Once again Belmont home sales were strong. Now that we are comparing a bull year in 2013 to 2012, another bull year, the increases seem a bit watered down since in both years thus far home sales have been strong.
SALES At 22 home sales in Belmont this March, we tied last year’s impressive increase of 29% over 2011 with 22 sales once again. DAYS ON MARKET The time it took to sell a home in Belmont went from 38 days last March to only 29 this year—just one more affirmation of the incredibly hot market.
PERCENT RECEIVED Sellers enjoyed another boost in the percent of their asking price they received. In March of 2011 sellers received 99.5% of asking which jumped to 101.6% in 2012 before being eclipsed by this year’s impressive 108.3%. Sellers that are worried about what they pay their agent should think less about negotiating a ½ % discount in commission and more about hiring the best agent with the best results. My parents called that “Penny wise and pound foolish”.
PRICE REDUCTIONS Two sellers had to lower their initial asking price to entice a buyer as compared to last year when three sellers lowered their asking price. Once again, compared to 2011 when almost 1/3rd of seller reduced their asking price, this is another high water mark. MEDIAN PRICE The median home price in Belmont last March was $899,000 and for the second month in a row it has eclipsed the $1 million dollar mark coming in at $1,044,000 for March—though the median size home also went up from 1,763 square feet in 2012 to 1,830 in 2013. So while the size of homes selling this year are 3.8% larger, they are selling for 16% more—suggesting an overall increase of around 12% year over year. Sounds about right for what we are seeing.
MONTHS OF INVENTORY This statistic is used represent the “Month’s of Inventory” in a given period. Essentially the time it would take to sell the entire existing inventory of homes at the current rate of monthly sales. In Belmont, that number has been dwindling each month until it reached .6 (less 18 days of inventory). That number alone might not have much meaning unless you understand that the housing inventory as whole in the US stands at 18 months—not 18 days. Is it because there are more sales, or a declining inventory due to fewer new listings—or both?
With buyers and agents complaining about the lack of inventory, and with the lack of inventory playing a large role in the multiple offers we’re seeing, we decided we’d add a new graph to our statistics page that tracks the number of new listings and sales each month in select cities. The information contained in this article is educational and intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute real estate, tax or legal advice, nor does it substitute for advice specific to your situation. Always consult an appropriate professional familiar with your scenario. Drew & Christine Morgan did not necessarily participate in these sales. DRE License Numbers 01124318 & 01174047 Drew & Christine Morgan, REALTORS | Notary Public
That could easily have been a headline ripped from the pages in major newspapers back in August of 1994 when rates were only 6%--yet by year's end the prediction nearly came true as a mere four months later they would rise to almost 10%!
Are you old enough to remember what normal mortgage interest rates were like?
According to Bankrate.com, mortgage interest rates have been attractive for such a long stretch of time that many homebuyers and homeowners might not realize that rates haven't always been this low. Mortgage interest rates in the 4-percent range were unheard of until 2010, and rates in the 5-percent range were unknown prior to 2003, according to Bankrate.com surveys through the years and a chart of monthly average mortgage interest rates tracked by the Federal Reserve since 1971.
Prior to 2003, higher mortgage interest rates were the norm. In the early 1970s, rates hovered in the 7-percent range and spiked up above 9 percent in late 1975, late 1976 and most of 1978. At the end of the decade and throughout the 1980s, mortgage interest rates rarely dipped lower than 10 percent.
In the early 1980s, mortgage interest rates brushed the stratospheric highs of 18 percent and even 19 percent. Imagine trying to get a home loan with an interest rate of 18 percent. At that rate, the mortgage interest deduction would be a very lucrative income tax perk, but the monthly payment on a loan would be far more painful than a typicalmortgage payment today.
During the 1990s, mortgage interest rates ranged from around 7 percent to roughly 9 percent for many years. It was only in 2000 that rates began to fall to earth. They held at less than 9 percent in 2000, less than 8 percent in 2001 and less than 7 percent in 2003.
Reproduced with the permission of Mortgage-X.com
If you've been putting off refinancing your home or buying a new one, don't get lulled into inaction with the thought that these new low rates are here to stay.
The information contained in this article is educational and intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute real estate, tax or legal advice, nor does it substitute for advice specific to your situation. Always consult an appropriate professional familiar with your scenario.
Drew & Christine Morgan did not necessarily participate in these sales.
DRE License Numbers 01124318 & 01174047
Drew & Christine Morgan, REALTORS | Notary Public
More can afford a home, but lenders remain tight-fisted
Nearly half of all California households can now afford the median-priced home in the state –
but that’s no help if they can’t get mortgages.
Making sense of the story
Six years after the subprime mortgage meltdown, banks remain tight-fisted, even with
solid borrowers – a fact they attribute to shifts in government regulation and demands
that they buy back bad loans.
Mortgage credit has not eased much since 2007, according to Federal Reserve surveys
of loan officers, even while low rates and the housing recovery have borrowers lined up
seeking financing.
First-time buyers and self-employed borrowers must jump through especially complex
hoops. Even gold-plated applicants must justify the smallest quirks in their finances in
excruciating detail. And, processing applications can take months.
Lenders say their cautions stems in part from uncertainty over a tougher new regulatory
environment, along with unrelenting demands from government-sponsored mortgage
buyers that the banks repurchase soured loans.
Salaried professionals with credit scores in the high 700s have the best shot at being
approved for a mortgage loan in this environment, along with borrowers who have never
missed a payment and want to refinance.
However, even these borrowers may face stiff documentation demands, including having
to explain any bank deposit other than a regular paycheck.
The information contained in this article is educational and intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute real estate, tax or legal advice, nor does it substitute for advice specific to your situation. Always consult an appropriate professional familiar with your scenario.
DRE License Numbers 01124318 & 01174047
Drew & Christine Morgan, REALTORS | Notary Public
Is it Wise to Save More For Your Down Payment?
Are you a first-time buyer wondering how you’ll ever have enough of a down payment to buy your first home?
