Pending Sales picked up a bit over the last several days so July will probably end up being similar to June's activity. I'll be updating the statistics and inventories tomorrow.

A home in Pismo Heights went on the market earlier this month at $950,000. It wa on the market about 2 weeks, then withdrawn. It came back on the market yesterday for $629,000 and now positioned as a fixer. Sounds like something was found during a home inspection.

What I recommend to every homeowner that is putting their home on the market is to get the Pest Inspection done ASAP. It costs less than $100 and will let you know if they find anything major before you price your home. If the report comes back clean (or with few items found), that's a plus to use in the marketing of the home too!

Because of the water shortage in Los Osos, they are considering requiring homeowners to install low-flow toilets before they sell their home.

If you have teenage girls you probably have already been made aware of this but the Old Navy over by Costco in SLO opened last Thursday. The article I read in the Trib said the line on openeing day to check out stretched to the back of the store.

I just got back from having one of my favorite dishes at a SLO restaurant. The Chicken Mole (mo-lay) Enchiladas at Chile Peppers are OUTSTANDING. Plus, it's a bargain. It costs $7.50 for the dish which includes 3 enchiladas topped with excellent mole sauce, cheese, salsa, guacamole, sour cream, and onions. And you get rice and beans too. I've tried mole at other mexican restaurants and haven't found any that compare to Chile Peppers. I'm not aware of any other restaurant in the area that even offers mole on the menu.

There are two Chile Peppers restaurants in SLO but only one of them has mole. The one that has it is located on Broad Street, close to the intersection of South Street. It sits back from the road a bit with an indian restaurant in front. The one that doesn't have mole is off of Foothill.

If you haven't tried the mole at Chile Peppers, you're missing out! You won't leave hungry (or broke) either.

If you're selling your home, make sure you are accurate in the way that your home is described. I recently put an offer in on a home that had many "new" things listed including a kitchen remodel. Upon further investigation, the remodel was done in 2002. Having a kitchen oven used for 5 years isn't "new" to most people.

A few years ago, a Broker I know had to pay for new appliances in a home because the Listing Agent advertised them as "new" but they were installed and used for 9 months. I know some things may sound new to an owner, but remember how a car dealership works. A car is no longer new once the Buyer pays for it and drives it off the lot.

Seven Creative Ways to Get Your Listings Sold
Did the headline peak your interest? Well it did mine when I received this in my email today from one of the industry Broker Agent news sites. They send out articles from "experts" in the industry. Unfortunately, some of these articles seem like they are written from people that have never sold real estate. In this particular article, here are the "Seven Creative Ways" and my thoughts. You can read the full article here

1) Price it right
Is there anything creative about this one? Every home needs to be priced right or it won't sell. The author suggests putting a 5% price reduction every 21 days in the Listing Agreement saying to "be agressive". Hmmm...maybe they should make sure the home has enough exposure first??

2) Build impeccable lead generation and management system
This one has nothing to do about getting a listing sold.

3) Boost your co-op commission
This one just irks me. I pity a Buyer that has a Realtor representing them that is making choices of what properties to show them based on what commission is being offered. This is why Buyers need to be searching for properties on the Internet themselves!

4) Stage it properly
No disagreement with this one (as with #1), but I fail to see where the creativeness comes in.

5) Polish your listing presentation
Huh? How is going after additional listings going to help sell one you already have??

6) Prospect around the neighborhood where you've just listed
Is the author trying to sell the listing or telling the agent to look for more listings?

7) Auction the home
Since the target for this article is Realtors, I don't know why this is even mentioned as no Realtor I know of has done an auction. I've read the articles on auctions but they all sound gimmicky to me. When I hear auction, I usually think of something that you can get well below market value.

Sorry, but this article doesn't come close to what was promised in the headline....

Best of Caravan - Scenic Coast - Los Osos, Morro Bay, Cayucos

This week's "Best of Caravan" goes to the charming re-modeled beach cottage located in North Morro Bay. Just blocks from the beach tract and the wide sandy beaches, the location is ideal. This home offer 2 bedrooms, both of which open to the redwood deck off of the back yard, 1 3/4 baths, hardwood floors, a one-car garage and a small fenced yard. Priced well at $442,000- this is a wonderful cozy costal cottage.

Click for more photos and info

(Best of Caravan is chosen by one our team of local expert Realtors as the property that stood out on the weekly Broker's caravan of new listings)

Best of Caravan- Atascadero

Our local expert Realtor in Atascadero sent me her choice for this weeks Best of Caravan. It's a lovely 3 bedroom home on some acreage. But, I'm unable to describe it to you or put a photo of it on here like usual because the Lisitng Agent/Broker chose not to display it on the Internet. So, it won't even come up in a MLS Search. It's a shame since the photos of the home make it look like a very nice home.

