. and is on a 5227 sq.ft. lot.  The list price is $279,000 (originally $369,000), and this property is a short sale.

Although we are given the current rent amount, there are other assumptions that must be made in order to analyze this potential investment.  Here are the assumptions that I made:

• Purchase price = $250,000, 25% down payment = $62,500
• Loan:  6% interest rate with 1 1/2 discount points, 30 year loan, monthly payment = $1124.16, total acquisition cost = $5000 (including closing costs)
• Utilities paid by tenant
• Self-managed (no property management costs)
• 5% vacancy allowance
• Annual property taxes = $3125
• Annual insurance = $800
• Annual maintenance costs = $2500
• Investor’s federal tax bracket = 25%, California state tax = 9.3%
• Holding period = 7 years
• Annual appreciation, average over 7 years = 3% (hopefully this is a very conservative number)
• Projected sales costs = 7%

Using the above assumptions, the property can be analyzed as an investment, taking into account tax depreciation, cash flow before and after taxes.  We will also look at the eventual sale of the property, looking at taxes due upon the sale and the after-tax rate of return.

• Income - Vacancy Allowance = Gross Operating Income = $21,660
• GOI - Operating Expenses = Net Operating Income = $15,235
• Subtract Mortgage Payments = $13,490
• ANNUAL CASH FLOW BEFORE TAXES = $1745

Looking at my assumption of selling the property in seven years with a conservative guess of 3% appreciation in value per year:

• Projected sale price in 2016 = $307,468
• Subtract cost of sale = $21,523
• Add 7 years of cash flow = $12,215
• Subtract remaining loan balance = $168,073
• CASH OUT ON SALE = $130,087
• Subtract initial investment of $67,500
• TOTAL GAIN ON SALE = $62,587

This example shows a viable real estate investment in south Santa Clara County with a before-tax rate of return of 8.55% on the investor’s initial $67,500 investment.  Please consult your tax advisor for more information regarding the tax implications of buying, leasing and selling investment real estate.

Not surprisingly, sales were light during the week of December 22 through 28 in our area of the south Santa Clara County towns of Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy.  Last week there were 16 residences that went from active to pending status - down from 39 sales the previous week.  Of these, 13 were single family homes and 3 were townhouses/condominiums. 

Of these sales, the list price ranges were:

Below $200,000 = 1 sale (6% of total)

$200,000 - $500,000 = 11 sales (69% of total)

$500,000 - $800,000 = 2 sales (13% of total)

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

$1,200,000 - $2,000,000 = 1 sale (6% of total)

As of December 28, 2008, there are 621 residential (single family homes and condos) listings active on the market in Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy, and 228 pending residential listings.  Therefore, 27% of the total listings are pending under contract as of this date, still a healthy number for this time of year.  Many of the pendings are short sales and therefore take a long time to close.  This could keep our pending percentage up artificially high. 

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

Lower priced listings sold robustly in our area of the south Santa Clara County towns of Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy.  Last week there were 39 residences that went from active to pending status.  Of these, 37 were single family homes and 2 were townhouses/condominiums.  The number of active listings in our area was reduced by 30 since last week!  Many sellers choose to remove their listings from active status during the winter holiday season.

Of these sales, the list price ranges were:

$200,000 - $500,000 = 28 sales (72% of total)

$500,000 - $800,000 = 6 sales (15% of total)

$800,000 - $1,200,000 = 4 sales (10% of total)

$1,200,000 - $2,000,000 = 0 sales

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

As of December 21, 2008, there are 638 residential listings active on the market in Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy - a drop of 30 active listing since last week, and 233 pending residential listings.  Therefore, 27% of the total listings are pending under contract as of this date, still a healthy number for this time of year.  Many of the pendings are short sales and therefore take a long time to close.  This could keep our pending percentage up artificially high. 

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

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.

Sales just keep plugging along in our area of the south Santa Clara County towns of Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy.  Last week there were 28 residences that went from active to pending status.  Of these, 25 were single family homes and 3 were townhouses/condominiums. 

Of these sales, the list price ranges were:

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

$200,000 - $500,000 = 16 sales (57% of total)

$500,000 - $800,000 = 8 sales (29% of total)

$800,000 - $1,200,000 = 3 sales (11% of total)

As of December 14, 2008, there are 668 residential listings active on the market in Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy, and 231 pending residential listings.  Therefore, 26% of the total listings are pending under contract as of this date, still a healthy number for this time of year.  Many of the pendings are short sales and therefore take a long time to close.  This could keep our pending percentage up artificially high. 

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

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.

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.

Sales were robust last week in our area of the south Santa Clara County towns of Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy for this time of year.  There were 28 residences that went from active to pending status.  Of these, 27 were single family homes and 1 was a condominium.  Last week marks the first time we’ve had a sale over $2,000,000 since I started my weekly sales blog post last August.  Although sales of homes priced over $2,000,000 used to be fairly common in our area during the peak of the real estate market several years ago, they aren’t nearly so common at this time.

Of these sales, the list price ranges were:

Less than $200,000 = 1 sale (4% of total)

$200,000 - $500,000 = 16 sales (57% of total)

$500,000 - $800,000 = 6 sales (21% of total)

$800,000 - $1,200,000 = 4 sales (14% of total)

$1,200,000 - $2,000,000 = 0 sales

over $2,000,000 = 1 sale (4% of total) 

As of December 7, 2008, there are 677 residential listings active on the market in Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy, and 230 pending residential listings.  Therefore, 25% of the total listings are pending under contract as of this date, still a healthy number for this time of year.  Many of the pendings are short sales and therefore take a long time to close.  This could keep our pending percentage up artificially high. 

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

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.

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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 16868 De Witt Ave Morgan Hill, CA 6 BR | 4.50 BA $849,999 More Details

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