Do you wonder how much down payment you need for a home? Did you know that if you’re buying a home and using FHA financing your down payment could be as little as 3.5?. Ten percent down loans are also making a comeback and are quite common once again.
But should you wait and save more for your down payment so you can be 20% down? In our current market, that might not be such a great idea.
Home values have been increasing rapidly in the last year. An area in Belmont known as Sterling Downs offers many first time buyers affordable living options. But the values there have been rising with the rest of the tide.
This graph illustrates the price trend in the last year in Sterling Downs, Belmont. We used homes which closed escrow since January of last year that were three bedrooms and between 900 and 1,100 square feet so that the sale prices weren’t affected by the size of homes selling.
Clearly it would be near impossible to keep up with the increase in the selling prices simply by saving more money each month from your paycheck. We estimate that in 2012 to date the average Sterling Downs home increased $75,000 or just over $5,000 per month.
If you have been waiting to buy a home and need some advice on some of the varying financing options which are available, feel free to contact us and we’ll refer you to one of the great mortgage brokers who can answer all of your questions.
The information
contained in this article is educational and intended for informational
purposes only. It does not constitute real estate, tax or legal advice, nor
does it substitute for advice specific to your situation. Always consult an
appropriate professional familiar with your scenario.
DRE License Numbers 01124318 & 01174047
Drew & Christine Morgan, REALTORS | Notary Public
All data was retrieved from MLS Listings, Inc. The Multiple Listing Service for San Mateo County.
What’s up with this crazy market? The stock market hit an all time high this week and our local housing prices are right in step. Pundits say that our housing market tracks the S&P 500 and if they’re right, we’re in for a heck of a ride.
Belmont housing prices continued to show gains into February as Belmont had both month-to-month and year-over-year increases in the median price—so let’s start there.
This graph shows the median price trend for the past year in Belmont.
[click on the image for a larger graph]
MEDIAN PRICE
The median home price in Belmont increased 42% last month over a year ago. Belmont’s February home price reached $1,108,000. To put that in perspective that is the second highest median home price for Belmont since we began tracking the market in 1998. The only other time it was this high was in October of 2007—right before the housing crash hit the Peninsula.
If you’ve been following our market update you know we never leave the raw numbers alone. Since Belmont has a relatively small number of homes selling each month when a disproportionate number of smaller or larger homes sell in a given month it impacts the median home price and skews it off axis.
In order to adjust for this we look at the size of homes selling in the two periods. Insofar as we know we are the only local experts drilling down to this level of detailed analysis.
Homes which sold in February 2103 in Belmont were 20% larger than they were in 2012 during the same period, so while the median increase in price was 42%, could this mean the adjusted median home price gain was actually closer to 22%?
Looking at it another way, the difference in the size of homes selling in the two periods was 1,970 square feet in 2013 and 1640 square feet in 2012—a difference of 330 square feet (20% increase this year). Now let’s multiple that by the median price per square foot the homes sold for in 2012 and we get $181,500. If we add that to the median price in 2012 our adjusted median home price for last year would be $961,500—meaning that using this method for adjusting the median home price we get a 15% increase year over year; and the reality probably lies somewhere in between. Any way you slice it, 15-20% increase year-over-year is an amazing rebound and this increase will hopefully create more “equity sellers” and more seller’s with equity means more sellers who can sell which will in turn increase the housing supply.
One of the most impressive statistics is that only two homes had any price reduction at all and just as few sold for less than the seller's asking price.
SALES
Sales were down this year over last so we checked the inventory levels to try and understand why. In January of 2012 there were 21 new listings which hit the market. Adding to an already bloated inventory that caused the inventory level last year in February to soar to 41 homes available for sale. Contrasting that to this year when the new listings dropped 50% to only 14 and our inventory of homes for sale stood at a paltry 12!
PERCENT OF ASKING
In February of 2012, seven of the 19 sales, or 37%, were for more than the seller’s asking price by on average $46,000. This February 73% of the sellers received on average $106,000 over their asking price.
For those sellers who were less fortunate, in 2012 53% sold their home for on average $29,000 less while in 2013 only 18% had to sell for on average $35,000 less.
The percent the sellers received of asking were 97.3% in 2012 as compared to 107.7 in 2013.
If you are considering selling your home the above statistics might lead you to believe that it’s back to the old days when any agent could put a sign out front and sell your home. And while that may be true—that your home might sell—the percentage you actually receive of your asking price varies relative to the degree of expertise in agent’s marketing plans and advice. If you want to be statistically guaranteed that you’ll get the best results, contact us for a consultation. Our record for selling every home we’ve listed, for more money, and in the shortest period of time is unmatched—of the top Belmont REALTORS, nobody has us beat.
If you are looking for someone to help you sell your home, we’re someone you should know.
The information contained in this article is educational and intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute real estate, tax or legal advice, nor does it substitute for advice specific to your situation. Always consult an appropriate professional familiar with your scenario.
Drew & Christine Morgan did not necessarily participate in these sales.
DRE License Numbers 01124318 & 01174047
Drew & Christine Morgan, REALTORS | Notary Public
*All data was retrieved from MLS Listings, Inc. The Multiple Listing Service for San Mateo County.
Belmont Homes Sales for 2012 – Profile of a Home Sold
By now everyone has heard that the Peninsula housing market picked up last year but as is often the case, the devil is in the details.
What really went on?
Most people, including real estate agents, are under the misimpression that there were no homes to sell last year—that inventory was in short supply. Well part of the is true. The inventory was down but the number of new listings hitting the market were actually up over 2011.
There were 282 new listings in 2012 as compared to 261 in 2011. That’s about one month’s worth of new listings—not much to talk about. But that 8% increase is important because of the increase in sales.
Home sales for the two years are a different story. In 2011 there were 186 single family home sales as compared to 243 in 2012—an increase in 2012 of 31%.
That which created the low inventory of homes was that home sales were dramatically, up while the number if new listings hitting the market were up only slightly.
