Best of Caravan- North Coast


Today's Best of Caravan is located in Cuesta by the Sea, a desirable area in Los Osos within blocks of the bay. This lovely 3 bedroom 2 bath home overlooks open space with expansive views of the bay. Additionally, the property backs to vacant lots, which given the current building moratorium, may remain vacant for some time. The home is spacious and inviting and has been nicely updated and re-modeled . Great location, views and condition!

See more photos and info here

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

Mother nature gave us a pretty cool light show last night. I took the above photo from my back yard (click to see larger photo). I haven't heard if we're going to get a similar show tonite. If so, I have to remember to turn off my computer as the power did go crazy at one point and don't want to trust my surge protector 100%.

Here's a follow up on the blog post I did about the Los Osos sewer and the $25,000 per home assessment as reported in the Trib. This is from my Los Osos team member...

The Scenic Coast MLS had a meeting a few weeks back in which Bruce Gibson, the county Supervisor and Paavo Ogren- the Project Manger updated us as to what was occurring. According to our meeting, the project would likely be funded by state revolving funds which would be repaid over a 20- year period. The $25,000 per household assessment could, therefore be re-paid on a monthly basis over 20- years which would be approximated at $150/month. The cost to operate and maintain the sewer- once operating,would be approximately $50/month. Therefore- the monthly estimated cost to each homeowner would be approximately $200/month. If we are able to secure better financing and the cost to build a sewer is lower than the estimate, the monthly cost could be as low as $100/month, however- if the cost of the project is more than currently estimated, the overcharge would be passed on by via a higher monthly operating fee- bringing us to the higher range estimate of $275/month.

In the article- the author also stated the each household would be assessed $25,000 PLUS a monthly fee ranging from $100-$275. (Not so- the fee range includes re-payment of the $25,000 assessment). Also she quoted a 30 year bond repayment and as legislation now stands, repayment must be within 20 years.

Ryan's Mortgage Blog:
Scammers are on the rise again. Actually, they probably never really go away, they just find new people to pray on. The new scam is taking advantage of people who are going into foreclosure. I've summarized an article I read on CNNmoney.com by Les Christie.
There are multiple scams taking place where companies claim they will help you get out of foreclosure. Example...For a $1,200 payment, company FAS claimed it would handle everything (regarding foreclosure); including calls to the lender, but an angry customer charges FAS did nothing.
"Then they stopped answering my calls. I would leave a message every day," the customer said. "One day, they told me, 'We're dropping your case' and hung up on me."

A client of Jessica Attie, of South Brooklyn Legal Services, said a scam artist convinced her client to sign over her title while he cleared up the debts. She could rent the home for six months, and then he would sell it back to her. Instead, according to Attie, the scammer resold the house and absconded with more than $400,000. Basically, the scammer promises to save the home by taking title, renting it to the owner and selling it back later. Instead, they strip the equity by charging excessive fees, doing phony renovations and not making the mortgage payments.

Here are some of the tactics that scammers are known to use:
- They learn of mortgage delinquencies through published reports and proceed to bombard the owners with phone calls, flyers and posters.
- Scammers build trust by acting sympathetic and solicitous.
- Scammers assure victims that they'll handle everything. They tell them not to call their lenders nor seek legal advice.
- Scammers have homeowners sign blank papers and fill them in afterward or they sneak the paperwork through without telling victims what they're signing.
- Especially among minorities and sometimes evangelical church congregations, a scammer builds trust based on a common ethnicity or religion.

The article goes on to say you should never trust anyone who has contacted you, unsolicited, offering to help. The problem I have with that statement is I get these same "lists" the scammers have because they are available to the public and in my business these could be potential customers. So when I have free time, sometimes I make calls, unsolicited, to see if people could use my services. I try and help them get back on their feet....No I don't charge an upfront fee, or any fees for the matter...unless they end up getting a loan through us, then they would be charged the standard fees. I am honestly trying to gain their business by offering my services in hopes to gain a customer now or in the future. My point is not everyone calling your home is a scammer, but you do need to be cautious. I hate making these calls because I know myself that I am hesitant to trust a stranger. So I suggest doing your research if they have something good to say. Get their company name...look them up, check them out on the Better Business Bureau.

For those going into foreclosure, the best thing to do is to call your lender and try to work out a plan. If in doubt, get in touch with your state attorney general's office. It can put you in touch with a Housing and Urban Development-approved free credit counseling service that will do you a lot more good than fee-based rescue services.

