Tag Archives: Pebble Beach

What’s Selling on the Monterey Peninsula?; April 18, 2011

Monterey, CA

We are three-and-a-half months into the year (2011).  Everyone is sitting on the edge of their seat, anticipating a perspective; some sort of idea as to where we are in this economic roller coaster.  The housing market plays a huge roll in our position.  I try to share information in this blog that helps you get a feel for where you can position yourself on your seat…on the edge or comfortably against the back-rest.

Monterey Peninsula

Today I’m reporting the status of single-family residential real estate sales year-to-date on the Monterey Peninsula (Carmel, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach).  Comparing the same time period in 2010 to 2011 is a nice way see where we were and where we’re going.  As you can see below, inventory is up 26%, number of sales is down 29%, Foreclosures are up 26%, Short Sales are up 47%, average and median sales prices have remained steady, and average days on market (DOM) has increased by 13%.

2010 2011 %Difference
New Listings 322 435 26%
Sold Listings 148 115 -29%
Foreclosed Listings 31 42 26%
Short Sale Listings 31 59 47%
Avg Sales Price  $1,237,553  $1,245,040 1%
Median Sales Price  $797,500  $800,000 0%
Avg DOM 114 131 13%

What’s selling in Pebble Beach, CA; March 23, 2011

Pebble Beach, CA -17 single family residential properties have sold in Pebble Beach since the beginning of the year.  Only 1 of these properties closed in the last week.  These properties in Pebble Beach have sold for 88% of their asking price on average.  The average days on market is 183.

Pebble Beach, California...golf, ocean, forest, beauty

There are currently 102 homes for sale in Pebble Beach.  With an average of 6 homes closing per month in Pebble Beach, the area has over 17 months of inventory.  This is a huge sign that it’s TIME TO BUY IN PEBBLE BEACH!

Some homes are selling for less than what it would cost to build the structure on the property.  This means that the land is receiving very little value, if any, in the price.  A few of Pebble Beach’s strongest attributes are its average lot size of 9,000 sf, gated community providing security, ease of building due to straight-forward planning and development requirements, and the world-renown beauty of the area.

Our team is highly knowledgeable about Pebble Beach and excited to help you find the home that you’re looking for.

Enjoy the pitter-patter of the rain…it’s a beautiful sound.

~ Zach

What’s Selling in Pebble Beach, CA; March 15, 2011

Pebble Beach, CA – 15 single-family residential properties have sold in Pebble Beach since the beginning of the year.  The average sales price was $3,453,200.  The average list price was $3,931,400.  This is an 87% achievement rate.  Achievement rate is the percent of asking price that is achieved upon sale.

The highest priced property sold was $8,408,000, lowest priced was $900,000, median price was $3,000,000, the PPSF (average price per square foot) was $801.43, and the DOM (average days on market) was 208.  With 104 single-family homes currently active in Pebble Beach, and although 1.5 months is too short of a time period to give us a accurate figure, we’re currently looking at an attrition rate of 10.4 months.  This means we have about 10 months of inventory in Pebble Beach.  6 months of inventory is considered a balanced market.  Above 6 months puts us in a “buyer’s market” condition.

Feel free to post any comments or questions.  I look forward to your input.

~ Zach

This Weekend’s Open House Schedule

Saturday, March 12th, 2-4pm:

 

2877 Sloat Road, Pebble Beach ~ $895k, 3bd/2ba

 

Sunday, March 13th, 2-4pm:

 

NE Corner of Torres St. and 5th Ave, Carmel-by-the-Sea; 4bed/3bath; DUPLEX; $1,295,000

 

 

Pebble Beach, CA Real Estate Statistics – January 2010 through October 2010

Pebble Beach, CA – Single Family Residential
Years New Listings Current Inventory Closed Sales Average DOM Average Sales Price Median Sales Price Total Sales Volume
2010-01 20 114 6 135 1,500,750 1,075,000 9,004,500
2010-02 13 113 10 157 1,049,395 991,975 10,493,950
2010-03 9 112 6 120 2,784,416 1,403,250 16,706,500
2010-04 22 121 4 112 953,750 895,000 3,815,000
2010-05 20 123 10 151 3,739,800 1,007,500 37,398,000
2010-06 24 134 10 171 3,409,750 2,575,000 34,097,500
2010-07 11 120 6 49 1,598,333 1,000,000 9,590,000
2010-08 9 117 6 115 1,107,966 1,106,900 6,647,800
2010-09 13 114 6 169 1,029,983 1,057,500 6,179,900
2010-10 15 103 6 223 1,929,450 1,283,000 11,576,700
Summary 156 1171 70 144 $             2,078,712 $           1,066,250 $       145,509,850

6 Principles to Holiday Staging

The key to holiday decorating is to keep the decor high quality and color-coordinated, says June Lizotte with June Lizotte Real Estate in Milwaukie, Ore.

