Santa Maria – Orcutt Monday Market Update

Last week’s sales activity here in the Santa Maria Valley was slightly down from the prior week, as future sellers struggle to get their homes in order for marketing.  January means getting all the holiday decor stored and lots of thorough cleaning.   Towards the end of the month Super Bowl gets in the way (for some, certainly not all), and W-2’s and other statements start arriving in the mailbox, reminding us of the upcoming Big Headache.  Meanwhile, serious buyers are out there trying to find homes, and in a market like ours, with such limited inventory, it sure isn’t easy!

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Still, overall — I’ll gladly take this year’s market over last year’s!!  If you’re starting to look for a new home, or thinking of selling the one you have, please give me a call at (805)937-5777 or complete the Contact form below.  Experience counts, and will truly make a difference in your transaction!  See my credentials here.

Santa Maria – Orcutt Condo Update

Time for an update on condo availability in the Santa Maria Valley!  And believe me, it is a short update: there are currently only 9 condos/town homes on the active market!  Maybe the first-time buyers have been grabbing them up, since condos are usually more affordable than single family dwellings.  Here is a breakdown on Active, Pending and Sold units over the past 3 months:

ACTIVE: 9  Average list price: $238,567  Average Days on Market: 23  Average Sq. Ft.: 1505

PENDING: 9  Average list price: $180,856  Average Days on Market: 45  Average Sq. Ft.: 1162

SOLD: 29  Average sold price: $199,451  Average Days on Market: 57  Average Sq. Ft.: 1349

If you are looking for the convenience of a condominium, please start your search right here!  For assistance, please give me a call at (805)937-5777 or complete the Contact form below — I’m happy to help!

 

Santa Maria – Orcutt Monday Market Update

Sales activity last week was down a little bit, though not significantly.  Making the transition into the new year, some buyers may be hoping for a surge in inventory so they have better options, and some owners are likely just making the decision to sell.   For informational purposes, I am posting last year’s activity for the same time frame beneath the current chart, to show the increase in pricing that has occurred over the past year.  With rates still very low (under 5%), there is little reason for buyers to be on the fence.  The time for action is now!  Get qualified with a good lender (call me for recommendations), so you are prepared when the right house comes along!

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Start your search for a new home by going to the top banner of this page, and click on Property Search — then give me a call at (805)937-5777 to set up a free automated email delivery of listings meeting your criteria!  Not ready for a phone conversation?  Just complete the Contact form below and ask for a “Personal Shopping Cart”, indicating your favorite cities, price range, number of bedrooms and any other information you want me to know.  Don’t forget to include your email address!  Happy shopping!

California Leads the Nation in Housing Recovery

According to recent data, here are the Top Ten areas in the United States that have the shortest “turn-around” time, meaning the fastest moving markets!  Is it any surprise that California has the majority of cities, checking in at 6 out of 10?  Desirability has to have something to do with it, and if any proof of that is needed, look at our glorious weather compared to the Midwest and East!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Come back tomorrow for my regular Monday Market Update, with sales information for this past week in the Santa Maria Valley market areas of Santa Maria and Orcutt!

Search for property on the beautiful Central Coast from Paso Robles to Santa Ynez by using the SEARCH button at the top of the page!  Or, feel free to give me a call at (805)937-5777 or complete the Contact form below.  Have a great Sunday!

 

Santa Maria – Orcutt Monday Market Update

Just had the first full week of the new year, and it appears that sales and listings are back up from the typical holiday slump (minor).  Inventory increased almost 15%, as sellers come back into the market, and pending sales are looking up too, which indicates buyers are still out there!  Here is the data for last week, and below that you’ll find the stats for the same time frame last year.

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For more information about the Santa Maria Valley housing market, just give me a call at (805)937-5777 or complete the Contact form below and I will get back to you as soon as possible!

 

Shadow Inventory Lowest Since August 2008

According to an article in DSNews.com, a mortgage industry news site, by Carrie Bay:

The industry’s shadow inventory of homes with mortgages 90 or more days delinquent, in foreclosure, or held as REO by mortgage servicers but not currently listed on multiple listing services (MLSs)—also known as pending supply—stood at 1.7 million as of October 2013, according to CoreLogic.