In unrelated news: Football season is here!!! I have drafted two fantasy football teams, and I have two more to go. Yes, I am addicted! Go 49ers! Maybe waiting on Alex Smith will finally pay off this year.

For any Mortgage or Football related questions feel free to contact me at 805-540-0866 or rbaker@PeregrineLending.com.

I added a residential home Just Sold report for the time period: August 18 - August 29. http://www.slocountyhomes.com/just_sold.htm

With two days left in the month, we're at 368 Pending Sales for the Central Coast. We're going to need a lot of accepted offers in the next 2 days to break 400. For comparison, we had 543 Pending Sales in August 2006 and 736 in August 2005. The lowest # of Pendings in a month so far in 2007 was February when we had 410.

Best of Caravan - Paso Robles

This home has the feel of the wide open spaces.....I just wanted to put my feet up and enjoy! Situated on over 1/2 acre, the back yard is perfect for entertaining, complete with an outdoor kitchen and a large deck that backs up to beautiful oaks of the greenbelt. The master bedroom shares this view plus enjoys the tranquility of a lovely water feature just outside the door. Perfect for family living - a quiet cul-de-sac; well placed kids bedrooms; a happy country kitchen; a cozy fireplace in the spacious living room. This home has a very nice layout but you might never leave the back yard.

Click to see more photos and info

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

Best of Caravan- San Luis Obispo

The outstanding property on this week's caravan is once again in the Ferrini Heights area. As a matter of fact- it is directly across the street from last week's notable property. In addition to the welcoming, view filled neighborhood, the backyard of this home is like stepping into your own private resort. The landscaping is lush, there are views of Bishop's Peak, and there are patios surrounding a large beautiful pool - a pool that is surely large enough to swim laps in. The home has been remodeled with a gourmet kitchen, hardwood floors, and granite countertops and several area of the house overlook the enchanting backyard retreat. A unique setting in a great neighborhood!

See more photos and info here

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

California Real Estate Fast Facts

Calif. median home price - June 07: $594,260(Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. highest median home price by C.A.R. region June 07: Santa Barbara So. Coast $1,375,000 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. lowest median home price by C.A.R. region June 07: High Desert $306,310 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. First-time Buyer Affordability Index - Second Quarter 07: 24 percent (Source: C.A.R.)
Mortgage rates - week ending 8/23:
30-yr. fixed: 6.52%; Fees/points: 0.4%
15-yr. fixed: 6.18%; Fees/points: 0.5%
1-yr. adjustable: 5.60%; Fees/points: 0.6% (Source: Freddie Mac)

The headlines of today's Trib put the cost of the Los Osos Sewer at $25,000+ per home. This is in addition to the $100-$275/month fees. I wonder if seeing a value in the headlines is going to have an effect on Los Osos property values. Read the article here

Another home market article

Home prices: No relief on horizon
The S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index says price declines are worsening, with no sign of slowing down.

"The pullback in the U.S. residential real estate market is showing no signs of slowing down," Robert J. Shiller, Chief Economist at MacroMarkets LLC said in a statement. "The year-over-year decline reported in the 2nd quarter of 2007 for the National Home Price Index is the lowest point in its reported history, which dates back to January 1987."

Read article here

The California Association of Realtors released their median home price comparisons for the state today. They have SLO County median home price dropping 18.7% from June to July which shows that you have to take month-to-month data comparisons with a grain of salt. With the lower number of Sales we're having in a month, it doesn't take too many high-end or low-end sales to make a big change in the numbers. That's why I do quarterly reports for median home price comparisons.

Plenty of data here

So...what do you think about the recent changes with the Telegram Tribune??

By the amount of times that the Trib has addressed Q&A in the paper about it, I'd guess that most people are not happy with the changes. In today's paper they once again defended complaints from readers about the changes, saying that they haven't reduced local or business content.

I think we're seeing the beginning of the end for the Tribune as we used to know it. The recent changes are all about cost cutting . My prediction has been that the local newspaper will focus more on local news, which isn't the direction that the Trib is headed. They seem to be trying to be all sorts of things, even adding more entertainment gossip-type articles. What's interesting is that with all the reductions of news and relayout of the paper, the sports page remains the same, with multiple pages of coverage and statistics of non-California teams. I'm interested to see if the local sports coverage takes a lot of this space once the school year gets going or if the wire stories (the stories someone other than the Trib writes) continue to dominate this section.

