Want to sell faster? Try paying real estate agent more

This was the headline in an article published in the San Francisco Chronicle on Sunday. The author said that he raised his commission to the Buyers Agent which he thinks resulted in his home selling faster. You can read the article here

This one gets my blood boiling. To me, a real estate agent that will "push" a home because it has a higher commission than another home that also fits what the client is looking for is a crook for violating trust. These type of agents deserve the Realtor-bashing that some give to the entire industry. I wish I could say that this doesn't happen but I've met agents who focus on the commission offered when they look at new listings. I've heard stories about some agents that have called Listing Agents and said "how dare you put a home on the MLS at such a low commission rate". Unfortunately, these agents are still out there selling in our area and the people they have sold homes to aren't even aware that their needs were not the #1 priority for the agents they trusted in finding them a home. Some of these type of agents are even rewarded with "Top Producer" awards which is more of a sales award than a service or integrity award.

So, how can you avoid these type of agents??

Well, you're already doing the most important thing if you're reading this blog which is doing your own research and becoming educated. With the multiple MLS Searches I have on my website, you are able to see homes on the market yourself rather than having an agent pick ones they think interest you. Some Buyers still don't go on the Internet to search for homes before they contact an agent so they are at risk of having one of these bad agents filtering what homes to show them based on the commissions offered.

The second thing you can do is ask your agent for the Buyer Agent commissions on the homes that you are interested in. If your agent tries to make an excuse why they can't provide you with this info, I'd RUN away from this agent and go get one that will. Why wouldn't you want to know what commission the Seller is offering? A good price negotiator will want to know this.

Being the statistics guy I am, I ran some reports to see if the facts supported the article. I looked at the Solds in October for Single Family Homes (stick-built) in SLO County to see how long it took to sell for different commissions offered. I first did it for all price ranges but then I thought that breaking it down into price categories may be a better comparison. Following is what I found...

For homes selling under $500,000-
2% commission to Buyers Agent - 31 properties - 106 Days on Market (DOM) average
2.5% commission - 28 properties - 111 DOM
3% commission - 18 properties - 142 DOM

For homes selling between $501,000 - $750,000
2% commission - 22 properties - 125 DOM
2.5% commission - 19 properities - 135 DOM
3% commission - 16 properites - 128 DOM

For homes selling over $750,000
2% commission - 33 properties - 178 DOM
2.5% commission - 24 properties - 145 DOM
3% commission - 6 properties - 92 DOM

So the stats say that the amount of commission doesn't have any impact on how quick a home is sold for homes priced below $750,000. For under $500,000 homes, the higher commission ones even took longer to sell!

I don't know if the the differences in the over $750,000 market are due to the price of the commissions or other possibilities. This price range has the biggest percentage of price drops so maybe Sellers offering 2% are doing less price drops to price their home to today's market??

If I was a Seller listing a home in today's market, I'd offer the Buyers Agent what I thought was a fair commission. If I had a home in good condition and with pest (and home inspection) reports already done, chances are the Buyers Agent will have an easy time. If I had some issues with my property and knew that there were going to be some hurdles to overcome that the Buyers Agent would need to assist with, that's when I'd think about offering a higher commission. It should be more about fee for service anyways!!

Ryan's Mortgage Blog:
As expected the Feds lowered short-term interest rates today, which is the second time in as many months. They did suggest this may be the last cut in rates, at least for a while, they will play the wait and see game. Many believe this was their last cut to help the economy through this rough housing market. I am interested to see what this does to mortgage rates since many lenders had been lowering them the last couple of weeks so I don't think- this rate cut will cause them to go drastically lower, but lets hope J. Great time for a refi!

I took a blurb out of an article from the NY Times today so you can see what else this rate cut affected: "Treasury prices fell, reflecting some concerns that lower interest rates could stoke inflation. Oil prices surged nearly 4 percent and gold futures were up about 1 percent. The dollar modestly weakened against other major currencies. Yet just a few hours before the Fed announced its decision, the Commerce Department reported that the nation’s gross domestic product expanded at a healthy pace of 3.9 percent in the quarter that ended Sept. 30.Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of America’s economic activity, climbed 3 percent. Job creation has slowed in recent months, but employers are still hiring more than firing and wages are rising faster than inflation. The unemployment, at 4.7 percent, is low and has barely budged."

Many commercial banks announced today that they are cutting their prime lending rate for certain credit cards and HELOCs. Also, after the news of the Feds cut, the Dow jumped 100 points.

Off Topic, as most of you know I am a huge football fan. Colts vs. Patriots are this weekend, which are the two best teams in the NFL, both undefeated. This game may be better than the Superbowl. My prediction is the Colts hold on for three quarters but get blown out in the 4th and lose by 10.

