The Keith Byrd Team's San Luis Obispo Real Estate Blog: 08/01/2005

It's apple time again in See Canyon!

Check out Gophper Glen's web site to see what types they've got:

http://www.gopherglen.com/

Here are the 2005 high school SAT scores:

High School (verbal/math scores)

US Average - 505/515
California - 499/521

Arroyo Grande High 540/551
Atascadero 547/552
Coast Union 548/542
Morro Bay 560/569
Nipomo 493/503
SLO 565/567
Shandon 460/433
Templeton 570/572

Mission Prep 570/572
NC Christian 583/525

Wow, if you want to view available homes on the MLS in Hampton Road, Virginia they'll charge you $3.95 a day Access Fee! If you aren't aware how this real estate industry works, there are local Realtor boards that operate independently. There are some guidelines from the National Association of Realtors and state boards but the local Realtor Associations can define their own MLS Rules and Regulations. In this case, the Hampton Road MLS decided to charge the public to access MLS listings.

On the Central Coast, we have SIX individual Realtor Associations but they all cooperate with each other so we only need to have one MLS system where all properties are listed. The 6 Realtor Associations are: San Luis Obispo, Pismo Coast, North Coast, Paso Robles, Atascadero, and Santa Maria. There is a committee called the Central Coast Regional MLS to help the associations work together with the common MLS system and lockboxes.

I'm grateful that the MLS Rules and Regulations on the Central Coast are such that allows me to offer the tools to help my clients without requiring a mandatory Access Fee.

The Shack

The restaurant that was once owned by Scott and Laci Peterson has been sold.

http://www.newtimesslo.com/index.php?p=showarticle&id=1286

According to the latest New Times, the owner of ASAP Movers has been charged with felony fraud.

http://www.newtimesslo.com/index.php?p=showarticle&id=1281

With the price of gas these days, Amtrak is a much more attractive option. I looked up some fares from SLO. To Santa Barbara, it's $25. To South Lake Tahoe, it's $54. To San Diego, it' $47.

I wonder how it is to live in Los Osos these days. Every day I see articles and letters to the editor in the Trib about the sewer. I read that construction is going to start soon and that some plan to chain themselves to trees. Is there a solution to this dilemma that isn't going to cause hard feelings for many years? Doesn't look like it.

While I sympathize with the mess Los Osos'ians have got themselves into by letting this drag out for so many years, I can't help to think of some t-shirt slogans.

How about:

We're all full of sh*t in Los Osos

Sewer...sewer...we don't need no stickin' sewer!

Welcome to Los Osos. Don't Drink the Water.

Los Osos - BYOBW (Bring Your Own Bottled Water)

Homebuyers may not realize that monthly payments on some types of specialty mortgages can increase by as much as 50 percent or more when the introductory period ends. That’s one of the messages that the National Association of Realtors® and the Center for Responsible Lending are trying to drive home in “Shopping for a Mortgage? Do Your Homework First,” a new brochure to inform homebuyers about the risks and advantages of specialty mortgage products.

You can download the brochure here (in PDF)

Announcing a new Open House Directory for Central Coast real estate:

www.CentralCoastOpenHouse.com

I also added a direct link under the new navigation bar on Slo County Homes.com

Choose "Searching for a Home" on the navigation bar and then click on "Open House Directory".

If you haven't already noticed, I'm doing some work on my website. I'm adding some a mapping service from Real Bird which provides not only street maps, but topology and aerial maps as well.

I also changed the Neighborhood Home Price service to be able to immediately give you the SOLDS in a neighborhood (previously you had to wait until it was emailed to you). That only took a minute or so but I thought you all would like to get the info right away without having to go check your email!

I did some statistics on how many homes are sold "in house", which means that the same Brokerage listed and sold it.

Here are the results for the Solds since January 1st-
North County:
1 mil+ - 33% in-house
$750K-1mil - 32%
500-750K - 32%
<500K - 32%

North Coast:
1 mil+ - 23% in-house
$750K-1mil - 27%
500-750K - 30%
<500K - 29%

San Luis Obispo (city)
1 mil+ - 25% in-house
$750K-1mil - 31%
500-750K - 25%
<500K - 22%

South County:
1 mil+ - 42% in-house
$750K-1mil - 26%
500-750K - 27%
<500K - 37%

Full Scale Siren Test is this Saturday

All 131 Diablo Canyon warning sirens will be tested at full volume this Saturday. The first test is at Noon, the second around 12:30. As usual, the notification of the test is minimal (I haven't even see it in the Telegram Tribune yet). If you're a local and learning about the test by reading this, I rest my case.

What is going to happen if we have a real emergency? Are we first going to assume that it's just another test? I also wonder about the tourists and what their reaction on Saturday will be when the sirens go off and they don't have a clue what's going on.

For all those of you who have bacteria-phobia, an article in today's Times Press Recorder stated which South County beaches had the most violations of bacteria levels. Avila Beach, halfway between the creek and the pier had the most violations. Spyglass Park in Shell Beach had the fewest. They don't know where the bacteria is coming from, just testing the levels in the ocean. What's also interesting is that January is the worst month, followed by February, March, October, December (these were from tests conducted in 2004).

The 2005 STAR test scores are now available for schools. It's here:
http://star.cde.ca.gov/star2005/viewreport.asp

Sorry I haven't blog'ed in awhile. I've been on some vacations with my family to Southern California and another to Lake Tahoe. I can say that the Central Coast has the highest gas prices. I paid $3.19 gallon for supreme at the Chevron in Pismo yesterday!

I'm running some statistical reports on the local market and hope to have them posted on the website in a few days.

If you like Avila Beach, you may be interested in a new condo development taking place on Front Street (across from beach). You can get more info by filling out the form here: http://www.slocountyhomes.com/avila_beach_condos.htm

Some other statisitcs you might find interesting.

Following are Median stats for currently available single family homes (as of 8/2/05).

(city name)(number of avail homes)(median sq ft)(median price)(median Days on Market)

San Luis Obispo 123 1,900 $799,000 31
Pismo Beach 48 1,850 $958,350 48
Arroyo Grande 129 2,400 $929,000 50
Morro Bay 45 1,500 $748,000 55
Paso Robles 297 1,750 $539,900 48
Santa Maria 265 1,700 $506,950 41

MLS stats for Central Coast- July 2005 - Residential

Price changes - 542
New Listings - 876
Back on Market - 184
Contingent - 106
Pending - 701

In the latest issue of People Magazine they talked about Meth houses and the potential health problems associated with living in a house where they once made meth. According to the article, only a few states (not California!) require disclosing any previous meth labs at the home to prospective buyers. Not enough studies have been done to prove that meth chemicals get absorbed in the carpet and walls but the people's experiences in the article sure seem to prove it. I don't know how easy it is to check with the local police department to see if a home was ever a meth lab (assuming the lab was discovered by police).

I know if I was buying a house, I'd expect the homeowner to disclose this info if they knew about it.