It should be interesting to see where the Trib goes next. Since it's owned by a large corporation, I don't know if they have much say on what to try to attact Central Coast readers. With Cal Poly in our backyard with all the journalism majors, it sure seems like there are plenty of resources to cover local news if they wanted to.

The nationwide housing market still is in a decline. See CNN article here.

For the Central Coast, August has been a slow month. As of a minute ago, we have had 679 New Listings and only 349 Pending Sales. Not only is that a real low number of Pending sales, but the new listing/pending ratio is at almost 2 which we haven't seen in any month this year yet. This means we'll see inventory growth once again.

The number of price changes is increasing as expected. If homeowners want to sell their home before we get into the traditional slow time of the year, they are going to have to do something to stand out from the crowd and value is one way to do this. So far we've had 1159 price changes for the month.

I'll be updating the inventory levels and graphs after the end of the month on the www.SloWatch.com page.

Siren Test Tomorrow

The San Luis Obispo County Early Warning System sirens will be tested on Saturday, August 25. The sirens will sound twice - at noon and again about thirty minutes later. East test will last 3 to 5 minutes.

Ryan's Mortgage Blog:
For today's Blog I wanted to briefly go over property taxes and how you they affect you when you buy a home. Taxes can be confusing and I am not a pro by any means but I do know a couple things you need to be aware. When property is sold the taxes adjust to the current value (sale price). Since taxes are only collected twice a year, a majority of the time the property changes hands in the middle of a tax cycle. The sellers are responsible for the months of the cycle they owned the home and the new owners take over from there paying their new tax amount. If you have impounds with your mortgage (lender collects your taxes monthly and pays them for you), you will start paying your new tax payments immediately. Depending on when the taxes are due some lenders require you to pay for the full 6 months in advance at the time of closing, which is a different story. Sometimes they over change you at escrow and you actually pay for months that the prior owners have already paid, so you will get a refund (You can keep this...it is different from the refund I am about to tell you about).
The problem occurs when the county doesn't get wind that the property changed hands until six months down the road (it takes them anywhere from 3 weeks to a year to get caught up). So what happens is for the first six months in your new home your mortgage company pays the county your new rates, but the county has not updated their system, and is only charging you for the old rates the prior owner was paying. So what happens is they send a letter out saying you have over paid your taxes and here is a refund check for the difference (which can be thousands of dollars). Well, three months later the county sends you a letter (supplemental tax bill) saying you owe "x" amount of dollars because we realized your house sold nine months ago and you’re your taxes went up and you owe us for the difference (which they sent you prior in the form of a refund). Now you as the owner need to pay this supplemental tax bill, YOUR MORTGAGE COMPANY DOES NOT PAY SUPPLEMENTAL TAX BILLS. So I recommend when you get this first refund, which is only because the records aren't all caught up, put it in the bank so when you get the supplemental tax bill you have the money to pay for it. I hope this helps!
Please contact me with any questions or comments at RBaker@PeregrineLending.com or 805-540-0866.

I've heard the "the million $$ plus market is doing pretty good" claim again so I thought I'd do a quick check to see if that's the case.

Arroyo Grande has 65 homes $1M+ that are active with 4 Solds in the the last 30 days. This equals over 16 months of inventory.

Nipomo has 28 active listings and 1 Sold = 28 months of inventory.

Pismo Beach has 52 actives with 3 solds = 17 months of inventory.

San Luis Obispo has 35 actives with 6 solds = less than 6 months of inventory.

Cambria has 18 actives with 2 solds = 9 months of inventory.

Paso Robles has 36 actives with 2 solds = 18 months of inventory.

So...the only city where the Million Dollar homes are selling is in San Luis Obispo. Most everywhere else it's bad news for home sellers.

Best of Caravan- San Luis Obispo

The most memorable home on caravan this week was the single level home. The neighborhood is one of the most desirable in San Luis Obispo, with wide streets, established homes and sweeping views of Bishop's Peak and the hillside. This property offers 4 bedrooms, two fireplaces, a family room off of the kitchen and a quarter acre yard with patio- ideal for entertaining. A home with a lot of possibilities in a wonderful San Luis Obispo location.