PS - Congrats to Keith on getting in the Sunday Paper...great article!

I can be reached at RBaker@PeregrineLending.com or 805-540-0866

Best of Carvan - San Luis Obispo

Attention Business Owners, Investors and Professionals! Own your own office in downtown SLO! San Luis Obispo's Best of Caravan for this week is a property zoned office /professional, located in a prime location, on a corner lot, in downtown SLO. This remodeled 1922 structure offers hardwood floors, a greeting area , two offices/rooms , a kitchen and a half bath plus a 3-car parking lot. Charm, location and parking- all for $570,000.

We don't have a link to this property but would be happy to send you more information. Just send us an email and ask about MLS #136385.
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(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. If the photo is missing or the link doesn't work, this mean the property is no longer on the market.)

A blog reader sent me a link for a new site that intends to (according to their website) do the folllowing:

"We are the first real estate search engine of its kind that helps you find bad neighbors before you move so you don't regret the purchase of your new house, home, condo or apartment."

The site is http://www.rottenneighbor.com/

I've looked at this site and would sum it up as a good idea but a poor implementation. A lot of the posts I looked at were slanderous and racist. While the terms and conditions prohibit these type of postings, they also state they aren't responsible for anything on their site, nor do they monitor the posts. The biggest problem with this site is that when you post, it's 100% anonymous. This isn't they type of anonymous where you need to register and then the posts don't have your name, you don't even need to register on this site to post. You can walk up to one of the Internet-connected PCs that they have all over campus at Cal Poly and post whatever you want to say about a person and there's no way to be held accountable. If you post from your home PC, there may be a way to track back to that PC if they keep the IP address of the post which they don't say they do.

Also on the website, it says this:
"Real estate agents will never tell you about bad neighbors."

The problem with this statement is that it's the Sellers that know the neighborhood and need to disclose this type of information. The real estate agent must also disclose material facts too but it's silly to think that an agent knows what's going on in a neighborhood unless they live there too. Now, if a real estate agent is told something by the Seller, the real estate agent might need to disclose it.

It gets fuzzy because of what someone would consider a "bad" neighborhood too. Since people have property rights, they can do whatever they want to on their property unless they violate a law. One neighbor might not like someone with a woodcraft hobby because they were sawing wood in their garage at 8 pm at night while someone else might not like their neighbor being in a bookclub that meets weekly which causes cars parked in front of their home. Are either of these needed to be disclosed to a potential Buyer as a neighborhood issue??

It all comes down to due dilegence. The Buyer needs to do the research. Be that walking the neighborhood at night, talking to neighbors, or even creating their own questions to submit to the Seller. There is nothing to stop a Buyer from asking the Seller "Are there any dogs on the street that you hear barking more than a minute a day?".

The rottonneighbor site also believes that more Buyers are looking to the Internet for guidance. That is true. So I agree that having information to help make a good decision is critical. To me, it would be nice to have the ability to search a local Police department's log to see what calls were made to homes in a neighborhood. This would show if there were any barking dog complaints, suspected drug-dealing homes, neighbor disputes that got ugly, etc.

I don't see a future for the RottenNeighborhood.com site unless they change the way people generate the posts. The site intends to make money by getting Realtors to advertise on their site. Since the site says they aren't responsible for the posts, and the people posting are anonymous, maybe the advertisers will be the ones getting sued for slander.

Here are some more examples of significant price reductions on recently sold properties:

- A home in the Cypress Ridge Golf Course community originally listed for $1,399,000 sold for $950,000.

- A REO home in Paso Robles listed for $499,000 and sold for $340,000.

I ran a report tonite to look at the percentage of homes currently on the market that are Vacant. For single family homes (stick-built) on the market, 38% are vacant in SLO County. I'm going to run this report periodically to see how this number changes compared to inventory. The national average is 13.1%.

Best of Caravan - North Coast

This week's Best of Caravan has to be the remodeled 1952 home in Los Osos. This precious 2 bedroom, 1 bath cottage has hardwood floors, a private patio, a manicured yard and updated kitchen and baths. The house has designer touches throughout, from the choice of colors to the choice of lighting fixtures. On a dark and rainy day like today, the fireplace added the perfect touch of warmth to this charming and cozy setting. This small home is immaculate and move in ready. Click for more info and photos

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(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. If the photo is missing or the link doesn't work, this mean the property is no longer on the market.)

This is a neat website if you want a quick data about a city (zip code) taken from the 2000 Census data. http://www.zipskinny.com/

Did you read the article in the Trib today about the local housing market? You may recognize someone quoted in it. :)

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/business/story/178024.html

The reporter used my www.SloWatch.com site to get the inventory info.

Check you clocks!

I have a couple alarm clocks that have the feature of automatically setting the time when you plug them in. When I woke up today, they were one hour ahead. Guess whatever mechanism they use to update still thinks that daylight savings time was to happen today and not November 4th.