Homeowners, if you have a house listed, make sure you try searching for it on one of my MLS Searches. If it shows up on one, it should show up on them all. If it doesn't show up and you want it to, contact your Listing Agent!

In this case, not only is the homeowner missing out on it coming up on MLS searches, they also missed the opportunity to be showcased as "Best of Caravan" to the almost 4,000 visitors to this blog each month!

As of a minute ago, we are still sitting under 400 Pending Sales for the month. Being a 31 day month will help with the final number but we're probably going to end up as one of the slowest months so far this year (we had 410 Pendings in February). If you look at the chart on the www.SloWatch.com page, you'll see that we had a similar dip in the number of Pending Sales last July as well. It will be interesting to see what the stock market does today (Friday) since Thursday's drop was being blamed partly on the housing market.

"Home sales decreased 24.7 percent in June in California compared with the same period a year ago, while the median price of an existing home increased 3.2 percent, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) reported today." Full article here

As far as median home prices (June 06 vs. June 07), here is what was reported by CAR for our area:
Arroyo Grande: -11.8%
Atascadero: -1.3%
Los Osos: -6.4%
Paso Robles: - 8.4%
San Luis Obispo: -7.8%
Santa Maria: -12.4%

This page lists median home price changes for cities throughout California.

*Because they use only one month comparisons, the figures presented can easily be swayed one way or the other for cities with not that many home sales for the month. That's why I use Quarterly and Half-year statistics on the http://www.slowatch.com/ median home price comparisons.

The Lindsay Lohan movie that was shot in San Luis Obispo a few months ago opens tomorrow. I'm intersted to see how SLO High and downtown looks but I may wait until it comes out on DVD to see it though.

Ryan's Mortgage Blog:

So I wanted to Blog a little later in the week this time because I knew there was a lot going on and I wanted to wait to see what happened. It turns out most rates did come down a bit based on the news I am about to share with you that was emailed to me this morning. I've been receiving these daily commentary emails from around the industry for a long time now and this has been one of the more enjoyable ones. I normally don't get excited over these commentaries because it seems like every day there is a new report coming out or some kind of news that will impact rates that will void the news from the day before. I will admit I did this morning because I saw good news for rates more than once! On the flip side, when rates are forecasted to lower like this usually that means there is something wrong somewhere else, so some people may think the following information is not good news depending on what their profession is or where their investments are. Here it is:

Thursday’s bond market has opened up sharply following a weaker than expected manufacturing report and large stock losses. The stock markets are down significantly with the Dow losing 220 points and the Nasdaq down 47 points. The bond market is currently up 22/32, which should improve this morning’s mortgage rates by approximately .250 - .375 of a discount point.Today’s big news came from the Commerce Department who reported that new orders for big-ticket items rose 1.4% last month, falling short of expectations. The release also revised May’s orders lower by 0.4%, indicating that manufacturing activity was weaker than expected both months. This is good news for bonds and mortgage rates.June’s New Home Sales was also posted this morning, showing a much larger decline in sales than was expected. This is also good news for bonds and mortgage rates.Tomorrow morning brings us the release of the single most important report we see regularly. The quarterly Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is considered to be the best indicator of economic growth. It is the sum of all goods and services produced in the U.S. and usually has a great deal of influence on the financial markets. Current forecasts are estimating to see a 3.2% pace. A larger increase will probably hurt bond prices, leading to higher mortgage rates. But a smaller increase would likely fuel a bond market rally.

As always, give me a call if you have any questions or comments...805-540-0866 or RBaker@PeregrineLending.com

PS - Live on the Rocks concert series has started at the Cliff's Resort in Shell Beach on Sundays.

I just got back from the Aerosmith concert at the Mid State Fair. OMG, great weather, great seats, and a GREAT band. This has got to be one of the best if not THE best concert I have ever been to. Aerosmith put on a tremendous show in our little Paso Robles!

The SLO Downtown cycling race is back after a few years absence and will be held on Sunday, August 12th. Click here for the website

I didn't realize it until thinking about my last post more that the car giveaway was another example of inflating the comparable price. The car giveway I blogged previously about also is giving away a car to the Buyers agent as well. If you deduct both car values and the commission off the price, the net price would be about 12% lower. Funny how people get so upset when Zillow reports a "zestimate" of a home that's 10% off. The problem is that no one will know that a car was given away when someone looks up this home price as a comparable to determine a price for another home.

Also, adding the car price just for the Buyer into the purchase price of the home would mean $650/year increase in property tax (at 1%) for the value of the car in addition to the interest.