See more photos and info here

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

Catalina Island photos (click thunbnail for larger photo)

From the Belly Flop contest at the ship's pool:

Here are some other photos from the San Diego Zoo (click thumbnails for larger photo):

I'm starting to go through the photos I took on my cruise. The one above is from the San Diego Zoo. They let out a bunch of macaws from a truck to fly over to the place they were giving a show. I plan to put up an album of more of the photos and will post the link here when I do. You can click the above photo for a larger one too.

Best of Caravan - North Coast

This week's Best of Caravan's honor is shared by two properties, both with panoramic ocean views. The first property is located in Cayucos. It is an Oceanfront property with direct beach access. The amazing views can be seen from your wind protected porch, the upgraded kitchen, and the living and dining areas. There are two bedrooms and one bath downstairs- allowing for single level living. Or if you prefer, there is also a master bedroom upstairs with bath, still more sweeping ocean views and a fireplace. The second property is located in Morro Bay, in the highly desirable Beach Tract Area. . This single level home gives you unblockable ocean views and is only steps from the sand and surf. Two incredible beach homes in two different areas, catering to two different styles! Which one is right for you?

More details on property #1

More details on property #2

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

The Inventory Reports for the individual cities are updated. Go to the www.SloWatch.com page and scroll down about half way until you see City Stats. Choose "Inventory Reports" under each city name to view.

I added the Just Sold report for residential, August 2-17th.

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

I also caught up with all the requests for logins to the reports. There was one request that had a bad email address so it kicked the message back. If you have previously filled out a request for a login and haven't received it, please fill out another one.

There are changes being talked about in the ole' real estate industry that has got some worried. California may adopt a statewide MLS system.

The way it works today is that we have a lot of local MLS Associations throughout the state. Each MLS can make their own rules and regulations and have their own database of listings for their members to use. A Broker can sign up for multiple MLSs but they have to pay separate fees and adhere to the rules for that particular MLS that they are buying or selling a piece of property in. Once a Broker is signed up for a MLS, agents under their license can also sign up to that MLS.

Today, if a Bakersfield Realtor that wasn't a member of the San Luis Obispo MLS Association wanted to sell a SLO property, their California Real Estate License would allow them to do that. But, they wouldn't have access to the SLO MLS system or have a lockbox key to show the property. Also, the Listing Broker wouldn't have to pay them ANY commission if they represented the Buyer as the agreement to offer commissions to the Buyer Agent is only between members of the local MLS Association. (The Listing Broker would need to agree to sharing any of the total commission paid by the Seller.)

On the Central Coast, we have 6 separate MLS Associations with their own rules and regulations. What the Associations have done is agreed to cooperate with each other so we have a common MLS System that we all access. Plus, offers for commission compensation to Buyer Agents is extended to all members of the 6 MLS Associations.

What a statewide MLS system would do is to put all listings in the state in a single MLS system that all agents could access. There would be a single set of rules as well. And, compensation would be extended for all agents.

There is still a lot that needs to happen for a statewide MLS system to take place but it is something that is getting a lot of people in the industry talking right now.

This is my 900th Blog Post!

The Central Coast Residential Market for the first 16 days of August has not picked up much steam. While last August we saw some increased Pendings actvity from the previous month, so far we're not seeing it in this month. The good news is that New Listings have also slowed down too.

Here are the stats through August 16th:

New Listings: 375
Pending Sales: 223
Price Changes: 738

In August 2006, we ended the month with 953 New Listings, 543 Pending Sales, and 1706 Price Changes.

I'm back!

You probably didn't know I was gone but I was on a cruise with my family this week. It was a short 5 day one that went from Los Angeles-San Diego-Catalina Island-Ensenada-Los Angeles. This was our first cruise and it was a BLAST! Even my teenage daughters had a great time.

I'm catching up on emails and will be looking at what has been happening in the market this past week and posting any interesting data.

Ryan's Mortgage Blog:

Another crazy week in the market huh? In the mortgage world as most of you know and some have commented on... jumbo loan ($417k and over) rates are increasing. I want to be as brief as I can be on this topic mainly because things are changing daily and there are just too many angles I could take on this subject. These rate increases are not shocking and should only be a temporary set-back. Like I said last week...loans are still out there waiting for you "good borrowers", the only difference is the guidelines have changed. What this means is the industry is trying to find the right recipe for a successful recovery. Most of us know how the sub-prime mess caused all of this so I don't want to repeat it. Lenders are not lending to risky borrowers or are making them pay for it. There was a lot of finger pointing going on but now the government is stepping in and the Feds will most likely be making some changes very soon. Some of you may not have heard but last week the Fed injected $40 Billion into the U.S. banking system for the sole purpose of purchasing mortgage backed securities in the secondary market.

