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!

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.

Two of the listings have dropped substantially in price from the time that they were first listed.  19085 Eagle View Drive is located in Coyote Estates and is $100,000 lower than it’s original price of $919,000.  It is now priced at $819,000 for a 2,327 sq.ft. single story home with 4 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms on a 10,454 sq.ft. lot.  This is a lovely listing and it is located right across the street from the beginning of the Coyote Creek bikepath - very handy for runners and bicyclists.

Another listing that was on tour has dropped substantially in price.  16800 Zinfandel Circle in Morgan Hill was priced in 2007 at $1,295,000.  It is currently on the market for $899,900.  Oh, what a difference a year makes!  This listing is a 2,995 sq.ft. home with  4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms on a 8,712 sq.ft. lot with a pool and spa.

Both of these homes are located in the Nordstrom Elementary School boundary.  If you would like a showing, please contact me to set an appointment.

Today marks a change in my weekly sales report for the south Santa Clara County area.  From now on, I will be publishing this update on Mondays.  I switched from my typical Wednesday updates for various and sundry reasons.  Hope you’re all okay with that!

Sales last week were still robust in our area of the south Santa Clara County towns of Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy - and by far the most sales were priced below $500,000.  There were 39 residences that went from active to pending status.  Of these, 34 were single family homes and 5 were condo/townhouses. 

Of these sales, the list price ranges were:

Below $200,000 = 2 sales (5% of total)

$200,000 - $500,000 = 32 sales (82% of total)

$500,000 - $800,000 = 3 sales (8% of total)

$800,000 - $1,200,000 = 2 sales (5% of total)

$1,200,000 - $2,000,000 = no sales

As of November 23, 2008, there are 704 residential listings active on the market in the Morgan Hill, San Martin, Gilroy area, and 235 pending residential listings.  Therefore, 25% of the listings are pending under contract as of this date.  Active listings are down most likely due to the upcoming holidays.

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

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!

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!

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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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