Remember when we were on a road trip with the kids in the car? What was the question they always got around to? “Are we there yet?”
Nearly every day people ask me the same question relative to home values: “Are housing values at the bottom yet?” The answer varies depending the area you are asking about.
In this article Forbes provides mixed answers: homeowners in the San Francisco Bay Area may “be there”. Other places in CA and around the country, however, may have a ways to go yet before their house-value-slide ends.
San Jose was specifically listed as one of the few metro area where values seem to have leveled. This continues to be good news for Morgan Hill, Gilroy and Hollister home values. With the majority of South County residents commuting up into the Bay Area, home values in these three cities will continue to follow San Jose’s lead.
So, Johnny, we’re there – but we won’t be returning to increased values for some time to come.
1291 Bonnie View Drive, Hollister: A completely remodeled, 4 bed. & 2 bath home on a 16,500 sq. ft. lot!
Watch the VIDEO Tour of this nice home. You’ll note that nearly everything, even the plumbing, has been redone. Have you heard the term: “turn key“? This home is it. Just put in the key and move right in. There is virtually nothing left to do.
The wide side yard access to the huge back yard provides endless possibilities: A large garage/workshop, toy barn, pool etc. could easily fit into this back yard. In the VIDEO you can see what the neighbor did with his same sized lot.
From this home you are less than a quarter mile from Hwy 25’s extension for an easy drive to Gilroy’s Premium Outlet Center and CalTrain for a convenient commute. Schools, shopping and medical facilities are within walking distance. Veteran’s Memorial Park with its 5 baseball diamonds, skate park and picnic area is also just a short walk.
As close as this home is to everything, Bonnie View Rd. is not a through street so there is little traffic. It is a quiet neighborhood.
This is NOT a short sale or bank owned sale. You will deal with the actual seller and can expect to close in a matter of weeks.
For your own personal tour of 1291 Bonnie View Rd. just call/text or e-mail me and I will arrange it for you.
The term: “Manufactured home“ includes two types of homes: Mobile Home and a Modular Home.
Mobile homes are delivered to the sight on their own axles and wheels and generally have the wheels remain in tact. It is not real property and you pay the DMV vehicle taxes on it.
Modular homes are pre-built homes which are delivered to the lot on flatbed trucks, hoisted onto a permanent foundation and bolted down. Therefore the Modular home becomes ‘real property’ because it is affixed to the land. You pay regular property taxes on a Modular home, according to Prop. 13, as you would on regular, or, “stick-built” homes.
The value of the Mobile home is generally less than that of a Modular home. Financing of such a home is not nearly as attractive as that of a Modular home. There tends to be fewer lenders wiling to lend on a Modular home than a traditional “stick-built” home. However, those that do, typically offer comparable rates and fees to that of traditional homes.
We (under my “Community West Mortgage hat”) are one of those lenders who lend on Modular homes. Why not call or e-mail me for more details?
For Sale: 411 6th St. It is a 9 year ‘young‘ home in “The City of History”, San Juan Bautista.
This 4 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath, 2,005 sq. ft. home is just a few blocks from all of the boutique shops and restaurants in San Juan’s village. Everything here; the Mission itself, the grocery store, the school – are all within walking distance.
Since this home is only 3 miles from Hwy. 101 you can be on the beach in 20 minutes, Gilroy’s Outlet Center and, CalTrain in 15 minutes, and in downtown San Jose in 45 minutes. Hollister is just 10 minutes away. It’s an easy commute from here to Monterey or San Jose.
Take a couple of minutes and watch this VIDEO Tour then, let me know what you think.
Amazingly there is only 7 or 8 weeks before school starts again. I know, all the parents are screaming: “WHAT?!! It can’t be!!” Still it is true.
If you are planning to move and will need to get the kids registered in the new school, take heart – you still have time.
While “REO” (foreclosed homes) take 6 to 8 weeks to close, “Short Sales” could take 2 to 4 months to close! However, a ‘Regular’ sale: where the owner themselves are selling the property, could close within 4-6 weeks. In fact, when your lender approves your loan you could start the enrolling process with confidence. You will even have an address within the school boundaries. Loan approval is often issued 2 to 3 weeks into the escrow.
When looking on-line therefore, you may want to include on you ‘dream list’ of features the absence of: “Short Sale”, “Bank Owned”, or “REO” in the description of the home. Chances are, the homes without one of those discriptions will be a ‘regular’ sale.
As an added reason to be alert to such a home – they are more often in better condition than those homes sitting vacant.
Feel free to shop in the actual MLS through the “Client Portfolio” button above this post. There, you can access the actual MLS, in real time. Or, you can e-mail me and I will do the search for you.
Happy Summer!
Our Veteran buyer had an approved short sale contract on a Hollister home. The bank’s approval limited the amount they had to net from the sale. There was NOT enough to cover all of the repairs from the termite company’s report.