I'm starting to see some pretty motivated Sellers. Of the 6 residential properties in SLO County that closed escrow today, 4 of them had significant price drops from the List Price:

- An Arroyo Grande home that originally listed at $1,750,000 sold for $1,260,000.

- Another Arroyo Grande home on the market for 104 days was listed at $799,000 and sold for $650,000.

- An Atascadero home on the market for just 79 days was listed at $729,000 and sold for $580,000.

- Even mobile homes are feeling the price pressure. A Cambria home listed at $257,000 sold for $138,000.

I read that Ellen Degeneres has a new segment on her show where she takes real photos of Realtors and makes fun of them. Here's the page where you can send in a photo of a Realtor. I wonder if I should send in my favorite area real estate agent...Bucky Buthman?? http://www.pismohometours.com/

I really need to do some additions to Bucky's site since I haven't changed it for awhile. Someone emailed me some photos for the site that I haven't got around to putting on. Maybe I'll get to it soon...

Ryan's Mortgage Blog:

I am hoping to get some feedback from readers today on a new program. Our company was asked to help promote a new product which is supposed to be the answer to a Reverse Mortgage. I will present it to you like it was presented to me and please let me know what you think about it. This new program gives approved candidates 15% of the current value of their home in debt free cash, in return for half of the future equity in the property. There are no closing costs, just a small application fee. Approved candidates must be over the age of 65 and meet certain heath guidelines. Primary, secondary, commercial or investment properties are all ok. The property can still go to your heirs. Here is an example: 70 year old Mary owns a home valued at $1 million. With this program she will be given $150,000 cash (no interest) all at once. 10 years later she decides to sell her home and it is now valued at $1.5 million dollars. Mary will be able to sell her home and keep $1.25 million, but she will have to give $250,000 back to the mortgage company. The $250,000 is half of the equity built up during that 10 years after she made the deal with the mortgage company. The numbers are very optimistic in this scenario, but it makes it easy to see where the money goes. If Mary happens to pass away, her heirs would still get the property but would have to give 50% of the equity built up after her deal. What do you guys think of this? Basically the lender is banking on home values going up over the next 10-15 years and will give you money up front in return for the future profits of the house. This way you still keep the equity you have built up prior to this date. Another scenario would be to take this 15% and invest it else where if you know a thing or two about investing. This may make you more money in the long run versus the appreciation on your house.

Feel free to ask any specific questions, but I was just hoping to see if you thought this was something that could be a better alternative to a reverse mortgage. RBaker@PeregrineLending.com or 805-540-0866.

Best of Caravan - San Luis Obispo

The most outstanding home on the San Luis Obispo broker caravan this week was a beautifully remodeled 1949 home. The wood floor throughout the house are made of African walnut, a dark and rich wood that makes a stunning impression. The floor plan is open and the rooms are light and bright with natural light. The windows are we remember them from that period. The views of the city and hills are appealing and expansive. The large lot is fenced and landscaped. Truly a unique & charming home! Click for 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. If the photo is missing or the link doesn't work, this mean the property is no longer on the market.)

Here's some interesting Horse facts:

# of horses in the world = 58 Million+

Countries with the largest horse population:

USA - 9.2 Million
China - 7.4 Million
Mexico - 6.3 Million
Brazil - 5.7 Million
Argentina - 3.6 Million

From horseproperties.net

I updated the Single Family Home Inventory Reports for individual cities on the http://www.slowatch.com/ page. Scroll down to "City Stats" and then choose "Inventory Report" under a city name.

I also added the updated Sold Graphs from First American Title at the bottom of the page. In addition to a SLO County chart, now there are charts for different areas in the county.

With one week to go in the month, here is where the Central Coast market stats are at for October (through 10/23):

New Listings - 490
Pending - 288
Price changes - 984

Best of Caravan

North County

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Paso's Caravan centered in Templeton this week. So the Best of Caravan award goes to a nice little bank owned property that needs to be dusted off and pulled up to it's potential. It's situated on a bit of a hill on a quiet cul-du-sac off of Las Tablas. The home is bright and airy and just perfect for a deserving family at the asking price of $429,000. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 baths, fireplace, tile flooring and even a little bit of a view. Because of the way the home sits on the lot, the yard feels much more private than most of it's neighbors. With a little love, this home is a winner!

Click here for more info

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(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. If the photo is missing or the link doesn't work, this mean the property is no longer on the market.)

The Tribune reported today that the bar/grill that opened in the old Tortilla Flats location is up for sale. The current business purchased Tortilla Flats in 2006, spent around $300,000 in upgrades, and opened as Doc's Karaoke Bar & Grill. The asking price is $480,000.