To be honest I think the media has a lot to do with the current jumbo loan problem. Some of the reports they have made are one sided or misleading, causing a scare. Why does the media do this? Simple, to gain publicity. Granted, most of the stories are pretty accurate, but they made a mountain out of a mole hole. It was only a matter of time before the sub-prime market fell on its face (a different story in itself). The problem here is the media started questioning the entire mortgage market because of the sub-prime fiasco (along with other factors) and this started scaring investors. After reading negative headline after headline, investors and the secondary market have been a roller coaster. Now investors are hesitant as to where they should put their money, especially when it comes to Real Estate and mortgage backed securities. But again...it is not as bad as it sounds! Sure, you may think I am biased because I am in the field, but if I thought it was that bad I would be getting out myself. I have heard from many sources that this will be a very short term problem. Sure the crazy sub-prime loans will never be available again, but that is because they were abused.
Lastly, I never like to admit this.... but because of all the weeding out and changes going on, you may want to wait a couple weeks to refinance because rates may be dropping after the recent increases. Once this change happens....jump all over it! As far as buying a home goes, I never like to say wait on that. If you can qualify for a loan and you found a home you like, go for it. In the long run, you can always refinance your loan if rates drop. Yes, it may cost you a couple thousand dollars extra to refi, but may be very worth it in the long run if you get the house you wanted. Please contact me with any questions or comments at RBaker@PeregrineLending.com or 805-540-0866.

If you're using my MLS Map search, you've probably noticed over the past few days that the photo doesn't display when you put your mouse over a home icon on the map. The vendor is aware of the problem and is working on fixing it. If you click on "more info" in the property box that comes up when you put your mouse over it, it will bring up all the photos available.

Best of Caravan- Atascadero

This single level home is priced to sell! It has 3 bedrooms and 4 baths with a wine room and office. There is also a detached 18x16 detached shop on the property for the "do-it-yourselfers" or hobbiests. The lot is close to an acre with a flat usable area in back of the house. This home has been well maintained and cared for. In a quiet neighborhood, you will enjoy this great buy at only $209. per square foot! With the good use of space and all the extras this property has to offer for a very reasonable price, I picked this home as "Best of Caravan" in Atascadero this week.

See more details and photos here

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

Remember that the next 2 nights is going to be great viewing of the meteor shower because of so little moon light.

Best of Caravan - North Coast

Unfortunately, none of the new listings on caravan stood out this week to be considered "Best of".


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

Below are the top visited real estate websites for June 2007 as reported by Comscore Media Metrix. For comparison, my two main websites (SloCountyHomes.com and LocalLinks.com) received over 46,000 unique visitors in June 2007 per my web logs. I'd say I'm doing pretty good to have 1/10th of the visitors of the nationwide site ranked 34th. If I could duplicate what I've done with the Central Coast in just 10 other areas, I'd be on this list!

(Add three zeros to end of each number below for actual amount)
(note: AOL and MSN searches on their site to Realtor.com making up most of their traffic so the numbers from those sites are double counted)

Total Unique Visitors (000)

Rank
1 Realtor.com 5,293
2 Yahoo! Real Estate 4,001
3 HOMEGAIN.COM 3,483
4 AOL Real Estate 2,887
5 MSN Real Estate 2,515
6 REMAX International, Inc. 2,476
7 ZILLOW.COM 1,787
8 HOMES.COM 1,720
9 HPCInter@ctive 1,680
10 NCI Interactive 1,512
11 Century 21 International 1,377
12 COLDWELLBANKER.COM 1,369
13 ZIPREALTY.COM 1,196
14 Housevalues Sites 1,123
15 HOMESCAPE.COM 1,111
16 MLXCHANGE.COM 1,078
17 LoopNet Sites 970
18 FORECLOSURE.COM 906
19 TRULIA.COM 867
20 FORSALEBYOWNER.COM 842
21 REALESTATE.COM 762
22 HUDFORECLOSED.COM 737
23 PRUDENTIALPROPERTIES.COM* 676
24 CIRCLEPIX.COM 674
25 OBEO.COM 665
26 WEICHERT.COM 660
27 RENTALHOUSES.COM 656
28 RENTORS.ORG 590
29 MYNEWPLACE.COM 576
30 Reply! Inc. 570
31 SUBLET.COM 537
32 MRIS.COM 494
33 RENTCLICKS.COM 477
34 INTERNEST.COM 469
35 MOVINGGURU.COM 465

I took this photo from the Avila Beach pier a few nights ago. The weather outside was what you expect in Avila Beach...perfect. (click photo above for a larger one)

Paso Robles is the latest city to ask residents to conserve water by reducing their consumption by 40 gallons a day. Without the conservation, the city may drop to levels that may make it difficult to fight fires.

