San Luis Obispo County Real Estate

List vs Sold Prices on Homes

2010-11-18T14:28:00.001-08:00

If you want to know how to set the price of your home when it is listed, watch this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6Y_efQlWc4

PICK OF THE WEEK - Nov 16, 2010

2010-11-18T14:26:00.000-08:00

If you'd like to see the house that I think is unique and well priced for this week, click: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtQNyOECuZU

2010-11-13T11:29:00.000-08:00

If you'd like a great MLS search tool for the Central Coast, use the search engine below. Click "search" in the bottom right corner to change the search criteria.

Market Trends

2010-07-23T16:21:00.000-07:00

Mortgage rates are low, but are predicted to rise. Though rates remain low, many economists expect mortgage rates to rise, especially now that the Federal government has pulled out of the mortgage game. If you have been waiting to buy, now is the time! Even if prices continue to go down, which they are expected to do, you will save a ton of money over the life of your loan with these low interest rates. Factor that in when deciding when to buy!

Why buy now

2010-07-12T14:37:00.000-07:00

Interest rates are at a record low. When you consider the impact of interests rates on a person's ability to purchase a property, it is astounding. For example, a 1/2 pt increase on a $400K loan, gives you $25K less purchasing power. A point increase is $500K less...2 pts is 100K less. And it IS expected that interests rates will go up in the future months...they are so low now that the only real direction they CAN go is up!

Tax Credit Extended!

2010-07-09T12:08:00.000-07:00

Congress has passed a bill extending the Homebuyer Tax Credit closing deadline to September 30, 2010. This is a huge win for home buyers. The extension applies only to transactions that had ratified contracts in place as of April 30, 2010, and have not yet closed. There will be no gap between June 30 and the date the President signs the bill into law. So, hang in there if you got an offer accepted before April 30th but haven't been able to get it closed yet! You can still get the credit!

The Lending Environment

2010-05-08T15:21:00.000-07:00

I often get asked whether people are getting loans these days. The answer is yes, and no. Certainly, there are qualified buyers who are getting approval and actually getting loans. But sadly, there are an equal number of buyers who are TOLD they are approved, and then later get turned away. This is a sad development, because the buyers get their hopes up and get psychologically invested in buying a property, and then their dreams are squashed. Apparently, many lenders want to "throw everything against the wall and see what sticks." This is a terrible way of doing business, and very unfortunate for the entire real estate community. Make sure if you are looking for a lender to get one that is referred to you by your agent, a friend/family, or your bank. There's no guarantee that that will save you from hassles, but it is more likely to work out better with the referral.

Huge Surge in New Home Sales

2010-04-23T15:04:00.000-07:00

Sales of new homes surged 27 percent last month! Check out this article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36735173

2010-04-19T14:31:00.000-07:00

I get a lot of people asking how accurate Zillow is at their Zestimates. The answer for our county is “Not very”.

As of 3/10/10, only 18% of closings in SLO county were within 5% of the Zestimate; 34% within 10%, and 58% within 20%. That means that 42% of the Zestimates were over 20% off the actual value, and 66% were at least 10% off the true value as shown by an actual closing.

The median error is 16% in SLO County. The best accuracy in the state is Ventura with a median error of 10.5%.

This info is from Zillow itself. Please check out the following link.

http://www.zillow.com/howto/DataCoverageZestimateAccuracyCA.htm

Sales Stats for 2009 vs 2010

2010-04-13T15:15:00.000-07:00

In comparing 2009 to 2010, let's look at sales statistics:
- In Feb, we had 137 sales in 2010 and 160 sales in 2009.
- In Jan, we had 157 sales in 2010 and 129 sales in 2009.

Median sales price in both months for both years was almost the same:
- Feb 2009 = $368,250 / Feb 2010 = $375,000.
- Jan 2009 = $380,000 / Jan 2010 = $390,000.

Overall, things have been pretty stable over the last year, as you can tell from these numbers. We aren't seeing a big drop in prices anymore, and the number of sales in a month is fairly consistent.

2010-03-24T14:15:00.000-07:00

Look for interest rates to climb beginning in late Spring. The Federal Reserve will be stopping buying mortgage backed securities. NAR Chief Economist things there will be an increase of 30 basis points (100 basis points equals a 1 percent change). It is anticipated that home sales will not be affected as long as the economy keeps growing and jobs are created.