I remember the days when Tortilla Flats had a long line of college students waiting to get in on Friday and Saturday nights. Let's hope the new owners have better success at this location.

I haven't blogged about the "C-word" for awhile...Commission...so I thought it was time.

Some home owners/buyers still don't understand how real estate commissions work. Some still think that a listing agent gets paid 5-6% while forgetting that the agent representing the Buyer gets some of that (usually half but that isn't always the case).

Here's something else that you may or may not know about.

Let's say there are are 2 homes each priced at $500,000. The Listing agreement says that the Listing Brokerage will get 6% total commission and split it 50/50 with the Brokerage that brings the Buyer. So that means 3% for the Listing Brokerage.

So how much will each Listing Agent receive when they sell the home?

The answer is that it varies. Here are two possible amounts:

- Real estate agent A gets a a check for $14,700
- Real estate agent B gets a check for $6,600

Why does real estate agent B get half as much as the other agent?

It's because a large piece of the pie goes to the Brokerage. Real estate agent B gets a cut of the gross commission depending on their arrangement with the owner of the Brokerage. If the real estate agent works for a franchise (a name brand), there is also a franchise fee that is deducted from the commission too.

In the above example, real estate agent A is a Broker that has their own independent brokerage and works out of their home. Real estate agent B works at franchise of a name-brand nationwide brokerage. Real estate agent B gets a 50% cut of the net commission (after the franchise fee is deducted).

The calculation is as follows:

Real estate agent A
$15,000 gross commission
$ 300 Errors and Ommission insurance
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$14,700

Real estate agent B
$15,000 gross commission
$ 1,200 8% franchise and advertising fee
$ 6,900 Broker's cut
$ 300 Errors and Ommission insurance
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$6,600

So, when you list your home and the agent tells you how much commission they charge...it's not always an apples-to-apples comparison to other agent's proposals. In the above example, the independent Broker won''t provide you with a recognizeable brand name for your yard sign, people in their office to back them up, and other things the other agent can offer but they will be making over twice as much as the other agent.

If you want to do an apples-to-apples comparison, ask the agent how much they will make and where the rest goes. Don't be suprised if some agent's seem shocked when you ask as this isn't something that is normally discussed. Also, don't assume that if an agent gets a 50% cut in an office that everyone in the office is the same. The cut an agent makes varies just like salaries do in a company.

According to Bankrate.com, 30-year fixed mortage rates took a significant drop on Friday.

I've been learning how to create transparent videos to appear on web pages. This uses green screen video photography and a bunch of other things. I finished my first one tonite using my daughter and her boyfriend as my first victims. Check it out...it's on my home page http://www.slocountyhomes.com/. I still have lots to learn!!

Here are some photos I took of the tall ship coming into Morro Bay on Friday. Click the thumbnails for full screen displays.

About a month ago, I ran a report on what percentage of the last Asking price homes were being sold for in different cities. This time, I looked at price ranges.

For the homes Sold in October thus far (all around Central Coast), here's what I found:

under $500K - 96.31% of last list price
$500K - $750K - 95.93%
$750K-$1M - 96.10 %
over $1M - 86.19%

There are some new upcoming laws related to real estate. Here are some of them (from the California Association of REALTORS).

Notice of Agenda for HOA Meeting: Under existing provisions of the Common Interest Development Open Meeting Act, a homeowner's association (HOA) must not only allow members to attend HOA meetings as specified, but also provide members with at least 4 days notice of the time and place of a meeting. Effective January 1, 2008, such notice must contain the agenda for the upcoming meeting. At the meeting, the board of directors cannot discuss or take action on any item not on the agenda. Exceptions apply as specified for brief statements, exigent circumstances, and continuances from last month's meeting. This law does not prohibit a resident, who is not a member of the board, from speaking at a meeting about issues not on the agenda. (Source: Senate Bill 528.)


Escrow Cancellation and Postponement Fees: Beginning January 1, 2008, an escrow company licensed by the California Department of Corporations (DOC) may charge a fee for cancellation or postponement resulting from the acts or omissions of the parties to an escrow transaction. The fee must be in not less than 8-point bold type on the front page of the escrow instructions signed by the principals. A postponement fee can only be charged for a postponement of at least two months after the most recent closing date in the agreed-upon written instructions. This legislative bill also requires an escrow company licensed by the DOC, and any of its directors, stockholders, trustees, officers, agents, or employees, to comply with the federal Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA). (Source: Assembly Bill 804.)