Unless I'm missing something, I'd take the $65,000 value of the car off the sale price of the home and let them keep the car so my loan and property tax would be reduced.

I'm starting to see some "bonuses" being offered to try to attract Buyers for resale homes (vs. what the new home builders are doing). With one home, they are giving away brand new car to the Buyer.

I'm not sure of the benefits or drawbacks of this since I've never been had experience with this type of giveaway. Here are the questions that come to my mind:

1) Will the lender fund $$$ knowing that part of the home purchase price includes a new car?
2) I calculated the interest for $65,000 (estimate of the car's price) with a 30-year fixed loan at 6.8% interest. Total payments are $144,074 with $79,075 of interest.

I've always been told to not include items like refrigerators, washer/dryer, etc. into the purchase price of a home since the Buyer may end up paying interest well after these appliances are gone plus you end up paying property tax on the value of these items too. It's always best to seperate these purchases and pay for them outside of escrow. Wouldn't the same be true of this new car offer??

I created the report for the last week of Solds (for residential properties) and linked it to the Just Sold section.

http://www.slocountyhomes.com/just_sold.htm

There are more than a couple things in how this real estate industry operates that are ready for a change. One of these is how the sale price of a home is reported. The Sales price is the piece of information that others use as a comparable to determine market value of a home. The problem is that the Sales price as reported today isn't an apples-to-apples comparison as the Realtor's commission is part of this price. In addition, you don't know if the Seller gave the Buyer a credit at close of escrow. What we really need is the Sellers NET, or how much they actually received (minus commissions and any credits to Buyer).

Some scenarios. Let's look at a home that sold for $600,000.

Scenario #1 (6% commission, 15K in credit) = $549,000 to Seller
Scenario #2 (4% commission, 15K in credit) = $561,000 to Seller
Scenario #3 (4% commission) = $576,000 to Seller
Scenario #4 (For Sale By Owner) = $600,000 to Seller

Also, if the current MLS co-op method of the Seller paying the commission for both the Listing Agent and Buyers Agent changes and the Buyer pays their agent themselves, it will further muddy the comparable prices.

What homeowners do when they try to do a For Sale By Owner (FSBO) is price their home using comparables. Today, if they used the above comparable they'd think their home was worth $600,000 and think that a Buyer should pay this. If a Buyer did pay this amount, they'd actually be paying over market value, IMO, unless the home they were using as a comparble to establish a price also was a FSBO. As more and more online home valuators are available, you'll see properties recorded at the County offices that were FSBO, probate sales, private sales, etc. The comparable prices may not be an apples-to-apples comparison. Unfortunately, you don't know how these properities were sold which makes it even tougher to know what to use as a true comparable price.

Realtors and the MLS Associations can add a field to the MLS listing to report a Sellers Net so when they change the listing to Sold, the info is there. But...don't hold your breath as something that seems so easy to change won't be because everyone is set in the way things have always been done.

Best of Caravan- North Coast

Today's Best of Caravan is located in the desirable Morro Heights area of Morro Bay. This home is unique in many respects. It offers beautiful clear views of Morro Bay and Morro Rock as well as white water ocean views. The Living Area is an open floor plan with cathedral ceilings and hardwood floors. The numerous windows accent the incredible view. Built in 1991, this detached PUD offers 3 bedrooms, 2 baths with over 1700 sq ft of living space. Location and views- this property offers it all!

Click to see more info

(Best of Caravan is chosen by one our team of local expert Realtors as the property that stood out on the weekly Broker's caravan of new listings)

July Month-to-Date market check

As of a minute ago we've had:

515 New Listings
300 Pending Sales

Ratio = 1.67

The good news is that Pendings have picked up a bit and new listings to the market have not spiked. I haven't done individual city inventory reports but I would guess that inventory levels are probably close to the same levels as last month.

I'm getting more and more homeowners with a home listed on the MLS contacting me to ask why their address doesn't show in my MLS searches while others do. The reason for this is that when an agent enters a listing, there is a section in the MLS form that the agent can control the publishing of the listing. For example, in this section there is the option to display or not display on Realtor.com. There is also an option that says "Suppress address on public sites". The problem is that although every other question defaults with "Yes", the suppress address question is the only one with a default of "No". Unless an agent changes this to "Yes", the address won't show up on MLS searches. I'm not sure why this one question defaults to "No".

It's easy for a Listing Agent to edit the MLS listing to change this though. It will take a day or two for the change to show up on MLS searches.

If you are on another site (other than mine) and ALL the addresses are not displayed in a MLS search then this is a choice of the agent who has the MLS search on that site and not the Listing Agents. Some agents do this to get people to contact them so they get a name/phone number. Others will make you fill out a form before you can even submit a search to accomplish the same thing (ugh!).