This short supply of homes created a buying frenzy for the few available homes on the market and of course bidding wars ensued, driving up prices.
In 2011 the median home price in Belmont was reported as $870,000 while in 2012 that number reached $912,000. That modest increase of about 5% is reflected in the statistics but to a greater degree in the real world. In 2011 the median size home which sold was 1925 square feet and in 2012 the median size home sold was 1940 square feet—15 square feet larger—not significant enough of a difference to make any calculation modifications.
Belmont, though rather representative of the overall Mid-Peninsula housing market, due to its relatively small market sample or "snaphot" if you will, can be easily distorted when fewer large homes trade hands or more distressed sales occur.
For a more accurate data sample we examine the entire San Mateo County as sort of a check and balance. Of course San Mateo County includes a wide array of neighborhood housing trends--while Menlo Park home prices are climbing those in Daly City for example may be still on the decline as seen in this 2008 post. That's why when we see a dramatic market shift like the one to the left, one can only imagine how strong the lower Peninsula must be faring.
IN Belmont, here’s where you can see the market shift. Of the homes which sold in 2012, 54% sold for on average $52,000 over the seller’s initial asking price with these sellers receiving 107% of their initial asking price (not the reduced price), while 11% of homes sold at the seller’s asking price and only 35% of homes sold for less—on average $32,000 less—ultimately getting only 93% of their asking price.
Contrast this to 2011 where we see that the results appear to be almost perfectly reversed, with 58% of the homes selling for less than the seller’s asking price, 11% selling at asking and only 32% which sold for more than the asking price.
And the bids are going higher: While in 2011 if you were one of the lucky sellers to get over your asking price on average you received 103% while that number jumped to 107% in 2012.
Selling a home in Belmont did get easier—so long as you worked with a seller. With more eager buyers for each available home the average time it took to sell al home dropped from 46 days down to 37.
Why did most of the homes sell for at or above the seller’s asking price and some homes still sell for less? Because even in a hot market buyers know the inventory. They have essentially unfettered access to data and with the advent of the internet the way buyers see and buy homes has changed forever. Homes which are overpriced will continue to languish on the market even during peak market conditions, and as illustrated above, receive on average 13% less!
What’s in Store for 2013?
More of the same. Rising prices, multiple offers with only the hope that more inventory will satiate some of the eager buyers. What could be a wrench in the works? Interest rates rising or natural disasters. The economy appears on the mend and apparently buyers are moving ahead with unabashed enthusiasm for housing once again,
Are you considering selling or know someone who is?
We’d love to talk with you. We have plenty of pre-approved Buyers just waiting to jump at the next opportunity.
Want to know what we can do for you?
Each year we compare our personal statistics for listings we sold in Belmont. Last year not only did we beat the averages, we beat out the other top three Belmont REALTORS with our statistics for percent of asking our sellers received, days on market and price reductions (we had none).
While the average home in Belmont sold for 101% of asking, our seller’s received on average 103.8%--netting our sellers more than any of the other top three Belmont REALTORS.* We also came in #1 with no price reductions or cancelled listings.
And while it took our competition 37 days on average to sell their listings, we sold all of ours in less than 7.
The best measurable results and the fact that we've sold every home we listed last year as we have done for the past 20 years, makes us a clear choice for helping you to sell your home.
If you are looking for someone to help you sell your home, we’re someone you should know.
The information contained in this article is educational and intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute real estate, tax or legal advice, nor does it substitute for advice specific to your situation. Always consult an appropriate professional familiar with your scenario.
Drew & Christine Morgan did not necessarily participate in these sales.
DRE License Numbers 01124318 & 01174047
Drew & Christine Morgan, REALTORS | Notary Public
*All data was retrieved from MLS Listings, Inc. The Multiple Listing Service for San Mateo County.
Excitement abounds as the 2013 home buying season is in full swing. Never before have we seen so many eager buyers with smiling faces beating a path towards home ownership.
Today’s agent tour delivered several fine new additions to the inventory including this shiny penny of a home on Judson Street in Belmont.
Listed for only $649,000, this finely appointed home has three generous bedrooms, a wonderful kitchen, it’s ready for you to move right in. And let’s not forget the backyard where friends and family can frolic in Belmont's fresh air.
If you are looking for the ideal home call Drew & Christine Morgan today for information on the best of Belmont and the Peninsula!
Today, November 27th 2012 Case-Shiller released its home price index results through September of 2012 and for the past eight straight months it has slowly but steadily increased.
Are we bouncing along the bottom or is the housing recovery in full swing? Of course it depends which housing market you are talking about but here on the Bay Area Peninsula we are definitely on the upward track.
Note that the market hit its low point in March of 2009. Much of the uptick since then was a normal part of any business cycle, but it appears that the government stimulus—the $8,000 tax credit for first time homebuyers may have helped buoy the market until more sustainable growth could take hold.
One can see that in each year, absent government intervention, the housing market index dropped between August and September—until this year—giving rise to the hope that this year may have marked the beginning of a true housing recovery, and not just another dead cat bounce.
If you are interested in what the Case-Shiller index is and the methodology they use you can find that on their web site here. Of course we also have the index in graph for on our web page at MorganHomes.com.
The information contained in this article is educational and intended for informational purposes only.
It does not constitute real estate, tax or legal advice, nor does it substitute for advice specific to your situation.
Always consult an appropriate professional familiar with your scenario.
Many buyers on the Peninsula have been frustrated this year with the low inventory of homes to choose from and the reason why this is so seems to be a combination of a shortage of new listings coupled with increased home sales over the same period last year as this Belmont Home Report graphic illustrates.
[Click on the graphic for a full sized image]
This graphic for San Mateo County reveals a similar trend. What created the current low inventory levels of homes are not just that fewer homes were listed for sale, but rather an increase in sales this year as compared to last. The month’s of inventory, which is the current inventory of homes for sale divided by the current rate of sales, has dropped in half from the same time last year.
*The percentages in both of these graphics are the percentage change from one year ago.