If you plan on staging a home for the holidays, here are some important things to keep in mind.

1. Don’t overdo the holiday cheer.

When Santa’s start to outnumber the rooms in the house, you may want to start being more selective in what you display.

“If it is ‘cute,’ it stays packed,” says Joanne O’Donnell, president and CEO of Chic Home Interiors, who offers holiday staging services. “Cute is not a universal concept and the surest way to avoid trouble is to keep it simple and elegant.”

The same staging principles apply during the holidays: Don’t overwhelm the space with clutter.

“For every holiday decor item put on display, temporarily pack something you keep out all the time. That way you can avoid over-decorating,” says staging and real estate pro Tori Lynn Wallitsch with Alliance Real Estate and Ross Designs LLC in Omaha, Neb.

Instead of a large Christmas tree dominating the living room, you might opt to have a smaller tree display on a table top — particularly if the space is small, suggests Lizotte. Your decor doesn’t have to be super-sized or scattered everywhere: Mix in small centerpieces on dining room tables, bookcases, bathroom sinks or end tables — simple touches such as pine cones or ornaments in a glass bowl. (See 11 Inexpensive, Simple Holiday Decor Ideas).

You also might want to have home owners rethink hanging those Christmas stockings from the fireplace too.

“Whatever the season, when you are selling a home, you want buyers to notice and appreciate the permanent features of the home and if your fireplace is almost impossible to see because your highly personalized stockings are blocking the view, then buyers will not appreciate this focal point for what it is,” Wallitsch says. Instead, ask your sellers to hang the stockings on Christmas eve and remove them Christmas day.

2. Add splashes of holiday colors.

How about some holiday red? Psychology research on color responses has shown that warm colors, such as red, can increase excitement and energy in those viewing it. Pops of seasonal colors — such as red or green — add festive cheer to a home too and can be as simple as just adding a red everyday throw to the sofa or adding poinsettias throughout the home.

It doesn’t have to be bold holiday statements: Add greenery to fireplace mantels or as a base for the dining room table centerpieces, O’Donnell says. Or another holiday favorite: Bows and ribbons can add splashes of color — tie them around candles, wreaths, and basket handles throughout the house for extra pops of color. Don’t underestimate the power of neutral palettes too in your holiday decor, such as silvers and classic whites.

Try repeating colors from room to room and using similar ribbons, ornaments, patterns or decorative items that can add to the consistency of your holiday look, according to holiday decorating tips by WorldofChristmas.net.

But when bringing in holiday colors, be careful not to clash with your home’s current color scheme, O’Donnell says. For example, if turquoise is the room’s dominant color, you might want to hold off on adding bold holiday reds; try silver instead.

3. Stage for the senses.

Get buyers in the mood with some holiday music and the smell of Christmas filling the home. Christmas music — mixed with holiday scents — has been shown to boost people’s attitudes in retail stores and increase their likelihood of wanting to visit them, according to research conducted in 2005 by Eric R. Spangenberg, Blanca Grohmann and David E. Sprott Journal of Business Research (Vol. 58, Issue 11).

Cunningham usually gives a holiday CD to her clients to use for showings — it features mostly instrumental and soft holiday music.

For scents, O’Donnell recommends adding a pot of mulling spices or cider. The Smell of Christmas by Aromatique (candles, potpourri or oil) is a favorite of Cunningham’s or candles that smell like pine or fresh-baked cookies can create holiday season scents too, adds Valerie Torelli with Torelli Realty in Costa Mesa, Ca.

But if you’re going to include a holiday scent just don’t forget the music. The 2005 study showed that the presence of Christmas scent (Enchanted Christmas by Greenleaf in this case) with non-christmas music lowered buyers’ perceptions of the store and its merchandise. But when the Enchanted Christmas scent filled the air with Amy Grant’s “Home for Christmas” music playing in the background, participants had a favorable response and were more eager to buy.

4. Keep the tree simple, yet elegant.

The Christmas tree will likely be your biggest decor piece so it needs to make a statement. Use a string of 100 lights for every foot of tree, suggests Cunningham. In other words, if you have a 7-foot tree, use at least 700 lights (she prefers the white twinkling ones).

Other tips:

  • If your tree is larger than six feet, consider removing a piece or two of furniture so the space doesn’t feel crowded, Wallitsch says.
  • Use ornaments all in one basic color palette with “show piece” ornaments mixed in that add extra style, O’Donnell says. As a general rule of thumb, use about 20 filler ornaments (such as one or two tone bulb ornaments) for every two feet of Christmas tree and then mix in those special “show piece” ornaments between the filler ornaments, using about 10 for every two feet of tree, according to interior design writer Coral Nafie who wrote about holiday decorating tips at About.com.
  • Hang ornaments on the tips of branches as well as inside the tree to add depth, and mix in various size of ornaments.
  • Make sure ornaments that are overly personal — such as those marking milestones like “Our First Christmas” or “Baby’s First Christmas” — are not in prominent locations on the tree or keep them packed up for next year, Wallitsch suggests.