Best of Caravan - Paso Robles


Alot of house for the price. Corner lot with nice landscaping in a newer development in town and close to Virginia Perterson elementary. Nice open floorplan and new carpet was just installed. Large mastermaster suite with big walk in closet is downstairs and 3 large bedrooms and a loft upstairs. The property even has an extra deep 2 car garage. I thought this was a nice home and priced right. Click for more info

(Best of Caravan is chosen by one our team of local expert Realtors as the property that stood out on the weekly Broker's caravan of new listings)

Best of Caravan - Atascadero

This property sits on 1.250 acres with beautiful views and extra parking for
guests. There is a pool and spa area, and a wonderful covered patio to enjoy the views of distant wineries and vineyards.The cathedral ceilings and remodeled kitchen has a breakfast bar and ample cabinets to delight any cook. Off the garage is a separate office and work out room. Tiles floors, an elegant master suite and, great floor plan with attention to detail make this home a first class choice. Click for more info

(From one of our North County Expert Realtors)

It was a tough decision today for “THE BEST OF CARAVAN” Atascadero and I had multiple pics this week. This week’s caravan had 18 properties on tour today----whew!

#1) This (above) is a charmer with a white picket fence included! New dual pane windows, fireplace, and a bonus room to use as a fourth bedroom. It is a free standing home with a shared driveway. No dues or HOA’s. Click for more info on this property

The sister unit has 3 beds/2baths. Granite counters and stainless steel appliances, and a
walk-in closet in the master. This darling home has front porch and Vermont casting wood burning stove. Both places are close to schools and shopping and easy freeway access. Click for more info

(Best of Caravan is chosen by one our team of local expert Realtors as the property that stood out on the weekly Broker's caravan of new listings)

Ryan's Mortgage Blog:
I wanted to discuss what a "margin" is and how it relates to your mortgage, especially if you are in an ARM (Adjustable Rate Mortgage). The margin is fixed percentage points chosen by the lender that is added to an index (i.e. LIBOR, COFI, MTA). The margin is fixed but the index adjusts. Margins vary depending on the lender, type of loan, length of loan, etc... If you are in an ARM a margin is usually overlooked but can be a big deal when your initial "teaser" term is over. So let's say you are in a 3 year ARM at 5.75%, so for three years this is what you pay, but when your 3 years is up your mortgage will adjust every 12 months based on the LIBOR (index). BUT the margin is added to that figured to determine your interest rate. So let's say the LIBOR is at 5.50%, but your margin is at 2%, your new interest will be 7.50% (usually round to nearest one-eighth of a percent), a big difference from the 5.75% you were paying before. I have seen margins as large as 4%, so their interest rate would be 9.50% and may even go higher down the road. This is why refinancing before your initial term of your ARM ends is so popular. One scenario when you may not want to refinance is if your credit history went bad after you got your mortgage and now you are in the subprime category and the value of your house went down so you don't have much equity either...keeping the mortgage if you had a small margin may not be so bad. Let's say your margin was 1.5%, you would be paying 7% now, where as if you refinanced you may not be able to get that low because of your current bad credit.

Most ARMs have an interest rate cap that shields you from large increases in monthly payments. A lifetime cap limits the interest rate increase over the life of the loan. A periodic or adjustment cap limits how much your interest rate can rise at one time. So basically let's say the market went crazy and the index went way up, as long as you have a 2% cap, it can never go up more than 2% in a given term. Caps are pretty large though and hopefully you will never be near your cap rate. I'd like to site mortgage-x for helping me define a margin.
As always, if you have any questions or comments you can reach me at 805-540-0866 or RBaker@PeregrineLending.com.

PS - I definitely heard the sonic boom today! Pretty amazing...It sounded like a garbage truck dropping one of those large dumpsters.

Did you hear/feel the sonic boom today? I was working and the windows shook and at first I thought it was an earthquake but the ground wasn't shaking. What is being reported now is that there are military aircraft out of Edwards Air Force Base doing training exercises in the skies above the Central Coast which are the cause of the booms.

What a great time to buy a home!?

Ok, here's a dose of reality. July isn't setting the world on fire with the number of homes going Pending Sale. Inventory isn't going down much in any city and in most it's growing to levels we haven't seen this decade. We have August and September which are traditionally months with active buying/selling (excpet for last year) and then we start going into the slow down season which lasts until January. It's unknown what will happen in 2008 but what I do know is that there are motivated sellers out there right now wanting to sell their home THIS YEAR. We're starting to see some of those motivated sellers. For example, a home came back on the market today in Los Osos. A 2 bedroom that originally came on the market last June (2006) for $425,000. It's now listed at $329,000 with new paint (inside and out).