The Case-Shiller study (which lags the market by three months) shows a recent steady increase in home values. This is one of the most accurate barometers on a macro level since rather than tracking the median price in a given city—which can vary greatly depending on whether larger or smaller homes are selling—it uses a repeat sales pair methodology wherein it tracks only homes which have sold repeatedly under strict controls to eliminate a non-arm’s length home transfer, or homes which have increased in value by extensive remodeling. The Bay Area’s Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) encompasses five of the nine Bay Area counties which are San Francisco, Alameda, Marin, Contra Costa, and San Mateo County. Because of the large selection area, your area may be doing much better or worse than the composite MSA.
What seems to have changed from the increase you see in the graph from last summer when the index was actually higher, is that buyers seem to be more comfortable entering the market this year. Clearly values are still low, interest rates even lower, and local job creation has increased the consumer confidence level on a local level. We predicted that this market would “bounce along the bottom” for awhile before seeing any substantive increase. But given the strong performance on the Peninsula, we believe for now, that we’ve passed the trough and are hopefully headed for a rationale, sustainable steady increase in home values.
The information contained in this article is educational and intended for informational purposes only.
It does not constitute real estate, tax or legal advice, nor does it substitute for advice specific to your
situation. Always consult an appropriate professional familiar with your scenario.
To Have or Forgo Contingencies When Buying a Home
So, contingencies, yes--well as agents, we love them because they help insulate us from future lawsuits. But as a buyer, they can cost you money and they will most certainly cost you a home or two in a competitive market. Here's why. Faced with a multiple offer situation on a property, buyers will often try and make their offer stand out above their competition. And there are two ways to do that--the terms they offer and the price they pay.
In a multiple offer situation, buyers often exceed the asking price and offer terms that are exceptionally attractive to the sellers. Many offers will contain no contingencies for any inspections, loans or appraisals. They'll purchase the home in its present condition and forgo asking for any repairs. At times they'll even let the seller rent their home back for awhile while they relocate.
On the flip side, some buyers despite the fierce competition for a property are unwilling to waive having contingencies. Here's why this can hurt their position: Let's say for example that a seller has already performed inspections at their cost with reputable inspectors, yet a buyer wants a seven day contingency to have more inspections from what could be not so authoritative or reputable inspectors. This causes many sellers to be leery and it could put the seller in the position of getting poorly done reports which they would then need to turn over to any other prospective buyer.
Of course they would also have to go out and try and refute any erroneous or exaggerated claims in the reports which might take two more professional opinions before being seen as credible. That's a lot of wasted time, money and effort and could taint the home in the meantime. So if a buyer is comfortable (as they can be) enough to move forward with the inspections on hand, they have an upper hand.
Case in point, say a seller receives an offer for $1,000,000 with no contingencies and one for $1,010,000 with ten days for inspections and loan contingencies. They'll very likely take the offer for $10,000 less with a better guarantee of a sure sale. What that means is if your offer contains contingencies, you may have to offer significantly more to garner the seller’s attention--say $20,000. What you effectively have done then is spend $20,000 just to have another opinion, not to mention the added cost of another inspection--$20,000 that could be better spent on improvements that increase the value of your home, or put towards any issue that might be found later. Alternatively, the seller may simply ask the non-contingent buyer to meet your price and you’re out of a home.
Now with all that said there are times when not having another inspection would be reckless and of course we'd admonish anyone against doing so if that were the case.
As for loan contingencies, this is why it is important to know that you are pre-approved for the price you are offering. You can also always "double app" which is a term for applying with more than one lending institution to make sure you have a fallback plan. If you get two lenders to agree that your loan will not be an issue then you might feel comfortable enough to not have a contingency for a loan.
Appraisal contingencies run along the same lines. If the home you are buying does not appraise with a particular lender at the value you offered, since the lender will only lend on 80% of the appraised value, you would need to make up 80% of the difference, or go with lender #2 and try and get a better appraisal. There's risk of course, but if you're sure you could make up any shortfall, you just mitigated that risk.
Allow me to explain further. Say you put in a non-contingent offer on the above mentioned million dollar home. You goal was to put 20% down and get an 80% loan--which is typical. In this scenario you would be putting $200,000 down and financing the other $800,000. But let's say the appraisal comes back at only $950,000. Your lender will of course only lend on 80% of the appraised value of $950,000 which would be $760,000 rather than the $800,000 you had hoped for. Are you on the hook for the entire difference? No. just 80% of it. You would now have to put $240,000 down rather than $200,000--not the entire $50,000 shortfall. So bear in mind if you have no contingencies and you are faced with the possibility of losing your earnest money deposit (typically 3% of the purchase price), this is a viable alternative.
That said, we've only sold one home in 20+ years where the appraisal fell short and in that case we were prepared that it might. But a bad appraisal is by far the exception to the rule. We estimate 99.8 % of our sales appraise at the offered price and even a few have gone over in recent years. In fact, in our entire career we have never had a buyer lose their earnest money security deposit over qualifying [or anything else]. So albeit that risk exists, it's limited to your earnest money deposit and furthermore diminished but the odds that you'll probably never even have to deal with a bad appraisal.
In today’s competitive market environment, it’s difficult to secure a home if your offer contains too many caveats. Contingencies should not be viewed as something you want, they should be regarding as something you need; because any contingency you can do without just made your offer that much better without having to pay more for the home.
The information contained in this article is educational and intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute real estate, tax or legal advice, nor does it substitute for advice specific to your situation. Always consult an appropriate professional familiar with your scenario.
Assessing property boundaries is both an art and a science.
Disputes regarding property boundaries can arise for a number of reasons. Properties can be difficult to survey. Rough terrain and human error may lead to miscalculation. Older boundaries may have been determined with poor instrumentation.
One common boundary-related problem occurs when a gap of land — known in the surveying industry as a hiatus — is found between properties and does not belong to either party. These gaps, as well as boundary overlaps, tend to occur when properties are resurveyed and discrepancies are found in either a subsequent survey (the junior survey) or with the original survey (the senior survey).