Tax Credit Ends Soon!

2010-03-24T14:13:00.000-07:00

Be aware...the $8000 tax credit ends at the end of April! Get into escrow before then so that you can collect your money as a first time home buyer!

Spring is looking great for buying/selling properties! Get going now!

Multiple Offers!

2010-02-10T12:35:00.000-08:00

It seems that many people aren't aware of the phenomenon that has re-appeared: multiple offers. With all of the foreclosures and short sales, and prices just being forced downward in general, there are "buys" out there that are so great that the investor-client is jumping on the bandwagon and making offers. When that happens, the offers are usually "cash", no contingencies, at or above asking, and there's usually multiple offers. I know some people think when they see a house listed for, say, $350K, they are under the impression that they can get that house for something like $280K. Well, that's just not the case anymore. Now that homes are being priced below market value, due to all the bank owned homes, houses are selling for MORE THAN they are listed at!

When you make an offer, it has to be your "best and highest" because the banks usually aren't countering in the instances where there are multiple offers. They simply accept the best offer, and reject the rest. The "best" offer is the one that gives the bank the highest bottom line. Yes, cash can influence it, but so many of these offers are coming from investors that have cash, that it's not that special to have cash anymore (in the lower price ranges). It is still a bit of a novelty to offer cash in the higher priced homes, but the ones we are getting multiple offers on are usually cash. So, if you see a great buy, make your best and highest offer on it and cross your fingers!

Short Sales -- Ugh!

2010-02-03T15:29:00.000-08:00

I've been wrestling with a short sale now for 4 or 5 months...I know that's not the longest out there, but it's been driving me insane! I got approval on the first about 1-2 months ago...but the second is just dragging their feet. I can't get the negotiator to write the approval letter, even though she has verbally approved the short sale. What in the world could be taking her so long? Is she an imbecile? My recommendation to anyone looking to buy real estate is: avoid short sales!!! They are a nightmare. Did you know that 70% of the people going into escrow (the first time) on a short sale drop out before it closes escrow? That's unbelievable...but I don't blame people for getting tired of waiting. REOs, on the contrary, only have a 12% drop out rate. Not nearly as bad.

PRESS RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

2010-01-18T15:41:00.000-08:00

Kristen Crabtree speeds up the house-hunting process in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties with a real estate search for any cell phone

January 18, 2010 (San Luis Obispo, CA)—One of the top real estate agents in San Luis Obispo County is introducing a way for clients to view all of the homes for sale in the area with any cell phone. Kristen Crabtree with Century 21 Hometown Realty is providing clients with a mobile real estate search created by Smarter Agent that makes it possible to search all local property listings from their mobile device, regardless of whether it is listed by Ms. Crabtree or another broker or agent. Ms. Crabtree’s mobile real estate search is the only house-hunting tool that works on 95% of cell phones across all carriers.

With Ms. Crabtree’s Smarter Agent application, interested home buyers can be in any neighborhood and view detailed property information at the touch of a button. The GPS technology in the mobile phone, when available, locates users and pulls up addresses and information on listings in their immediate area. Sales price, square footage, tax information, beds/baths, interior and exterior features, pictures and more become available instantly in the palm of their hand.

Consumers can also search by address, community name, city or zip code when GPS is not available, or if they want to search for real estate in an area other than their current location.

The “Call to See” feature within the mobile application connects users to Ms. Crabtree if they have questions or want to schedule a tour of the property.

“This is a revolutionary tool for making house hunting easier and more thorough,” said Kristen Crabtree.

Consumers can get Kristen’s mobile real estate search on their cell phone by visiting http://mobile.smarteragent.com/c21/kristencrabtree for easy instructions or by texting KRISTEN to 87778 to receive a text message with a link to download the mobile real estate application.

Smarter Agent is available as a fully downloadable application on hundreds of devices across Sprint, AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless. A premium mobile web version is also available on 95% of cell phones. The fully downloadable application is free to download on Sprint devices, BlackBerry devices, the iPhone, and Google's Android G-1. The premium mobile web version is free to access.