Real Estate Appraisers: Starting October 5, 2007, a licensed appraiser's compensation cannot be dependent upon, or affected by, the value conclusion generated by an appraisal for a real property purchase, sale, transfer, financing, or development. Also starting October 5, 2007, anyone with an interest in a real estate transaction is prohibited from improperly influencing, or attempting to improperly influence, through coercion, extortion, or bribery, the appraisal process for a mortgage loan. An interested party may, however, ask the appraiser to do any of the following:
- Consider additional, appropriate property information;
- Provide substantiation or explanation for the appraiser's value conclusion; or
- Correct errors in the appraisal report.(Source: Senate Bill 223.)

Mortgage Lenders and Brokers Regulated: Commencing January 1, 2008, anyone who makes eight or more loans to the public in a calendar year using that person's own funds must be licensed as a real estate broker. (Source: Senate Bill 385.)

Anti-Discrimination of Tenants' Immigration Status: Beginning January 1, 2008, a landlord or landlord's agent cannot inquire into the immigration or citizenship status of an existing or prospective tenant or occupant. A landlord may, however, request information or documentation necessary to determine or verify the financial qualifications of a prospective tenant, or to identify a prospective tenant or occupant. This law also prohibits any city or county from requiring a landlord or landlord's agent of residential rental property to inquire into, or take any action based upon, the immigration or citizenship status of an existing or prospective tenant or occupant. (Source: Assembly Bill 976.)

Manufactured Homes and Mobilehomes Distinguished: This new law provides a bright-line distinction between "manufactured homes" and "mobilehomes" to clarify the confusion surrounding these two terms. Starting January 1, 2008, both a manufactured home and mobilehome are generally defined as transportable structures of certain specifications, with or without foundations, but a manufactured home is constructed on or after June 15, 1976, whereas a mobilehome is constructed before June 15, 1976. (Source: Senate Bill 538.)

It's that time of year again when the tall ship makes it's way to Morro Bay. Tomorrow at 3 pm is when the Lynx. a 122-foot top sail schooner, is sailing into Morro Bay. It will be on display all weekend. Adverture rides are from 1 pm - 4 pm. You can also ride it from Morro Bay to Long Beach on 10/24 - 10/26 for $380. More info here

Here's a report on new home sales and median prices in Califormia. It compares August 2007 vs. August 2006 and also July 2007. No data for the Central Coast was included though.

Ryan's Mortgage Blog:
The word on the street is the Feds are going to cut rates once again. One reason being is that the largest banks (B of A, WAMU, and Citibank) are reporting poor earnings. Another reason is the Labor Department reported that the number of Americans filing first-time claims for unemployment benefits increased more than forecasted.

On a different note, I thought I would share with you all of the financial calculators my company offers on its website. We have calculators such as Debt Consolidation, Tax Savings, Rent vs. Own, and several more. You can check them out and use them for free at http://www.peregrinelending.com/wholesale/fraWelcome.asp?CompanyID=31156&AccessCode=guest&page=main&LoanID=

Off topic, Congratulations to the Cal Poly Men's soccer team for defeating rival, and defending National Champs Santa Barbara, in front of 7,000 fans here in San Luis Obispo. 7,000 fans is an amazing number to me considering last time I went to watch them play was in the old stadium 2 or 3 years ago and I would say there were only 500-750 people watching.

You can reach me at 805-540-0866 or RBaker@PeregrineLending.com

Best of Caravan - Paso Robles

This weeks Best of Paso Caravan goes to two distinctively different properties. The first is an affordable little beauty in one of the nicer ‘vintage’ neighborhoods that is pure Paso. The darling home is 1368 sq ft with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths. Gleaming wood floors, a pristine yard, a well done kitchen and some artistic touches such as a mosaic tiled quarter-round shower make this house a standout. See more info and photos here

The co-winner is a spectacular as is a 4024 sq ft estate-style home on 5 acres. This home has virtually everything! Mahogany doors, heated travertine tile in the master bath; a courtyard with an inground pool and wood fireplace/pizza oven; commercial grade appliances; a 2400 sq ft shop/barn. The best feature of this extravagant home is the insulated concrete form construction that keeps utilities bills at a standstill. If that’s not enough, there are views out every window! More info 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. If the photo is missing or the link doesn't work, this mean the property is no longer on the market.)

HOUSING STARTS FALL 10.2 PERCENT

Nationwide, the pace of home construction fell 10.2 percent in September to 1.191 million units, compared with 1.327 million in August, according to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development. Applications for building permits in September, a leading indicator of future activity, dipped 7.3 percent to 1.226 million units, compared with 1,322 million in August.

I added a couple Sold reports for REO/Short Sales since June 1st. The reports include the Original, Last, and Selling price.

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

Mid-month Residential MLS Statistics (through 10/16)

New listings - 351
Pending - 208
Price changes - 742

# of Homes over $1 Million going Pending - 14
(3 in Arroyo Grande, 3 in Nipomo, 2 in San Luis Obispo, and 1 in Avila Beach, Cambria, Pismo Beach, San Simeon, Santa Maria, and Templeton)

There is an article in today's Trib about Southern California September home sales sinking to the lowest level in 20 years. Expect to see a similar article about the SLO market soon. But, if you follow my statistics page (http://www.SloWatch.com), you've known this since September 1st, when I posted the Pending data for August.