It's anyones guess if we're going to start seeing some homeowners doing significant price drops as we start getting closer to the traditional slow time of the season. Who knows, this may soon be the bottom of the market that people have been waiting for and 2008 starts to rebound. If that's the case, then buying in the next several months would be the best thing to do.

This doesn't mean that all homes will drop in value. Because of the diversity of our area, there are some homes still in high demand because of location or things like a great view. I would expect to continue to see these homes come on the market and sell at prices set from previous years.

But, those sellers that have 10-20 other comparable homes on the market competing for the one or two Buyers in a particular month will need to do something to get one of those Buyers to want their home. Some sellers are still in denial that the market has changed or don't have strong motivation to sell and they will probably be the ones that are still on the market come next January.

Staples has a great deal on a HP Color Laser Printer but you have to act quick. Until this Saturday, they are offering a $200 rebate on a HP 2600n printer. It usually sells for $399. With the rebate, you end up getting the printer and the toners at over $100 less than it costs if you bought the toners by themselves. In fact, you'd be better off to buy a new printer just for the replacement toners and then sell the printer (minus toners) at a garage sale for $20. They had a similar sale on these printers well over a year ago and I thought they had made a mistake when they did it the first time since the 2600n ships with full toner cartridges (not the "starter" toners you find in most printers). If you want a color laser printer, I'd highly recommend the 2600n with this rebate offer!

Our Atascadero local expert Realtor was right on with their pick of Best of Caravan for last week. It's already off the market. If a Best of Caravan post is showing an "x" where the photo should be, that means that it is no longer on the market.

We're about midway through the month and here's where we stand:

357 new listings
211 pending

new listings/pending ratio = 1.69

price changes: 637

The slowing real estate market has caused one new home builder to leave the Central Coast. According to an article in today's Tribune, Centex homes will be pulling out of our area. They are committed to finishing the Dove Creek subdivision in Atascadero but that will be it. Their business plan was to close 300 homes in fiscal 2006 but only sold 175. The Central Coast is the only area that Centex is leaving.

This is from the article:

Centex’s assessment is similar to what other developers say about the region. It is challenging to find finished lots, and the entitlement and planning process is lengthy.

“The process is three to four times more time and money than in other areas,” Bowley said. “That’s money we are sitting on.”

“We are admittedly a production builder — not a custom builder—and this region doesn’t match with our strategy.”

Read the article here

I updated the residential Just Solds for the past week.

http://www.slocountyhomes.com/just_sold.htm

What is in that Arroyo Grande water??

Not only can the town boast about Zac Efron, but also runner Jordan Hasay who won a silver medal in the 1500m yesterday at the World Youth Championships. Jordan is an Arroyo Grande resident and for those of us that have seen her running the neighborhoods around town for the past several years, we know she is one DEDICATED young lady. Here is what dyestat.com had to say about Jordan's performance:

"Jordan Hasay (Mission College Prep, San Luis Obispo, Ca.) has arrived. The pint-size 15-year old dynamo, running with the best athletes in the world under 18 years of age, finished second with a time of 4:17.24. Sammary Cherotich of Kenya won the race at 4:15.47. Shelia Kiprotich of Kenya was third in 4:19.26.

Like in most of her recent races against top-flight competition, Hasay let others take the lead—in this case Cherotich, who passed 400 at 66.32—before moving to the front and passing 800 at 2:16.08. Cherotich retook the lead on the third lap and passed 1,200 in 3:25.11. Hasay becomes the first U.S. runner—male or female--to win a medal at a distance over 400 meters since the championships began in 1999. Melissa Duncan of Australia was fourth at 4:20.24 and Bertukan Feyisa of Ethiopia was fifth at 4:20.39.

Hasay previewed her newly found race savvy and speed when she won the U.S. Junior championship in 4:16.98. She now owns three of the five fastest high school times in history. "

Best of Caravan- Scenic Coast- (Morro Bay, Los Osos, Cayucos)
(submitted by one of our Scenic Coast Realtors)

With today's sky crystal clear and the water an array of sparking hues of blue, today's Best of Caravan has got to be given to the Classic Oceanfront Beach Cottage in Cayucos. You are truly living on the beach with this home. The sand and white water are just steps away from your deck, yet your home is protected by a seawall built to last. The house is a cozy one bedroom , converted from a two bedroom. From your kitchen, living room and deck, the panoramic ocean views are breath-taking. A perfect beachfront get away!

Click here for photos and details

One of the hottest upcoming Hollywood celebrities and Arroyo Grande native, Zac Efron, has just landed the lead role in the remake of Flashdance. He also stars in the upcoming movie, Hairspray. Wow, Zac's star be shining! See what living on the Central Coast can do!!