The federal courts have settled many property boundary disputes. Over time, established procedures have evolved for resolving these discrepancies.
In U.S. v. Weyerhaeuser Company (1967), the 9th Circuit Court decided that discrepancies in surveys did not matter and that the original monuments — the permanently placed survey markers in the ground — marked the boundary, and any resulting hiatus was deemed public land. The courts have consistently determined that hiatus land shall remain in the public domain.
Cases regarding overlaps are more complicated. Courts have consistently said that when two officially accepted surveys conflict, and the result is an overlap, the survey that is senior in time takes precedent.
When it comes to court cases involving property rights, the concept of "first in time, first in right" is firmly established. In Wirth v. Branson (1878), the U.S. Supreme Court made it clear that once a property had been patented — title of ownership confirmed by the government — the government cannot convey that land to any second party.
The information contained in this article is educational and intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute real estate, tax or legal advice, nor does it substitute for advice specific to your situation. Always consult an appropriate professional familiar with your scenario.
There was some debate today amongst my collegues as to which home we saw was the shiny penny on tour.
I liked the home at 221 Grand Street in Redwood City listed for $899,000 and several others also liked the home on 262 East Oakwood Boulevard in Redwood City listed for $799,000.
I preferred the Grand Street property for the superior location and the stunning craftsman character and attention to detail.
|
Status: |
Active |
MLS #: |
81204479 |
||||
|
Class: |
Single Family Residential |
Orig Price: |
$899,000 |
List: |
02/06/2012 |
||
|
Area: |
High School Acres Etc. (334) |
List Price: |
$899,000 |
Original: |
02/06/2012 |
||
|
County: |
SAN MATEO COUNTY |
Sale: |
|||||
|
Complex: |
COE: |
||||||
|
Beds: |
3 |
Baths: |
2 (2/0) |
Expires: |
|||
|
Approx SqFt: |
1,680 (Assessor) |
Off Mrkt: |
|||||
|
Approx Lot: |
6,500 Sqft (Assessor) |
DOM: |
1 |
||||
|
Built/Age: |
1922(Assessor)/90 |
Green doc: |
No |
||||
|
Parcel #: |
052-242-240 |
Walk Score: |
Listed by Alain Pinel Realtors |
||||
This home on East Oakwood [who’s circular street used to be a dog race course BTW] is a very nice home handsomely updated with an awesome yard too (offers a week from today).
|
Status: |
Active |
MLS #: |
81204449 |
||||
|
Class: |
Single Family Residential |
Orig Price: |
$799,000 |
List: |
02/06/2012 |
||
|
Area: |
Horgan Ranch Etc. (332) |
List Price: |
$799,000 |
Original: |
02/06/2012 |
||
|
County: |
SAN MATEO COUNTY |
Sale: |
|||||
|
Complex: |
COE: |
||||||
|
Beds: |
3 |
Baths: |
1 (1/0) |
Expires: |
06/30/2012 |
||
|
Approx SqFt: |
1,336 (Seller) |
Off Mrkt: |
|||||
|
Approx Lot: |
10,146 Sqft (Assessor) |
DOM: |
1 |
||||
|
Built/Age: |
1940(Assessor)/72 |
Green doc: |
No |
||||
|
Parcel #: |
059-132-020 |
Walk Score: |
|||||
|
Trnsf Tx: |
No |
||||||
|
Cur Rent: Listed by Alain Pinel Realtors |
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Call us if you are interested in either of these homes as neither will probably last very long.
Drew & Christine Morgan, RELATORS with RE/MAX Star-Carlmont
1940 Ralston Avenue Belmont, CA 94002 (650) 508-1441 [email protected]
What was the profile of the average home that sold in Belmont last year?
BELMONT STATISTICS for 2011
It becomes abundantly clear that the last thing any seller should want to do is overprice their home, yet more than half of the homes sold in 2011 were overpriced. These sellers also had to lower their asking price by on average $61,000 and then received 7% less for their homes than ones priced correctly.
If you are considering selling your home this year, choosing a local agent who knows the values in Belmont and then of course listening to what they tell you will go a long way towards putting more money in your pocket.
The information contained in this article is educational and intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute real estate, tax or legal advice, nor does it substitute for advice specific to your situation. Always consult an appropriate professional familiar with your scenario.
Undeniably the best deal today was this home on Hamlet in San Mateo offered by Patriott Properties. It's a bank owned home and they are ready to deal. Listed for only $439,900 we suspect it won't last until the weekend.
On a side note, the Best of Tour home from our Shiny Penny Tour last week that is hearing offers tomorrow, is up to 27 interested parties. We'll post the actual sale price as soon as we find out--stay tuned...
| 1787 HAMLET STREET, San Mateo 94403 | Status: | Active | MLS #: | 81202667 | |||
| Class: | Single Family Residential | Orig Price: | $439,900 | List: | 01/23/2012 | ||
| Area: | Parkside (413) | List Price: | $439,900 | Original: | 01/23/2012 | ||
| County: | SAN MATEO COUNTY | Sale: | |||||
| Complex: | COE: | ||||||
| Beds: | 3 | Baths: | 1 (1/0) | Expires: | 04/23/2012 | ||
| Approx SqFt: | 1,030 (Assessor) | Off Mrkt: | |||||
| Approx Lot: | 5,150 Sqft (Assessor) | DOM: | 1 | ||||
| Built/Age: | 1954(Assessor)/58 | Green doc: | No | ||||
| Parcel #: | 035-364-160 | ||||||
| Zone: | R106 | Units/Bldgs: | --/-- | Trnsf Tx: | |||
| Unincorp: | No | City Limits: | Cur Rent: | ||||
The information contained in this article is educational and intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute real estate, tax or legal advice, nor does it substitute for advice specific to your situation. Always consult an appropriate professional familiar with your scenario.
Tuesday’s Best of Tour
Today’s best of tour goes to two homes this week. The first one is 899 Crestview in San Carlos. This home is an amazing deal and perhaps that’s why it went pending before we even returned from tour today. Good deals don’t last that’s for sure.