That's what I like about tracking Pending Sales. Unless there's a major change and lenders fund in 10-15 days and Buyers skip the inspection period, it will still take 30-45 days to close once a property goes Pending. While some properties do fall out of escrow before they close, tracking Pendings does give a more immediate temperature reading on how the market is doing rather than waiting the 30-45 day cycle to see a Pending show up as a Sold statistic.

If you looked at the data I posted on October 1st, you'll already know what the article will say that's published a month from now.

I took a quick trip to the Bay Area to visit my folks and just got back. I drove the new Prius to test out the gas mileage.

As the display shows, I averaged around 48 MPG for the trip. I was going to try to do the round trip with one tank of gas (which is 11.9 gallons in the Prius) but I chickened out and bought gas in King City. I'm not yet comfortable enough with the gas gauge to take the risk. It turns out I had another 150-175 miles left so I could of made it all the way to Santa Barbara!

I updated the Just Sold reports tonite for residential, multi-family, and lots/land.

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

New REO & Short Sale Listing Reports Available

I've created a new report of all the REO/Foreclosure & Short Sale residential properties currently on the MLS. I originally created these on a page on my website but I was not able to include the addresses on this report due to MLS rules. After looking at the report, I felt it was just too hard to find a property that you may be interested in without the address.

So, I decided to move the report to the section of my website that is for my identified clients so I could include the addresses. The same login will now give you access to the Just Sold reports and the REO/Short Sale report.

If you want to sign up for the REO/Short Sale reports go here.

If you already have a login for the Just Sold reports, then you can go directly to the REO report.

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

This week's Caravan was very small with only 5 homes to preview and two of these were re-caravans, (homes that have previously been on caravan and have not yet sold). Why it was so small this week- I am not certain. Although the market is very slow now, the number of new listings remains in line with the recent past.

The Best of Caravan goes to the 1950's cottage in Los Osos, located within 1 block of the bay. This corner lot property is zoned office/professional which will allow for a lot of future use possibilities. The home is a 3 bedrooms, 2 bath , has wood flooring throughout and includes an approximately 9000 sq ft lot , fenced and landscaped yard, patio and a two car garage. Click to see more photos and information on this property.

(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. If the photo is missing or the link doesn't work, this mean the property is no longer on the market.)

Welcome to my 1,000th Blog Post!

I started my real estate blog back in 2003 when few new what Blog meant. I manually entered my original blog posts in html on my website since there wasn't blogging software available yet (or at least I didn't find any). I actually have blogged over 1,000 posts but I didn't archive my original posts so not sure how many over 1,000 I have posted.

I want to thank those of you who have sent me notes over the years. Knowing that you're getting something out of my blog just motivates me to share more information. Blogging was a natural add-on to my website as my goal for my website all along has been to provide the information I would want if I was buying or selling a home on the Central Coast.

If you are new to my blog, I have plenty of archives for you to read!

I hope you find my next 1,000 posts informative and educational....

Be careful on the highway. We seem to have an increased number of cars on the road right now. Maybe the closure of Highway 5 in Southern California is causing more people to use 101.

On Friday, the Board of Directors of the California Association of Realtors approved a motion clearing the way for a statewide MLS. Currently, there are numerous local MLSs throughout the state. For a Realtor to gain access to a particular MLS, their Broker needs to first be a member of that local MLS and then the Realtor needs to join. Both the Broker and Realtor are charged quarterly fees to access that MLS.

Each MLS has it's own set of rules too. Here on the Central Coast, we have 6 MLS Associations (North Coast, SLO, Paso, Atascadero, Pismo Coast, and Santa Maria). The 6 MLSs have agreed to use a common MLS system but they all have their own set of rules. Worse yet, one MLS may interpret a rule differently than another MLS, even though the rule is written the same (I've experienced this first hand). Also, if a Realtor that belongs to one MLS (say the SLO MLS) lists a home in Atascadero, they need to follow that local MLS's rules. Unfortunately, some of the local MLSs don't make it easy for others to find their current rules. This only adds fuel to the fire for those who say the current MLSs need to change (or go away).

Here is one of the reasons why a statewide MLS is being pursued (from the MLS Working Group Statement of Principles):

California REALTORS® should have universal access to all MLS data.
C.A.R. members are licensed by the state Department of Real Estate and as such are able to sell property throughout California. Consumers have access to statewide and even nationwide listings through a variety of data aggregation sites on the Internet. In order for REALTORS® to provide their clients with the information they want, California REALTORS® should have access to all listing data in the state. Shared databases and reciprocal agreements should be strongly encouraged.