Best of Caravan - Atascadero
(submitted by our Atascadero local expert Realtor)

_________

This property is close to the sunken gardens and the historical Rotunda Building in Atascadero, and has my vote for the “Best of Caravan”.

_

This 3 bedroom 1 & ½ bath home is priced to attract a first time buyer or a savvy investor to update and flip. The price per square foot is only $292.52! The neighborhood is quiet and the lot is large. There are mature trees and room for some serene landscaping to enjoy a peaceful respite. Tons of potential here, and with some sweat equity and a good eye for design, will get you a delightful charmer.

There is a nice fireplace in the living room, and the master bedroom is large and private. The garage has extra storage area, and there is a patio area in the back that is ideal for a fire pit or BBQ. There is ample parking for friends and guests.

For more information on this property click here

(Best of Caravan is chosen by one our team of local expert Realtors as the property that stood out on the weekly Broker's caravan of new listings)

Because of the amount of people that read this blog, I thought I'd give this a try...

I know a 17 year old girl (turns 18 in September) that is looking for a job where she can best utilize her strengths and talents. While only 17, she is very mature for her age. She graduated high school at 16 and has already received her college AA degree and is working on her Bachelor's degree in Psychology which she plans to have at 19 and her Masters at 21.

She has a friendly personality which is contagious to the people she is around. She is currently working in retail and is doing well but only getting paid close to minimum wage. The business she is working at right now (a clothing store) offers a discount on purchase if you sign up for the in-store credit card. She holds the store record for the number of credit card sign-ups for a day. She's not high-pressure, she just has a friendly personality that people react favorably to. She also knows sign language and has good computer skills.

If you know of any positions where her talents may be great for, drop me an email (byrd@slocountyhomes.com).

It's getting interesting to see what the real estate magazines and newspapers are doing to try to get Realtors to keep advertising in their publications when the latest statistics say that hardly any buyers are using magazines and newspapers to look for homes anymore.

The latest is an email I received this afternoon from one of the real estate magazines attacking the Tribune for publishing an article in the Business section of today's paper about the savings if you sell your home yourself. This real estate magazine is playing the "loyalty" card and telling Realtors they would NEVER accept a For Sale By Owner (FSBO) ad in their publication and suggesting that FSBO's are counterproductive to the Real Estate Industry and the best interests of home owners. They end their email with:

"The next time you think about allocating your ad dollars, please consider the level of support that the media you select gives to YOU in return. "

This is the same magazine that has already stopped telling Realtors that you should advertise in their magazine to attract buyers. It's now all about promoting your "personal brand" saying that homeowners looking to list their homes use real estate magazines to find a Realtor.

When you list your home with a Realtor, you sign a binding listing agreement for a period of time. If you find that your Realtor isn't marketing your home to where Buyers are looking these days (the Internet!), you don't have many options. You can try to cancel the agreement but then you are subject to paying the Listing Broker/Agent for out-of-pocket expenses. Here's what is says in Section 3 of the Cancellation of Listing form (CAR form COL)
"Principal agrees to pay Broker $___, for out of pocket expenses, costs incurred and services rendered in marketing the Property prior to cancellation of the Listing." This is only if the Broker agrees to cancel the contract which they don't have to.

I wonder if the Realtor that is spending $$$ advertising in real estate magazines to promote their "personal brand" will try to recoup the thousands of dollars they spend on expensive print advertising by saying it was really spent on marketing your home to buyers.

Announcing a new (extended) member of the Keith Byrd Team of local expert Realtors....Kairah Nevaeh Connolly joined the team on Monday at 5:45 pm in SLO. My congratulations to proud parents Clayton (one of our Pismo Beach expert agents) and Jessica!

Ryan's Mortgage Blog:
I was bothered recently when I heard a few of my friends had friends either refinance or purchase a home recently without consulting with me first. I would understand if they don't trust me or think my business is garbage, but I am confident that is not the case. I was upset because if they would have taken a second to tell their friend to contact me, a 5 minute conversation could have saved their friends money and a large headache. I don't get upset if someone doesn't choose to use my company or myself, that is their choice and I respect it but I do get bothered when people do any of the following:

1 - Rush into a Mortgage/Refinance
2 - Use a broker they do not know or trust (sometimes this is the only option and can be fine)
3 - Do not ask for a second opinion if they aren't sure about things

My point is I don't like to hear of people getting burned. I know I sound like a broken record, but please bear with me. If friends of my friends get a great deal and are satisfied, I am happy for them, end of story. If they get a bad deal, pay too much, etc... I get upset and confused. Why didn't they ask me if what they were doing was right? I am not saying I know everything but if I can't answer their question or solve their problem, I will be darned if I couldn't refer them to someone who could. It doesn't even have to be me, I am just saying talk to someone besides the original company. I want my friends and their friends, or anyone for that matter to get a good mortgage with good service. I don't like to hear people getting talked into things they do not want or understand. I guess if they don't care where their money or investment goes than this is a moot point.