The seller had no money. Our buyer could not pay for any of the repairs. The listing agent and I had already agreed to put up a portion of our commissions toward the cost. Yet there remained a list of repairs to do. At the close of escrow no more options were available. We were at a stalemate.
The seller offered to help to fix a couple of repairs with materials he already had. I took the remaining list of items and figured out a plan to get them done. I bought the necessary supplies, rounded up 3 others and on the Saturday before it was to close we spent 7 hours doing those repairs.
With Western Exterminator’s pre-set re inspection on Monday morning and e-mailed clearance to the lender that same day we funded on the very last day possible. IT CLOSED! The seller was freed up. My buyer bought a great home at a great price. The listing agent and I got a little bit for our 4 months of work. Everybody came out okay.
Winston Churchill’s famous, 5 word speech comes to mind: “Never, never, never give up”.
Here is yet another article which 
demonstrates that Bay Area home values have bottomed out and have continued a steady climb from there.
With little land left few homes are being built. Therefore, the varied employment opportunities which provide a fairly consistent demand for housing, are tipping the supply/demand scale in favor of firm-to-increasing values.
Natural migration for affordable housing therefore, continues to be South of the Bay Area, namely: Morgan Hill, Gilroy and Hollister. Many families are investing a slightly longer commute in order to have a desirable place for their family to enjoy.
Here is a good indicator of value: “Price per square foot“. When you look at a home’s cost/sq. ft. it quickly becomes clear - your housing dollar goes much further in our “South County” areas:
A 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 1,700 sq. ft., on a 7,000 sq. ft. lot costs:
- San Jose $303.87/sq. ft.
- Morgan Hill $247.10/sq. ft.
- Gilory $206.48/sq. ft.
- Hollister $146.71/sq. ft.
If you have been waiting to make your next housing move, I wouldn’t wait any longer. Home prices, in our area, are rising. The home loan rates are still extradordinarily low – FOR THE MOMENT. You will be disappointed if you stay with an abritary “wait for 6 months to a year” idea.
BTW: The “City Tours” tab above will provide you with video tours of each of our communities. Enjoy.
If you have wanted to refinance, you should send me an e-mail with your address. I will be happy to provide you an updated market value. Your home’s value may be high enough now to take advantage of these low rates.
(data source: MLS Listings)
Not only is San Jose, CA the highest home-value-appreciation area in the US (see 2/10/11 post below), it is also the city with the happiest employees in the country. This Forbes article puts San Jose on top and San Francisco right behind it.
And, since the majority of those who live in Hollister, Gilroy, and Morgan Hill drive to the San Jose area for work we can safely assume that we are also the happiest employees in the US. Right?
After all, we have 2 of our own In-N-Out restaurants, the Gilroy Premium Outlets and 3 lakes.
Now if we could just get Hwy. 101 widened from Hwy. 152 in Gilroy to Hwy. 85 in San Jose we would all be a lot happier.
And the winner of the highest appreciation of home values in the United States is: San Jose, CA!
Of course, Morgan Hill, Gilroy and Hollister home values followed in the same direction, as they always do.
The GOOD NEWS in this article is believable when you see the actual single family home value appreciation from 2009 to 2010:
San Jose’s average single family home value ROSE 11.5%.
Morgan Hill’s average value INCREASED 4.5%.
Gilroy homes saw the values RISE 6.8%.
Homes in Hollister enjoyed a healthy JUMP of 11.3% in values!
So, those of you who have been waiting to buy a home may want to take advantage of the incrediblely low interest rates and go buy a home. Their values have come off the bottom of value slide and are beginning to increase.
You homeowners who have been waiting for values to come back so you can refinance should e-mail or call me. I will research your home’s current value for you.
2011 is going to be an exciting year – IN OUR AWESOME AREA! What do you think?
(data source: MLSListings)
Image via Wikipedia
Little ole Hollister’s marching band will represent CA in a 10th Anniversary of 911.
The marching band from San Benito High School will be one of only two schools from California to march in the 2011 New York Veterans Day Parade.
The Free Lance Newspaper article provides some of the basic information but is lacking one, very important angle: when and where are the fund raisers going to be?
Sending all of the band members, their instruments and leaders to New York will not be an inexpensive event.
A recent change in the typical fund raising events, however, is going to cause some interesting challenges. It seems that band member families and supporting friends will not be allowed to have bake sales. No more homemade cookies, pies and cakes. Something to do with health code issues? Could it be that the First Lady’s influence has already affect our little community? Or, is it local bakeries complaining about competition?
Are we going to have to devise a different slogan? It’s always been: “Good old mom and apple pie”. Will we have to say: “Cellophane-wrapped, expiration date stamped, virtual pie”?
We are thrilled about our home town band being selected! There is nothing like the sound of horns and drums blaring down Main Street USA. Couldn’t we keep some of the same emotional foundations like home made goodies? And, by the way, who says my wife’s killer homemade fudge can’t help the tuba player go to New York?
What are your thoughts?
Remember when we were on a road trip with the kids in the car? What was the question they always got around to? “Are we there yet?”