This second home they seller is waiting until January 25th for offers. It’s an updated three bedroom one bath home in Belmont at 913 Ruth Avenue. It resides on a 5,500 square foot lot and enyoys 1,260 square feet of living space. Priced at $559,000 it’s a steal for a west-side Belmont home.
If you are interested in these “Best of Tour” deals or any other home for that matter, contact us and we’ll guide you through the process of getting the home you want.
The information contained in this article is educational and intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute real estate, tax or legal advice, nor does it substitute for advice specific to your situation. Always consult an appropriate professional familiar with your scenario.
Listings courtesy Alain Pinel Realtors
Time to look back at the Peninsula housing market in 2011.
Being in the trenches we know well ahead of the reported statistics how the housing market performed but it’s always interesting to look back and see what the numbers bear.
These two charts below represent the median home price for the past three years in Belmont and Palo Alto. We chose Palo Alto because that city enjoys leaded edge price stability and recovery. Belmont is less insulated from market volatility and is probably more typical of the average Peninsula city housing trend.
[Click on the images for a full-size graph]
As denoted by the red trend lines in both of these graphs, Peninsula housing prices, while suffering from typical seasonal fluctuations, are overall showing signs of a steady but slow increase in the median home price.
If this doesn’t seem to jive with the media reports of continual home price erosion it’s probably because the reports you’re hearing are for cities such as the one in our third chart below which represents a continual decline in home values in highly affected areas to our the north such as South San Francisco, Daly City and Colma.
This story is part of our monthly newsletter. If you would like receive our newsletter you may email us at [email protected] and you’ll be added to the list. Note—we never share our email list with anyone for any reason without your express permission.
The information contained in this article is educational and intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute real estate, tax or legal advice, nor does it substitute for advice specific to your situation. Always consult an appropriate professional familiar with your scenario.
There may be a beneficial convergence for buyers in the housing sector as declining interest rates and home values are occurring at the same time resulting in a boost to the housing affordability index.
The percentage of home buyers who could afford to purchase a median-priced, existing single-family home in California rose to 52 percent in the third quarter of 2011, up from 51 percent in second-quarter 2011 and was up from 46 percent in the third quarter of 2010.[i]
Regionally, housing affordability rose in most counties in the San Francisco Bay Area but was down in Los Angeles County and Fresno County. At 77 percent, San Bernardino County was the most affordable, while San Mateo County was the least affordable, with only 25 percent of households able to purchase the county’s median-priced home.[ii]
But that could be changing—not that San Mateo County will ever be more affordable than most of the counties in the state (due to the high home values)—but with the interest rates hovering around their lowest point in recorded history, and home values reverting to levels not seen since 2002, it may be the perfect accelerant to fuel a recovery.
In Palo Alto for example, well known for its resiliency during housing downturns, more homes sold last month in November of 2011 for over asking than did for less. That’s a stunning example of market elasticity. Also interesting on an anecdotal note is that when Palo Alto values rise they carry surrounding communities along like a surging tide.
It’s possible that home values decline further. And it’s possible that one might time the market perfectly at the trough but the longer buyers wait to enter the market at this phase of the recovery, the more risk they take that they will miss the perfect storm and either rates will rise, home values, or both.
Note that while home values have reverted to 2002 levels[iii], interest rates were more than two points higher in 2002 than they are today making the same price home in 2002 far less affordable than today.
Data current to November of 2011.
Click on the image for a full sized graph.
[i] C.A.R.’s Traditional Housing Affordability Index (HAI).
[ii] C.A.R. releases Q3 Housing Affordability Index, November 10, 2011
[iii] Case-Shiller, QTR III, 2011 Bay Area MSA
The information contained in this article is educational and intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute real estate, tax or legal advice, nor does it substitute for advice specific to your situation. Always consult an appropriate professional familiar with your scenario.
Welcome to the new norm. As you know if you have been following us for any length of time we provide a detailed analysis of the local housing market and Belmont’s housing market in particular. We’ve been gathering data since 1998 and have used it to contrast and compare varying market cycles over the years. However, comparing the reality of the new housing market to a market that was artificially inflated with substandard lending practices will provide for endless disappointment if a new base-line is not established.
Today’s market seems to reflect the new reality of stricter lending practices leading to fewer sales and more cautious buyers. This environment will undoubtedly continue for some time until the devastation in the housing industry which wiped out so many people’s equity is a distant memory. Just as the Consumer Confidence index was set at 100% in 1985 because it was neither a peak nor trough in the business cycle, we submit that at least for Belmont, after years of price and sales declines, that the more stable 2011 might become the new baseline by which future years are compared.
(click on the image to enlarge) *Data from the San Mateo Board of REALTORS MLS system.
Looking at the numbers…
Belmont homes sales for October 2011 were strong compared with last year.
BELMONT HOME SALES
Although two fewer homes traded hands this year in Belmont compared with last October, there are signs that the housing market may be stabilizing, as we anticipated.
MEDIAN PRICE
The median price, while falling from last October’s $864,200 to $806,000 this year, does not reflect the size homes which sold last October were 13.5 percent larger, with a median price drop of only 7.2%. This helps us better understand that the median price while reported lower is probably higher than in October of last year.
DOM (days on market)
In October of 2011 it took on average 22 days to sell a home while last year that number was 46, more than double.
PRICE REDUCTIONS
Forty-six percent of Belmont homes selling in October of 2010 had price reductions of on average $92,000 compared with this October where the seller had to lower their price by on average only $58,000 to attract a buyer.
SELLING vs. ASKING PRICE
This October 27% of the homes sold over the seller’s asking price by on average $64,000. Last October the 23% of homes sold for over the asking price receiving on average only $29,000 more.
In 2010 nearly 70% of the homes which sold went for less—by on average $33,000. This year 63% of the homes sold for on average $32,000 less.