I tell my friends (most already know) and I've told you guys...ask me a question and I will answer you honestly and won't sugar coat anything. If you want to know how much your mortgage should cost, or what type of mortgage would be best for your situation, just ask. If you want to know if Company A's product is better than Company's B product, just ask. I don't charge people for my time, I enjoy helping them! I guess you could say I believe in good Karma. I believe in my company 110% and know we have some of the best products and customer service out there, but I also know sometimes there are better deals out there and I wouldn't steer you away from there. These friends of friends I was talking about got themselves into a sticky situation and came to me after the fact and now I can't do anything for them since they signed everything.

The reason I decided to write on this topic (again) was an article I read this morning that was pretty blunt (kind of offensive if you ask me...calling some people "dumb" and "stupid"), but it did make a great point... Check it out here http://www.ryanbakeronline.com/blog071107.html

Please feel free to contact me with any questions or scenarios... RBaker@PeregrineLending.com or 805-540-0866. .

It looks like the new homes at the Woodlands in Nipomo are having a tough time selling. The reason I say this is that Trilogy, the builder, sent out an email today offering a 5% commission for Agents as an incentive to bring a Buyer by August 31st. Remember that on a typical 6% commission, it gets split 50/50 between the listing agent and buyer's agent so it would be 3% to each. The 5% commission is like a homeowner paying a 10% total commission.

If you do plan to look at Trilogy, give me a call and I'll meet you there to register you on your first visit. That's all I need to do to get the 5% commission. You'd make my wife and kids very happy :)

Pending activity for the month so far has been slow but we did have a holiday that came in the middle of the week. We've only had 123 Pending Sales so far (as of a few minutes ago). The New Listing/Pending Sale ratio is 1.85.

There seemed to be a lot of activity last weekend. I know I had multiple people contact me over the weekend and other Realtors I talked to said their office phones were busy too. We'll see if that activity turns into home sales.

I was up in the SF Bay Area this weekend celebrating my 22nd anniversary with my wife. I was surprised to pick up the travel section of the East Bay newspaper on Sunday morning and see a write up on SLO as a destination via Amtrak.

This isn't the best write up I've seen on SLO. They mention that Mee Heng Low is an "active" restaurant. I didn't think it was even open anymore. Also, sounds like there isn't very many places to stay close to downtown and no mention of the trolley up Monterey or the Thursday Farmer's Market.

The writer of the article is from the San Jose Mercury News which is owned by the same company as the East Bay paper. They used to own the Telegram Tribune too but I don't think that's the case anymore. I know that taxpayer money goes into promoting SLO County as a tourist destination but it doesn't sound like too much effort is being spent on promoting the area to Bay Area travel writers.

http://www.contracostatimes.com/travel/ci_6327355

Best of Caravan- Scenic Coast- (Morro Bay, Los Osos, Cayucos)
From our North Coast Local Expert

I will give this week's honor to the single level oceanfront property in Cayucos. The incredible white water views can be enjoyed from the stone patio, as well as from the living areas of the home. This property is one of five units in a gated PUD community on Studio Drive. Simple yet elegant, this 2 bedroom 2 bath property is the perfect vacation home!

Click here for more details and photos

(Best of Caravan is chosen by one our team of local expert Realtors as the property that stood out on the weekly Broker's caravan of new listings)

Here's a chart from First American Title that shows the Solds in San Luis Obispo County from 2004 - May 2007. Click on the chart above for a larger display.

Ryan's Mortgage Blog:
Hope everyone had a great Independence Day! I was living the American Dream on the 4th...I got to attend the County Fair (bet on some horses, eat fair food and watch the youngsters play carnival games and go on rides) and after attended a huge neighborhood bbq followed by a firework show.

Back to reality...

Mortgage rates continue to lower slightly for the third straight week... In turn mortgage applications inched up last week despite a 2.6 percent drop in refinancings, which meant home purchase applications rose.