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About Kristen Crabtree
Kristen Crabtree has been working in San Luis Obispo selling real estate for the last 4 years. She specializes in Oceanfront, Ocean View, and Acreage Estates, but naturally sells other properties as well. She has won the Diamond Award through Century 21 for high sales volume, and is recognized as a top agent throughout the county.

About Smarter Agent
Smarter Agent® creates mobile, location-aware (such as GPS) search applications that help consumers and professionals learn about, interact and transact with the world around them as never before possible. Smarter Agent invented and patented mobile, location-triggered real estate search and is now the largest mobile real estate portal in the world. Smarter Agent represents the first mass commercialization of a mobile application in the United States. Its reach includes premium downloadable applications with all major carriers, as well as access from all phones, operating systems and formats. CTIA, the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association, named Smarter Agent the Winner in its Emerging Technology Awards LBS/GPS category.

2010-01-16T10:14:00.000-08:00

I just found a home for sale in Grover Beach that is an excellent value/investment. It is one and a half blocks from the beach and has fantastic ocean views from the upstairs. It also has granite counters and a nice yard with a coy pond...It is bank owned so there are some fixtures and appliances that have been removed, but nonetheless it is a great value. It is priced in the mid $300K range. If you are interested in seeing it, let me know. It will probably sell fast, so don't wait too long!

Are the best values in Short Sales and Foreclosures/REOs?

2010-01-03T15:26:00.000-08:00

A lot of people think that the "deals" to be made are in foreclosures and short sales. What they don't realized is that many of these sales go for asking or over, and may not represent the best values. Considering that most REOs or short sales have substantial damage done to the homes, the amount of money you save off of it being bank-owned or bank-involved is often negated by the impending work that needs to be done to them to bring them up to move-in standards. 237 sales in the last 3 months in San Luis Obispo County were either short sales or REOs. REOs are selling for 99.8% of their list price, on average. In some cases, they are selling for as much as 125% of their list price. Short sales (90 of them in the last 3 months) are selling for 96.4% of their list price. In one case, a home went for 205% of asking price. On the other hand, 322 sales in SLO county over the last 3 months were NOT short sales or REOs. Of the properties listed for 540K or less, they sold for 96% of list price. Of those sales about $540K, they sold for an average of 92.4% of the list price. So, actually, the homes in the "higher" price ranges that are not foreclosures or short sales are selling for quite a bit less than those that are foreclosures/short sales in lower price ranges. So where do YOU think the best values are?!

Clients are ready to buy!

2009-12-05T15:21:00.000-08:00

I've noticed a change over the last few months...people who were "just looking" for real estate before are now a lot more serious. With the low interest rates, low home prices, and optimistic real estate reports, people are realizing it's a great time to buy a new home, an investment, or a second home.

The Holidays

2009-11-25T10:10:00.000-08:00

We are fast approaching Thanksgiving...and then onto the December holidays. Many people don't like to put their houses on the market or shop for a house during this time of year, but that doesn't mean houses aren't being sold or put on the market. In particular, banks don't really care what time of year their homes go on the market, because they know people will always look for a good deal. So this is still a great time to shop for an REO. Short sales are often the same...at the holidays, a lot of owners realize they can't make their payments anymore and stop paying their mortgages. They proceed to get an NOD and then must do a short sale. This happens every week of the year without fail. If you are looking for a great deal, don't stop looking just because of the holidays. We can usually arrange for the escrow to close at a convenient date to you, so if you don't want to move in until Jan, that can be stipulated in the contract.

SLO County Real Estate Environment

2009-11-13T15:31:00.000-08:00

As a realtor, any time I run into someone or meet them new for the first time, their question to me is always: "and how's the market?" So I thought I'd keep a running answer here for people.

Right now business seems to be picking up. There are still properties that are dropping in price, and REOs and short sales coming on the market all the time to mess with prices. But we are also starting to see multiple offers on properties (not just REOs and short sales), and the inventory is down which puts seller's in a better position than before.

However, seasonally this isn't traditionally the busiest time of year for real estate anywhere. That doesn't mean sales aren't happening, far from it in fact, but the holidays are a time when people want to entertain, not move.