INVENTORY
The number of homes available for sale impacts the price a seller might achieve based on the familiar principle of supply vs. demand. But an increase in supply can be the result of several factors which may in turn be the result of very different market forces. For example, if supply is increasing because homes are not selling, or home owners are out of work, or upside down in their mortgage, that negative environment might mean that buyers will also be concerned about their future and demand will drop.
But if supply increases because sellers are taking advantage of favorable move-up market conditions or perhaps they view the current strength of the local market as being in their favor, and demand remains constant, it could be an indication on a strengthening market.
There are currently 57 single family homes on the market in Belmont as compared with last October when there were 63 during the same period. In Belmont, if we look at peak housing markets prior to the housing market collapse in 2007, we find that in October the typical inventory levels hovered around 35-40 homes for sale. Yet in periods of uncertainty—such as the October after September 11th and the following year which was a landmark presidential election year, inventory level rose to 93 homes for sale in 2001 and 79 in 2002.
Does the market seem stronger than last year? Yes. Are seller’s lowering their expectations (asking price) to accommodate the reality of the new market conditions, yes. Hey interest rates don’t hurt either. Buyers are slowly dipping their toes into the icy waters of real estate as rates plummet and Bay Area job cuts seem to have waned.
We’re seeing more sellers and buyers out later in the year than ever before and we predict next spring will bring many new buyers to the purchase table along with many new homes to choose from.
All the best,
The information contained in this article is educational and intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute real estate, tax or legal advice, nor does it substitute for advice specific to your situation. Always consult an appropriate professional familiar with your scenario.
With so many mash-up companies grabbing the attention of buyers searching for homes we thought we'd post our own listing since as the agents for the sellers we are actually familiar with the home and can answer your questions.
Just listed and open Sunday, September 25th from 2:00-4:00
If you’ve ever seen a moving van in your neighborhood but never saw a for sale sign you might just have experienced a “pocket listing”.
What is a pocket listing?
In short a pocket listing is a home that was not release to the public, but nevertheless was for sale.
The reasons that a seller would choose not to list their home on the open market—and not enter their home into the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) with a REALTOR® —are varied. Some sellers do not want strangers traipsing through their home. We bought our home in the Hallmark area of Belmont in just such a fashion. The seller of our home was interested in moving, but not interested in having anyone he did not know in his home due to his vast collection of Civil War memorabilia—some including one of General Sherman’s desks in the living room were quite valuable. Lucky for him we had a buyer and he was spared the discomfort of hiding all of his valuables and disrupting his life.
In other cases it might be a lack of clear motivation that keeps a seller from committing to the open market. In instances like this agents might take a listing with the seller’s caveat that “If you can find a buyer for me great, I’ll sell’ otherwise I might just stay put”; it’s a form of testing the waters if you will.
Clearly marketing a home in the MLS to thousands of potential buyers offers the best opportunity to reach as large an audience as possible. Will it always net the seller the highest price? Perhaps; there’s no definitive study to prove otherwise. That said we have seen cases where the right buyer came along and paid a handsome sum to the seller in order to secure a particular home and avoid the risk of losing out to another buyer in a multiple bid situation.
How often do “pocket listings” occur?
The answer is probably more than you would imagine. In high-end marketplaces where the seller might be a celebrity, or where the seller feels for security reasons they’d rather sell off market it occurs quite frequently. For example, in Atherton over 20% of all homes sold last year never hit the open market.
How does one find out about these secret listings?
Your best chance at learning about pocket listing is through your REALTOR®. There are several sites that only an agent can access where they discretely share their most treasured listings. Unless as a buyer you have been vetted by your agent and are well qualified you stand virtually no chance of viewing one of these prize properties—that would defeat the point of the seller’s confidentiality.
We would be remiss if we did not mention that this is always done with full disclosure and at the seller’s request. Unless expressly requested by the seller, MLS rules state that all listings must be input into the Multiple Listing Service within 48 hours or the agent faces a fine.
Next time you see new neighbors and wonder where the last ones went, you might inquire and find out they bought another pocket listing in your neighborhood.
Drew and Christine Morgan are REALTORS® in Belmont, CA employed by RE/MAX Star-Carlmont.
(650) 508-1441
The information contained in this feature is educational and intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute real estate, tax or legal advice, nor does it substitute for advice specific to your situation. Always consult an appropriate professional familiar with your scenario.
Belmont homes sales in June 2011 appear to be holding steady, while home values may be climbing.
We’ve said it before but it’s hard to compare June of 2010 to June 2011 since June of 2010 was the last month of home closings that qualified for the $8,000 tax stimulus. Looking at last year’s home sales for the month of May and June when the program was phasing out it’s easy to see that the stimulus had an effect on the number of homes selling.
This June Belmont had 15 home sales—the same as last month, but down considerably from last June’s 25.
The time it took to sell a home dropped this June from 46 says to 36 and while last year only 48% of the homes sold for less than the seller’s asking price, this June 60% sold for less but with the seller receiving 99.25% of the asking price compared to with 98.91% of their asking price in June of 2010.
The months of inventory—or the time it would take to sell all of the remaining homes in Belmont at the current rate of sales—dropped from 3.86 in June 2010 to 2.83 in this June—nationwide, less than 3 months typically indicates a seller’s market. In Belmont we tend to notice that a bullish seller’s market occurs when we fewer than 40 homes are on the market at a given time; Belmont currently has 60—last June the inventory level was 66.
Where are Belmont home values today?
That’s the million dollar question which is on the mind of many homebuyers; Will home values continue their five year slide or have we neared the bottom?
Belmont’s median home price fell from $944,694 last June to $876,525 in June 2011 which on paper looks like a 7.2% decline.
However, looking at the median size of homes which sold in the two periods, a different story emerges. In June of last year the median size home sold was 2,170 square feet in size. Compare that with this June when the median size home was only 1769 square feet. So while the median Belmont home price appears to have declined 7.2%, the square foot differential in homes is much greater. Effectively buyers bought homes 18% smaller home this June but only got a 7.8% price break over last year—losing purchasing power to the tune of 10.2%.