It wasn't that long ago that we had a really wet winter but it only took one year of low rainfall to create concerns in multiple Central Coast cities already. I hesitate to think what will happen if we a multi-year drought. Can we really support any more building if we can't even keep safe levels of water reserves to handle a drought??

For the first 7 days of August, things are looking pretty slow thus far:

- Only 86 Pendings
- 146 New Listings
- 286 Price Changes

Can you believe this? Arroyo Grande-native Zac Efron is on the next cover of Rolling Stone magazine! That song by Dr. Hook keeps popping into my head when I see this.

Looks like Rolling Stone is hoping to sell some magazines to a different demographic than their typical subscriber.

Some recent stories from the Trib...

- Grover Beach is trying to figure out where it's going to get the money to fix the city streets. 236 blocks out of 285 are in need of repair and is estimated it will cost $10 million. The recent sales tax increase of 1/2 percent will contribute $240,000 a year to street repair so they need to come up with some other ways to tax property owners to foot the bill.

- When I lived in the Bay Area and vacationed on the Central Coast multiple times a year, my daugthers always wanted to visit Tom Toys in downtown SLO. It was reported today that Tom's will become a discount toy store beginning next month, with savings up to 50%. It will be renamed Tom's Discount Toys.

- A new 69-room oceanfront hotel in downtown Pismo is planned to open in 2009. It will be located in the area where the 13 little rental cottages are today between the SandCastle Inn and the pier parking lot. They will also tear down that building behind it where cars are being parked in currently. It will also have 81 underground parking spaces. The name...Beachwalk Inn. Ground breaking is scheduled for February.

- SLO County population grew 1,500 residents from 2005 to 2006. The 2006 census number is 257,005. The County population has grown 4.2% from 2000 while the state average was 7.6%.

A few weeks ago I blogged about the sales price of a home not being the best tool to use to determine comparable value of other homes. This is because the sales price doesn't reflect how much commission was paid or if there were any other credits given back to the Buyer at close of escrow. My suggestion was that the MLSs add a value to the MLS listing called "Sellers Net" which would be a lot more accurate figure to use for comparable value. It looks like a major MLS in the Bay Area has taken a step backwards by allowing agents to not put in the actual sales price when closed. They can leave in the asking price if the Buyer or Seller asks to. Even though the property price gets recorded at the County office and becomes public knowledge, the theory is that this can take 90 days or longer and some people don't want others to know what they paid for a home (for the first 90 days I guess). The Realtors aren't required to go back in and update the "sales price" after it is available from the County Recorder either. Guess it's going to be harder for Bay Area homeowners to determine what the value of their home really is because not all the info in the MLS will be correct. If counties get better in recording property sales in a more timely manner, the worth of a MLS will be much less than it is today.

Short Sale Basics

If you've wondered what a Short Sale is or find yourself needing to consider one, this article from the California Associaiton of Realtors is a good read.

Ryan's Mortgage Blog:
Another lender bites the dust...For the last couple weeks this has been the ongoing theme. Several lenders recently filed for bankruptcy or suspended new business. This doesn't sound all so new, but there is a catch this time. We all know of the sub-prime melt down that has been going on and the companies that buried themselves a grave, but this time it is different. American Home Mortgage was the most recent big name to file for bankruptcy, but the catch is they were not a sub-prime lender. According to an article on MSNBC, "its 40 biggest creditors include virtually all the major names of Wall Street. At the top of the list are Deutsche Bank AG and JPMorgan Chase & Co... Last week, the company said many of its lenders wanted their money back and it was unable to deliver as much as $800 million in promised loans. It then laid off almost 90 percent of its 7,000 employees."
Ok, now that I have your attention...do not panic! There is a weeding out process going on right now with lenders, but the large lenders (Wells Fargo, B of A, Citi, Countrywide) will survive and remain competitive, especially those with deep pockets. If it gets any worse the Fed, Wall Street, or the government will step in take action. Your current mortgages are fine, even if your lender has gone bankrupt. See the following article for Q's and A's about what happens if your lender goes under : http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/realestate/sfl-0801mortgages,0,597115.story

Like I have stated before, guidelines (down-payment amount, documentation, etc..) are getting tighter and your credit score is more important than ever. We were spoiled with really low rates not too long ago, but the current rates are still historically low. I just refinanced a client last week with a 5 year ARM at 5.75%, which I think is pretty good. Now everyone wouldn't qualify for that rate, but my point is good deals are still out there. Don't let the media scare you.