YouTube is awesome. You can find some great videos on it.

If you're a Led Zeppelin fan, this is one video you need to watch. I would have loved to be in that audience!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ssI83i_ApI

Ryan's Mortgage Blog:

As always, there is a lot of watching and waiting going on in terms of rates. The Feds suggested another possible rate decrease may be coming soon, but as we saw last time it caused long term rates to go in the wrong direction. Rates this week eased up a bit on both Jumbo loans and long term rates. There are three economic reports coming out Friday that may cause a shift it rates as well.

One significant problem we are facing is the value of our dollar. It has fallen on its face and needs to get back up. The dollar has depreciated to an all time low compared to its peers over the last week. Foreign investors are shying away from treasuries and mortgage backed securities. Until this changes, it will be difficult for mortgage rates to go much lower.

Off topic....what a time for sports!! Football is in full swing both at the college and NFL levels and has been very unpredictable, making for great games. The final four in the MLB have been decided and the World Series is fast approaching. I am pulling for the Diamondbacks and the Indians, even though the Rockies have had the best streak I have ever seen. Preseason basketball is here and the Celtics are looking tough with their Yankee style off season transactions. The MLS soccer playoffs are forthcoming and the LA Galaxy still have a shot...but it’s a long one. My friend Gavin Glinton has had a couple game winning goals for the team over the last month, so I just wanted to say how proud of him we are!! Keep it up!

Ok, enough sports for now...if you have any mortgage related questions, feel free to contact me at RBaker@PeregrineLending.com or 805-540-0866

CAR Fast Facts

Calif. median home price - August 07: $588.970(Source: C.A.R.)

Calif. highest median home price by C.A.R. region August 07: Santa Barbara So. Coast $1,262,500(Source: C.A.R.)

Calif. lowest median home price by C.A.R. region August 07: High Desert $287.39(Source: C.A.R.)

Calif. First-time Buyer Affordability Index - Second Quarter 07: 24 percent (Source: C.A.R.)

Mortgage rates - week ending 10/04: 30-yr. fixed: 6.37%; Fees/points: 0.5% 15-yr. fixed: 6.03%; Fees/points: 0.5% 1-yr. adjustable: 5.58%; Fees/points: 0.7% (Source: Freddie Mac)

Another annoucement from CAR...

C.A.R.'S 2008 CALIFORNIA HOUSING MARKET FORECAST

Home prices throughout most of California will post modest declines next year while sales of existing homes will stabilize from the precipitous decrease experienced in 2007, according to C.A.R.'s "2008 California Housing Market Forecast" released today.

The forecast was presented this afternoon during the CALIFORNIA REALTOR® EXPO 2007, running from Oct. 9-11 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, Calif. The trade show attracts nearly 12,000 attendees and is the largest state real estate trade show in the nation.

The median home price in California will decline 4 percent to $553,000 in 2008 compared with a projected median of $576,000 this year, while sales for 2008 are projected to decrease 9 percent to 334,500 units, compared with 367,500 units (projected) in 2007.

"Tighter credit standards, affordability concerns, and a continued standoff between buyers and sellers will contribute to continued weakness in the market going into next year," said C.A.R. President Colleen Badagliacco. "Now is not the time for homeowners to test the waters, only serious sellers should put their homes on the market in what will continue to be a challenging sales environment."

The California Associaiton of Realtors (CAR) is having its annual conference and expo this week in Anaheim. I'm not going to this one but instead will be attending the National Association of Realtor (NAR) Expo in Las Vegas next month. CAR released a press release today from the show with this headline-

Nearly half of REALTORS®’ business originates from Internet, “2007 Use of Technology Survey” reveals

Sorry...don't believe it.

I've been doing this Internet thing for awhile. I also give seminars to real estate agents outside the Central Coast on how to use the Internet for their real estate business (see http://www.askbucky.com/). I don't believe Realtors are answering the survey questions honestly.

First, a lot of Realtors don't have websites yet and some will never have one because technology is just too much of a challenge for them.

Second, the vast majority of Realtors that have websites use what's called template websites. These websites have the same content on them which a Realtor can use anywhere in the United States. A Realtor can choose the color, layout, and add content on a couple pages but that's about it.

Third, a successful real estate website has to first be found, and then have content on it that keeps people coming back. To be found, you have to come up in the search engines. The reality is that template websites don't rank well in search engines because the content is not unique. Also, there are only 10 sites on the first page of a Search Engine Results Page (SERP) and most of the sites that come up for real estate searches are not local Realtor sites but national sites. Not enough spaces on the first page of Google for the 500+ Realtors selling in Pismo Beach.

