New Homes on Bayonet Golf Course; May 6, 2011

I hope you had a wonderful Cinco De Mayo.  The weather has been truly impeccable on the Monterey Peninsula over the past 5 days.  It looks like the fog has finally arrived, but that’s no reason not to come see my new listing at 2 Fairway Drive in Seaside, CA.  This beautiful new high-performance home is located in a gated community, on the 9th fairway of Bayonet Golf Course.

Golf Course Property - 9th Fairway at Bayonet

Be among the first to tour the home this weekend, May 7th, anytime between 10am and 2pm.

Seaside, CA Real Estate – There are currently 40 single-family residential homes listed for sale in Seaside.  The average list price is $328,916.  84 homes in Seaside have sold since the beginning of the year.  That’s an average of 21 per month.  This means that there is only 2 months of inventory in Seaside.  That is extremely low and shows us how the low-end market is moving quickly.  I believe that there are a number of bank-owned homes that are being held back, and expect to see them released over the Summer when more serious buyers are out and about.  The average sales price of home in Seaside since the beginning of the year is $299,549 and they were on the market for an average of 81 days before selling.

Have a wonderful Friday and I look forward to seeing you at 2 Fairway Drive, the new home on the 9th fairway of Bayonet Golf Course, on Saturday.

~ Zach

Fast Facts

Calif. median home price: September 2010: $309,900 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. highest median home price by C.A.R. region September 2010: Santa Barbara So. Coast $879,750 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. lowest median home price by C.A.R. region September 2010: High Desert $124,960 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. First-time Buyer Affordability Index – Third quarter 2010: 64 percent (Source: C.A.R.)
Mortgage rates: Week ending 11/04/2010 30-yr. fixed: 4.17 Fees/points: 0.8% 15-yr. fixed: 3.57% Fees/points: 0.8% 1-yr. adjustable: 3.26% Fees/points: 0.7% (Source: Freddie Mac)

www.ZGoldmanRealEstate.com

First-time buyer housing affordability improves slightly in Q3

Housing affordability among first-time home buyers improved slightly in the third quarter of 2010, both on a quarter-to-quarter and year-to-year basis, according to C.A.R.’s First-time Buyer Housing Affordability Index (FTB-HAI).  The percentage of first-time buyers who could afford to purchase an entry-level home in California stood at 66 percent in the third quarter of 2010.  In the second quarter of 2010, the Index was a revised 65 percent and was 64 percent in the third quarter of 2009.

“With interest rates at historic lows, which have led to lower monthly mortgage payments, affordability continues to remain at near record-high levels in California,” said C.A.R. President Beth L. Peerce.  “Another high point for first-time buyers is the current ratio between the California median price and the California median household income.  During the third quarter, the ratio stood at 5 to 1 and was at a level we haven’t seen in the last 10 years.  This is opening many doors for potential first-time buyers.”

First-time buyers, who tend to purchase homes equal to 85 percent of the prevailing median price, needed to earn a minimum annual income of $42,300 to qualify for an entry-level home of $266,620 during the third quarter of 2010.  The monthly payment, including taxes and insurance, was $1,410, assuming a 10 percent down payment and an adjustable effective interest rate of 3.66.

More info.

http://www.ZGoldmanRealEstate.com

Foreclosure activity rises 65 Percent in Q3

Foreclosure activity increased 65 percent nationwide year-over-year, according to RealtyTrac’s Q3 2010 Metropolitan Foreclosure Market Report.  The report showed that cities in California, Florida, Nevada, and Arizona once again accounted for all top 10 foreclosure rates in the third quarter among metropolitan areas with a population of 200,000 or more, while cities outside those four states accounted for many of the biggest increases in metro foreclosure activity.  California, Florida, Nevada, and Arizona cities also accounted for 19 of the top 20 metro foreclosure rates.

With one in every 36 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing during the third quarter, Modesto, Calif., posted the nation’s third highest metro foreclosure rate, despite a nearly 18 percent decrease in foreclosure activity from the third quarter of 2009. Other California metro areas in the top 10 were Stockton at No. 4; Merced at No. 5; Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario at No. 6; Bakersfield at No. 9; and Vallejo-Fairfield at No. 10, according to the report.

A total of 48,849 properties in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana area received a foreclosure filing in the third quarter, the second highest metro total, despite a nearly 3 percent decrease from the previous quarter and a nearly 30 percent decrease from the third quarter of 2009.

More info.

ZGoldmanRealEstate.com

The Art of Listening-are you an Artist?

If we could master the Art of Listening the World at least our own, would be totally transformed.  Clients would get what they want it, divorces would almost be eliminated, relationships would prosper, there is no end in site to the number of benefits.

Are You up to the Challenge?

There are three levels of listening:

Level 1 Listening: you are physically present to the conversation, however in your own mind you are preoccupied with yourself; about things you need to do, what you want to say next, how you want to control and dominate the conversation, judging the person you are listening to…etc, the consequence is that you are getting less then 10% of what the other person is saying to you-this way of listening can be very harmful when you are in Sales!

Level 2 Listening: you are able to stop all the stuff you are doing at Level-1 plus able to get over to the person (notice that in Leve1 you are with you-in Level 2 you are with them away from you) speaking, what I mean is that you can even lean over and put yourself in their situation, like what would it be like for them right now. You will get more then 50% of what is being communicated-this way of listening is very good when you are in Sales!

Level 3 Listening: you are able to satisfy Level 1 & Level 2 way of listening, plus listen from a place of nothing. What I mean is a place of no judgments no expectations-you know nothing. Now, from this place anything is possible.  Also, something magical happens at this level and you can only get to it from here; you will be able to hear what they are not saying and get more then 90% of what is being communicated-this can be very valuable when you are in Sales!

A good way to start testing how good of a listener you are is to sit down with someone close to you and have them tell you how great they are for 1 minute-all you do is listen (make sure you have a timer on).  After the minute is over, you need to repeat back to them what they said word to word. Have them tell you how well you did on a scale 1-10.

Zach Goldman, Realtor
(831) 392-6993

Bratty & Bluhm Real Estate

see more at:

www.ZGoldmanRealEstate.com

Seaside, CA Real Estate Statistics – January 2010 through October 2010

Seaside, CA – Single Family Residential
Years	New Listings	Current Inventory	Closed Sales	Average DOM	Average Sales Price	Median Sales Price	Total Sales Volume
2010-01	31	72	14	20	365,392	310,000	5,115,500
2010-02	14	78	7	71	270,414	236,000	1,892,900
2010-03	42	99	15	48	297,901	270,000	4,468,523
2010-04	35	104	23	71	377,403	345,000	8,680,288
2010-05	37	105	20	57	344,113	289,200	6,882,265
2010-06	26	106	17	52	294,147	255,000	5,000,500
2010-07	36	111	20	89	294,490	272,500	5,889,800
2010-08	22	109	25	59	287,154	283,250	7,178,850
2010-09	22	114	15	62	273,326	280,000	4,099,900
2010-10	25	102	21	112	349,044	317,500	7,329,935
Summary	290	1000	177	66	$                319,426	$              281,625	$         56,538,461