In unrelated news...Barry Bonds broke arguably the most coveted record in all of sports by hitting his 756th homerun last night. Love him or hate him, steroids or no steroids, it is one heck of an accomplishment. It is just sad that this great feat has to be clouded... and now thanks to Jose Canseco, Alex Rodriguez who is the next great player of his generation who has the best chance to pass Barry Bonds, will be up in question for taking steroids as well.

For any mortgage (or sports) related questions or comments you can contact me at RBaker@PeregrineLending.com or 805-540-0866.

Things aren't too rosy these days over at Move, Inc., a public company that operates the Realtor.com website for the National Association of Realtors. Years ago, some of the executives did some naughty things with the business and have since been banished (and criminally charged). The company has tried to shake that bad image by changing the company name from Homestore to Move Inc. and the new management team has done the ole "we're on the right track" hype for the past year talking about a turnaround and happier days for investors. Unfortuantely for those investors, the company just can't seem to do much right. Their latest quarterly earnings has brought the stock from almost $7 a few months ago to it's current level of around $2.75. They also recently changed the default search on Realtor.com to sort by number of photos (which Realtors need to pay to add). This change has resulted in a worse search experience for home buyers. There are some upcoming changes to Realtor.com which will add even more advertising to the site in efforts to increase revenue for the company. Will it make it a better real estate search portal for Buyers?? I'd bet NOT!

Realtor.com used to be THE online place that home buyers went to but not anymore...

Price Reductions

Following are homes with significant price drops (over 5%) during the last 5 days:

Arroyo Grande $575K to $535K
Arroyo Grande $750K to $715K
Arroyo Grande $1.495M to $1.399M
Arroyo Grande $1.799M to $1.550M
Cambria $889K to $817K
Cambria $1.095M to $995K
Nipomo $524K to $474K
Paso Robles $869K to $799K
Pismo Beach $1.795M to $1.595M
San Luis Obispo $830K to $775K
Santa Maria $340K to $289K
Santa Maria $415K to $350K
Templeton $1.6M to $999K
Templeton $1.290M to $1.050M

It's a tough time for Realtors on the Central Coast. There are 2600 Realtors throughout the Central Coast (plus people that have their real estate license that aren't Realtors). In July, we had 365 total sold residential transactions. So, if you do the calculations and count 2 sides of a transaction for commissions (Buyers Agent & Listing Agent) you have 2 x 365 = 730 commissions.

If you assume that of these 730 commissions, no Realtor received more than one then that would mean that almost 1900 of the 2600 Realtors made no money in July. But the reality is that some Realtors did mulitple transactions, so the number of Realtors that made nothing in July is much higher.

Thought I'd pass this along in case you were thinking about getting your real estate license....

Best of Caravan - North Coast

This week's Best of Caravan is a charming home in Cuesta By the Sea, a desirable neighborhood in Los Osos that is within blocks of the bay. The photos do not seem to capture the appeal of this home. From the front yard garden, you enter a living room that is set apart from the dining room by a wonderful brick fireplace. The kitchen , though small, overlooks the back garden , which is as lovely as the front one.The staircase is wide and leads to a family room with wood floors , a deck and views of the bay. The master bedroom , which is spacious has a brick fireplace that matches the one downstairs. The master bedroom also has its own deck with lovely tree and neighborhood views. In addition to a second bedroom there is an office leading out to the deck shared by the master bedroom. All in all- this home is very adorable, somewhat renovated and priced appropriately for the area.

See more details here

(Best of Caravan is chosen by one of 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 is a CHARMER! Built in 1937 this home has a pitched roof and a brick chimney which was very common in that era. There is a large lot with mature landscaping that creates and wonderful backyard that you can really enjoy. With a covered patio, spa/hot tub area, and a picnic BBQ area, you are ready really entertain or have family fun with lots of room.