5. Give a holiday impression from the curb.

You needn’t be able to view your outdoor holiday lights from space, Clark Griswold, to show your holiday spirit. Twinkling clear, white lights (preferably non-blinking) tend to be the favorite among staging and real estate professionals for classy holiday curb appeal that adds a glow to your listings at night.

“The winter months are usually less than attractive outdoors and some well-placed and tasteful holiday lights or yard ornaments can go a long way to adding a festive and welcoming touch,” Wallitsch says. “Just remember that many potential buyers may either cruise by your home for sale during the day or schedule a showing during the day when outdoor lights are more likely to be an unsightly bunch of wires (such as icicle lights) rather than a cheerful display of color or white lights. Do your best to make your home show its best during the day and night.”

Here some holiday curb appeal tips:

  • Add poinsettias: Plant several poinsettias in groups of three or five close together in the garden. “They really set off the first impression,” says Torelli.
  • Hang a wreath on the front door (and make sure it’s clean!), suggests Cunningham.
  • Have battery-operated candle lamps in each of the windows for extra glow and to show off all of those windows at night.
  • Make the deck sparkle. For example, a weather-proof, tip-proof tree with lights or a simple strings of lights along the deck’s railing can go a long way in adding charm to your showings after dark, says Judy Jensen, Edina Realty in Eagan, Minn.

Then, consider adding the holidays to your marketing: Take a photo of the home at night as it twinkles from the holiday lights and create a special holiday flyer with information about the house.

“This is a great marketing tool we often use in the months of November and December to help sell the home,” adds Torelli with Torelli Realty in Costa Mesa, Calif.

6. Remove decor after the holidays.

Jolenta Averill, broker-owner of Lake & City Homes in Madison, Wis., once showed a home in the middle of summer that still had a huge Santa Claus on its front porch and a Christmas tree lit in the living room.

But Christmas in July isn’t for everyone, so in general, wait to decorate for the holidays until after Thanksgiving and be sure your home owners remove all holiday decor promptly by New Year’s.

As Wallitsch tells her clients: “If you are feeling a little cheated this holiday season by not putting all of your beloved holiday treasures around your house, focus on the reason that you placed your home on the market and keep your eyes on that goal. Next year when you are comfortably settled into your new home, you can go all out with the holiday cheer.”

Related articles: ZGoldman Real Estate.com

Do you have to repay your home buyer credit?

If you claimed a federal income tax credit for a 2008 home purchase, you’ll probably have to pay it back over 15 years, starting with your 2010 Form 1040 (due next April).  In contrast, if you claimed a credit for a 2009 or 2010 purchase, you probably won’t have to pay it back.
Related Articles: ZGoldman Real Estate.com

The Jumbo Mortgage Comeback

Smaller and regional lenders are issuing more new jumbo loans and doing more refinancings, which could help bolster home sales in some areas.
KEEP THIS IN MIND
• Jumbo mortgages are mortgages deemed “too big” to be sold by lenders to government-supported agencies such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
• The loan limit of a jumbo mortgage varies depending on location. In high-cost areas, including many areas in California, jumbo loans are generally considered those that exceed $729,750. In other areas, the jumbo loan limit usually is capped at $417,000.
• Some borrowers applying for jumbo mortgages are finding the processing time at larger lenders can be as long as four months, while some smaller institutions can process a jumbo mortgage as quickly as 30 to 60 days.
• Additionally, borrowers seeking jumbo mortgages for condos or vacation properties also may be better served using a local lender or contacting a mortgage specialist, as many large lenders have reduced their lending activity.
• With jumbo mortgages, borrowers still need excellent credit profiles and must provide complete documentation and verification of income. Down payments of 20 percent to 40 percent also tend to be required for a jumbo mortgage.
Read the full story:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704506404575592741466524972.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_sections_personalfinance

Visit http://www.zgoldmanrealestate.com for more real estate information and details about the market in Big Sur, Carmel, Carmel Valley, Monterey, Marina, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach,  and Seaside.

Monterey Peninsula City Statistics

Market Statistics (ytd)

 

  Median Sales Price Average Sales Price
Carmel $1,095,000 $1,288,705
Carmel Valley $718,500 $1,030,802
Marina $333,000 $342,063
Monterey $590,000 $627,999
Pacific Grove $632,500 $717,658
Pebble Beach $1,006,500 $2,183,284
Sal/Mty Hwy $605,000 $790,124
Seaside $280,000 $316,620

 

For more information visit www.ZGoldmanRealEstate.com