Realtors want to believe that they can get a website for $50/month, never update it, and it will be successful. Lots have been trying this for years and have not received a single piece of business through their website. The only way that accurate data can be obtained from Realtors about how the Internet is doing for them is to get their website statistics. The truth is out there, but not in this latest CAR survey.

I read an article a few days ago that said the Central Coast had the highest gas prices in the state. The reason given was because of the cost to deliver here and little competition. Huh?? I don't know where the gas comes from but you would figure that being right on Highway 101 would make it kinda easy to get to us.

This is weird...as I'm typing the above I'm watching the 11:00 KSBY news (on my Tivo). They just reported that gas prices are the lowest in awhile with the average per gallon for unleaded regular in California is $3.01. But, no mention of our gas prices around here. So much for "local" news reporting.

Speaking of weird, KSBY also reported on Weird Al's performance at the Pac center tonite. They interviewed him at the KCPR studio (Cal Poly radio) where he did a show from when going to Poly in the late 70's/early 80's. He said that he was forced off the air at KCPR for not "playing by the rules" and that it created a lot of controversy because his show was popular. I was working at the radio station at the time he was doing his "Weird Al" show. From what I remember, the decision to remove him from the air was due to studio equipment being broken during his shows since he invited so many people in the (small) studio. There wasn't a big budget for the radio station and replacing a broken microphone was a big deal back in those days. I don't remember any controversy at the time his show was removed though. Nothing seemed to upset Poly students back in those days.

Best of Caravan- North Coast- Cayucos, Morro Bay and Los Osos

Nearly everything on the Central Coast looks beautiful on a clear autumn day like today. There were many lovely contenders to choose from. After some deliberation, the honorable mention of this week's Best of Caravan will be shared by two properties.

The first one is located in Morro Bay and offers a great location, a nice home and investment rental possibilities. The lot is zoned R-2! This property is located in Morro Heights, a desirable area of Morro Bay, within walking distance of the Bay, the Embarcadero and on an extended walk, the ocean. In addition to the single level, 3 bedroom 2 bath home, there is a separate 1 bedroom/ 1 bath (rented) apartment located above the garage. Additionally, there is a detached studio located in the spacious and landscaped backyard. More info here

The second property is located in Los Osos and backs to state owned open space. This 3 bedroom 2 bath home offers a 9000 sq ft lot, and bay and rock views from the living areas of the home. This ones needs a bit of attention to the roof and flooring, and offers tremendous possibilities for the right buyer. Click here for more info on this home

(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. If the photo is missing or the link doesn't work, this mean the property is no longer on the market.)

For the first 8 days of October, here's where the Central Coast housing market is performing:

182 New Listings
84 Pending Sales
366 Price Changes

Best of Caravan - 5 Cities

For those who love Mesa living, this is a great home for you! This 3 bedroom 2 bath ranch style home has been tastefully updated and offers an open floor plan, new windows, floors, fixtures, as well as Travertine tile and newer stainless appliances. Close to golf course, restaurnats, markets and just 4 to Pismo State Beach and the Oceano Dunes. It is move in ready and waiting for you!

Click here for more photos and information

(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. If the photo is missing or the link doesn't work, this mean the property is no longer on the market.)

Here's a graph of a rates for a 30 year loan over the past few months.

I updated the third quarter sold reports for individual cities. These can be viewed by going to http://www.slowatch.com/ and choosing "Sold Report" under "City Stats".

I also updated the Median Home Price page with the Third Quarter numbers. I put the median home prices on the SloWatch page instead of a seperate page.

I took my oldest daughter, who just turned 18, to the Go Go's concert at the Chumash Casino on Thursday night. I must say that the Chumash is a great place to see a band. I was very impressed by both the Go Go's and the venue.

I also saw an advertisement in the entertainment section of the Trib today that the B-52's were going to be at Chumash on November 15th. This was the first I had heard they were coming there. I picked up my B-52 tickets while I was there!

BTW, driving time to Chumash from San Luis Obispo is 70 minutes. Took my new Prius and got around 45 Miles Per Gallon!

Million Dollar-plus Market Update

In September, we had 20 properties above $1 Million go Pending scattered throughout the County. Pismo Beach had 4 of them, Templeton had 3, Nipomo 2, Arroyo Grande 2, and Cambria 2.

There's 444 Active properties on the market over 1 Million. I also calcuated the Months of Inventory for the $1 Million plus category and it's sitting at almost 32 months.

Ryan's Mortgage Blog:
The talk of the week on many sites is the proposed tax break for those facing foreclosure. Currently, if you own a home and it goes into foreclosure, you have to pay tax on the forgiven debt (which is considered income aka phantom income). For example, you owe the bank $500,000 on your loan, but your house is now worth only 400,000. The bank agrees to take the $400,000, and the governme