With 3 bedrooms and 3 baths and 1620 sq. ft. this house will welcome your family. Lots of potential to bring this colony home up to it’s former glory.
There are wood floors and some delightful quaint touches that will surprise and delight you.

Check out this house and see if you agree with me for the Best of Caravan this week.

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

The mountain bike race down Madonna Mountain is scheduled to start August 18th at noon. I took one of my daughters to it last year and we had a good time. It's free admission and they even give free lunch to the first 1000 that arrive.

I updated the following Just Sold reports just now:

- Residential
- Multi-family
- Lots/Land

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

We had 4,305 visits to this Blog in July, a record!!

Ryan's Mortgage Blog:
Most homeowners know what "impounds" are in relation to their mortgage...no I am not talking about where your cars go if the police take it away. An impound account is set-up during escrow that allows the lender to include your property tax and insurance payments into your mortgage payment. Depending on the loan and the lender sometimes this is required, but many times is just an option. There are pros and cons to having an impound account, but for the sake of time I will not get into them. If you want to know more, feel free to email me.

I wanted to warn those of you who have an impound account to read their statements carefully. It is rare, but lenders can mess up and not disperse your payments properly to the appropriate company (i.e. the government or insurance company). Even if you have an impound account and have been paying the lender for your property taxes, if they do not get the money to the government, you will be held liable in the government's eyes and fined accordingly. In turn you would have the right to ask (or sue) your lender to reimburse you for these fines but it can be a very aggravating process. So make sure to read the statements you receive from your lender to make sure your money is being distributed properly.

Another thing to be aware of is that loans can be sold on the secondary market. Make sure the new company has the correct records for your impound account.

Lastly, I pulled this info straight off of the City of SF's website: If your taxes are paid through an impound account (i.e., included in your mortgage payment), you will receive your annual tax bill and your lender will receive a copy of your annual tax bill. Supplemental tax bills, however, are not sent to your lender, but are mailed directly to you. It is your responsibility to contact your lender to determine who will pay the supplemental tax bill.

In unrelated news...the Oakland Raiders signed Dante Culpepper and I couldn't be happier. The twist is I am a 49er fan and tend to root against the Raiders. As much as I like to root for all Bay Area teams to succeed, I cannot bring myself to root for the raiders. Culpepper has thrown only 8 TDs compared to 15 interceptions over his last two injury plagued seasons. I don't think he is the answer the team is looking for...you Raider fans better hope they sign JaMarcus Russell.real soon.

For any mortgage (or football) related questions or comments you can contact me at RBaker@PeregrineLending.com or 805-540-0866.

If you're into astronomy or like looking at metor showers, the 12th of August should be a good night for you. The Earth is passing between the Moon and the Sun so it's supposed to be a "dark" weekend. Also, a meteor shower is supposed to peak at 10 pm on the 12th.

I updated the individual city inventory levels, the mls statistics chart, and the Months of Inventory table on the www.SloWatch.com site.

Because of the low number of Solds in July, the Months of Inventory for SLO County raised from 8.1 to 10.4 months. If you include Santa Maria and Orcutt in the calculation, the Months of Inventory for all areas increased from 8.6 to 11.4 months. What's interesting is that for the past two months, the market in the city of San Luis Obispo can still be considered a Sellers market with only 3 months of inventory.

The residential inventory levels add a bit more to the story. Atascadero's inventory jumped in July, from 272 to 333 units. Morro Bay continues it's rise in inventory as well. Over the last 2 months, inventory has gone from 90 to 118 units.

Central Coast MLS Statistics - Residential -July 2007
(Last months data is also included - July (June))

New Listings - 808 (812)
Back on Market - 335 (251)
Price Changes - 1303 (1165)
Contingent - 43 (59)
Pendings - 448 (458)
Solds - 365 (451)
Expireds - 1041 (269)
Inactives/Withdrawns - 330 (340)

Acttivty for July was similar to June. Almost the same amount of New Listings and Pending Sales. We did see an increase in the number of price changes. What really changed was the number of expired listings with almost 4 times the amount over June. Are homeowners unwilling to drop their price and opting to take their home off the market?

What was also interesting is the number of Solds for the month. It's a lot lower than what the prior months Pending Sales indicated. The number of Back on Market (BOM) listings also increased. I don't know if there was an increased number of Pending Sales that fell out of escrow or if the BOM amount can be explained by Expired listings coming back on the market.