Before you get all excited Doug Duncan, chief economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association, has to go and rain on our parade. He was recently quoted as saying he expects mortgage rates to top out near 7 percent by the end of the year.
Hopefully he is wrong, but according to the Mortgage Rate Trend Survey that I have cited before, 6.9% of the professionals surveyed think rates will rise significantly and that is the highest number I have seen in a while, usually it is at 0-1%.
I like to live in the here and now. If you are looking to do a refinance to get a better rate, take cash-out, or to get out of an ARM...I would watch closely to see how far rates drop. I wouldn’t expect them to go much lower, but if your loan amount is fairly large (above $400,000), any fraction of a percentage lower would help save you some money. So I would MAYBE hold off until you think the bottom rates have arrived, which may be sooner than later. If your loan amount is fairly small (below $400,000) waiting weeks or months may just be a waste of time and may cost more in the long run (if you continue to pay on a bad loan you are in now). As far as purchasing goes I have a different take. Unless the rates are absolutely horrible (which they are not), I wouldn't let the market dictate when I purchase my home. I think finding the right home in the right neighborhood at the right price is more important than saving a quarter percent off your mortgage payment. So if you want/need to move now, don't let the market stop you. Rates shouldn't go a whole lot lower than they are now in terms of dictating when you should move. There are tons of loans products out there to cater to your needs (i.e. steady job vs. self employed, a lot down vs. no down, etc...).

I would love to help you assess your financial status of refinancing or purchasing your next home. You can contact me at RBaker@PeregrineLending.com or 805-540-0866.

My www.SloWatch.com site got a few mentions in and article in this weeks New Times. Check it out!

While the real estate market has slowed down in 2007, the traffic to my websites continues to grow. I just ran reports from my web logs for my two main real estate websites; SloCountyHomes.com and LocalLinks.com. I've almost recevied the number of unique visitors in the first 6 months of 2007 than I did in 2006.

Here's a summary of the statistics:

Total Unique Visitors
All of 2006: 218,535
1/1/07 - 6/30/07 : 191,295

This blog also continues to gain readers. For 2006, it received a total of 24,293 visits. For the first half of 2007, it has already received 20,030 visits.

Since I've heard some Realtors still using "Hits" to try to make it sound like this is the amount of visitors to thier sites, I'll also include my "hit" total. While hits is a meaningless statistic, it sounds impressive. My total "Hits" for the first half of 2007 is over 9.3 Million.

More detailed statistics for my web sites can be viewed here. It's interesting to see what countries visitors are coming from, what web browser they are using, and even what Operating System is on their computer.

If you're looking for a entertaining movie with a lot of action, I'd recommend Transformers. I saw it last night and I enjoyed it. Check it out!!

In the last month, I'm hearing more and more Realtors saying "the high end market is doing well". I did a calculation to see if this was indeed the case or if Realtors were just repeating something they heard another Realtor say without doing their own homework to see if it was true.

As of today, we have 15.4 months of inventory for homes $1 Million+ compared to 8.1 months of inventory we have County-wide at all price ranges. Based on this, I wouldn't say that the high-end is moving any faster than the rest of the SLO market. The higher months of inventory says it's moving lots slower.

What this means is there are few Buyers for the large number of high-end homes on the market right now. Homeowners really need to have their marketing stand out over the competition to get noticed and get a Buyer interested. With 432 $1 Million+ homes on the market currently, Buyers are probably using the photos of the property as a way to exclude properties from their list of ones they are interested in.

I calculated the Months of Inventory (MOI) and added it to the www.SloWatch.com page under the inventory chart. For SLO County, we currently have 8.1 months of inventory. For SLO County plus Santa Maria & Orcutt, we have 8.6 months of inventory. 6 months of inventory is considered a neutral market. A Buyers market is over 6 months and a Sellers market is less than 6 months of inventory.

I calculated the MOI for individual cities too. The MOI for cities with a lower number of properties on the market can fluctuate quite a bit. It doesn't take many solds to really impact the MOI as you'll see.

Whew...I think I have all the reports updated. In addition to what I blogged about yesterday, I also updated the individual city sold and inventory details, and the median home price chart. Everything is available from the http://www.slowatch.com/ page. If there is something that you find that looks like it should be updated, I'd appreciate if you send me an email or use the form on my contact page.

Central Coast MLS Statistics - Residential -June 2007

New Listings - 812
Back on Market - 251
Price Changes - 1165
Contingent - 59
Pendings - 458
Solds - 451
Expireds - 269
Inactives/Withdrawns - 340

As I've been reporting throughout the month of June, it wasn't a good month for Home Sellers as the number of Pending Sales dropped below 500. The good news is that New Listings also dropped below May's number, so growth in Inventory wasn't as bad as it could have been.

In June, inventory grew in almost all cities on the Central Coast. The exceptions were Grover Beach which reduced from 102 to 92 units and San Luis Obispo which dropped one unit from 192 to 191. Inventory levels really jumped in a few cities. Pismo Beach went from 117 to 130 units. Morro Bay from 90 to 107 and Oceano from 58 to 66.

Read the www.SloWatch.com page to see the updated graphs and current city Inventory chart.