Have you noticed Morgan Hill’s housing activity? Wow! Recovery is well underway in our quaint town. In May there were 73.6% more Closings than in May ‘08. This is the 5th straight month this year where our Closings have increased over last year’s figures. To date, Closings have increased nearly 60% (59.4%)!
On the other hand New Listings of Morgan Hill homes for sale were down for the 5th straight month. The number of May’s New Listings were down 55.4% vs. 5/08 and year-to-date the drop totals 23.5% over the same period last year!
In nearby Gilroy the same housing trends are happening! Gilroy’s number of Closed Sales is up 128% from 2008! 128%! Wow! Our New Listings were lower by 27.9%.
The affects of ‘Supply and Demand‘ are being felt here in Morgan Hill and Gilroy. While the interest rates are still wonderfully low I wouldn’t wait to buy.
A prospective client is moving into our area from out of state and asked a rhetorical question: “Does the lack of pictures on the web indicate poor quality of those homes?” Well, yes and no.
No – “REO” and especially the “Short Sale” listing agents are often too busy to take more than one picture (sometimes none at all). Occasionally, a solo picture of the front of the home is all the agent could squeeze in. So the home might be fine.
Yes – there just may not be anything photo-worthy. Since most of the homes on the market currently are Short Sale or REO listings and since many of these financially challenged homes are pretty worn finding a compelling shot may be difficult.
However, some listings will show 8 or 9 photos of the front and back yards and none of the interior…MESSAGE: there probably is nothing INSIDE worth displaying. Also, have you noticed how forgiving a camera can be? We often turn to one another asking: “Yuck, is this the same house”?
So, after doing a Google Street Scene your best bet is to do your research on the location, statistics on the home(s) etc. from the web then, go out and look at several homes in the same afternoon. Your agent will put together an efficient tour of prospective homes for you. Not only will you see what the condition of the homes ARE and, could become, you will also get a feel for the neighborhoods. “Seeing (in real time) is believing”.