The supply of homes hidden in the shadows carries a value of $256 billion and is at its lowest level since August 2008, the company reports.

Turn back the calendar 12 months, and those numbers were significantly higher. In October 2012, there were 2.1 million homes in shadow inventory with a value of $348 billion. The asset count of shadow inventory homes declined 24 percent, while the dollar amount attached to the industry’s hidden inventory dropped 26.4 percent in one year’s time.

“The shadow inventory continues to decline,” said Dr. Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic, “decreasing at an average monthly rate of 46,000 units over the last year.”

According to Fleming, a healthy market hides around 650,000 housing units in its shadows. “[T]here is more to be done, but the trend is in the right direction,” he said.

Good news worth noting!  Here in the Santa Maria Valley, our inventory consists almost entirely of “normal”, or “traditional”, listings.  For more information about homes for sale in Santa Maria and/or Orcutt, please give me a call at (805)937-5777 or complete the Contact form below.

 

Santa Maria – Orcutt Monday Market Update

Everything is in the plus column for the last week of December, first week of January.  Nothing earth-shaking or truly exciting, but of interest is the fact there were no sales in the distress category of bank-owned REOs and short sales.  I will be happy when I can eliminate both categories from my weekly report, for then we will truly have returned to a “normal” market!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And here’s how it looked at the same time last year:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So glad our inventory has improved — 99 vs. 56 is a wonderful increase!

For more information about our local Central Coast real estate market, please give me a call at (805)937-5777 or complete the Contact form below — I’d love to talk to you!

 

Santa Maria – Orcutt Monday Market Update

The last full week of December has now passed, and as you would imagine, sales activity here in the Santa Maria Valley was reduced quite a bit due to the holidays.  Only a few more days to go in 2013, so within a short time I will be able to provide you with a look back at the year to see how 2013 developed, versus 2012.  I think everyone knows that in general, prices rose and are still climbing, but it’s always good to break it down into percentages, with maybe a pie chart or two for visual aids!

Here are the stats for the week of December 22-28.

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As lacking in inventory as we are today,  just seeing and remembering how low our inventory was a year ago makes me shudder…hope it is never that bare-bones, stripped down again!  All the averages in pricing are under $300,000 in 2012, and look at the difference in the number of distress property sales vs. 2013.  Times have changed, and today is a brighter picture as we head into 2014.  Stay tuned for my year-end evaluation!

For more details about our real estate market, or to sell or buy a home, please give me a call at (805)937-5777 or complete the Contact form below.  I’d love to help you with any of your real estate concerns!

Santa Maria – Orcutt Monday Market Update

The third full week in December produced fairly typical results — inventory is down from the week prior and new listings are scarce.  Pending sales,  however, are still good, which is an indication that buyer interest is still strong, and I think it would result in even more sales, if we had more choices!  Some buyers, especially first-timers, are pretty frustrated with the lack of good inventory, and our prices are holding strong and even gaining, which is fast eliminating some folks who stayed on the fence too long.  Expect sales to slow through the rest of the month, and  then January should bring some fresh inventory from sellers who waited until after the holidays.

Here are the results from last week!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next week’s report will most likely be even less thrilling!  Please give me a call at (805)937-5777 or complete the Contact form below if you have any immediate real estate needs.

 

 

Santa Maria – Orcutt Monday Market Update

An expected lack of interest in buying and selling during the holidays is reflected in the sales volume for last week, the second week into December.  Inventory is slightly lower, as sellers decide to wait until the new year to market their homes.  Still, prices are holding and closed escrows rose a bit over the first week of December.  Let’s hope the interest rates hold steady too!

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Yowza!  Look at the difference in prices since last year!  Inventory was almost half of what it is today, and I remember distinctly how difficult it was, and it’s still tough today.

If your plans for 2014 include buying or selling a home, please give me a call at (805)937-5777 or complete the Contact form below.  It’s going to be a very good year for buyers and sellers!