Another way to look at the numbers is the median size home sold for $449 per square foot in June of 2011. If we adjust for the 401 square feet difference between last June’s homes and this year’s it could explain part of the discrepancy and account for perhaps as much as $180,049—bringing the adjusted median price this June to $1,056,574, or 12% higher than last June.
We also looked at whether last year’s June stimulus program may have artificially skewed the median home price lower with qualifying homes—those under $800,000—accounting for a greater percentage of home sales as a change in the “mix” in the size/price of homes selling could artificially alter the median home price; In fact we found the opposite to be true. Last June 24% of the homes sold were under the qualifying $800,000 price threshold while this June 33% of the homes sold were under $800,000.
Any way you slice it if you delve deeper into the statistics it’s fairly apparent that conditions are improving. We expect over the next several years to see home value fluctuations due to seasonal buying and selling patterns as well as economic conditions including job growth, consumer confidence and even the media’s focus on negative reporting—but the overall trend should remain upward—three steps forward two steps back type of progress.
Disclaimer: This information is for entertainment purposes only and includes no legal, accounting or real estate advice nor is this response in tended to be specific to your situation-consult a specialist for your specific situation.
Why is that home still on the market?
That’s a question many people ask as they drive by the same for sale sign in their neighborhood week after week and sometimes month after month. Why do some homes fly off of the shelf and others languish for months?
Whether or not a particular home sells quickly or not has often little to do with the market and more to do with the presentation of the home—including the pricing.
In today’s tech savvy real estate world, home buyers have nearly unfettered access to listing information. With all of the tools available it’s hard for buyers to miss out on seeing a home and equally difficult for buyers to not have a good idea what a home is worth.
The first issue for homes which languish on the market is often that the promotion is at times lackadaisical. A newly listed home without photos is often overlooked by many buyers.
Knowing how to promote and price a home are key ingredients in selling a home quickly.
But why is selling a home quickly important? First and foremost it’s about price. Most sellers want to get the most amount of money they can for their home. Statistics demonstrate that selling a home in the first several weeks will accomplish that goal.
Looking at all the single family home sales in Belmont for 2010*, homes that sold in the first 14 days—an adequate time to market a home to an eager audience—accounted for 36% of the total sales. These homes on average sold for $10,000 over the seller’s asking price—often with multiple offers.
Homes which sold between 14 and 21 days on the market accounted for only 9% of the homes sold in 2010 and they sold for on average $20,000 less than what the sellers were asking.
Homes which languished on the market after 21 days accounted for a whopping 55% of the total homes sold and the sellers received on average $90,000 less than their initial asking price while averaging a painful 88 days on the market.
These numbers are actually very understandable. When a home is first on the market a buyer who may be interested in the property cannot affix an absolute value to the home. If there are multiple offers from multiple buyers the price is often bid above the asking price and the winning bidder is usually the highest bidder and thus has paid more for the home than any other willing and able buyer on that particular day.
Once a home is on the market for several weeks, buyers still might not know exactly what the home’s value is but they know it’s not what the seller is asking or the home would have sold. And that is where the damage begins. Time will do more than anything to hurt the sale of a home. After weeks of marketing buyers assume there must be a reason why nobody has selected that home and they invariably infer that there is something wrong with the home itself.
Counteracting this misimpression is difficult since your agent can’t proclaim “there’s nothing wrong with the house except the price” since most surely there is always something wrong with every home.
Agents Don’t Create Value.
It’s the listing agent's job to inform the seller of comparable values in the area by reporting on what homes have been selling for and what their competition is but agents do not create value, although they can add value. A good agent will typically give the seller a range at which point they can expect to attract a reasonable number of willing and able buyers in a reasonable amount of time.
This is why it’s difficult to under price a home and easy to miss the mark by pricing too high. A home underpriced and allowed sufficient marketing time can and almost always will be bid up and often above what might be considered fair market value at the time. While an overpriced home will most surely garner less than what it would have had it been initially priced in the sweet spot.
If you’ve missed this spot it’s not too late. Making a price reduction quickly can thwart the dreaded doomed house syndrome tip the scales your way and bring a fresh batch of buyers to the bargaining table.
Drew and Christine Morgan are REALTORS® in Belmont, CA employed by RE/MAX Star-Carlmont.
(650) 508-1441
The information contained in this feature is educational and intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute real estate, tax or legal advice, nor does it substitute for advice specific to your situation. Always consult an appropriate professional familiar with your scenario.
*Data derived from the San Mateo County Multiple Listing Service for single family homes which closed escrow in Belmont in 2010. Homes excluded from the analysis included homes which were not an arm’s length transaction, short sales or bank owned properties. The reason for excluding these homes is that often a bank for example, will under price a home to attract multiple offers but take weeks to ratify the offer thus increasing the days on the market and skewing the results.
Drew and Christine Morgan are REALTORS® in Belmont, CA employed by RE/MAX Star-Carlmont.
(650) 508-1441
The information contained in this feature is educational and intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute real estate, tax or legal advice, nor does it substitute for advice specific to your situation. Always consult an appropriate professional familiar with your scenario.
*Data derived from the San Mateo County Multiple Listing Service for single family homes which closed escrow in Belmont in 2010. Homes excluded from the analysis included homes which were not an arm’s length transaction, short sales or bank owned properties. The reason for excluding these homes is that often a bank for example, will under price a home to attract multiple offers but take weeks to ratify the offer thus increasing the days on the market and skewing the results.
If you’ve ever sold a home and been told your fist offer is usually the best offer, here’s why.
Light at the end of the tunnel?
The Standard & Poor's/Experian consumer default composite index fell to 2.43% in March from 2.54% in February. All the major sectors, such as bank cards, auto loans, and first and second mortgages, reported declines. As for U.S. housing, sales of existing homes increased 3.7% in March following a significant decline of 8.9% February.
Shiny Penny Tour Wrap
Our Tuesday tour day produced a few shiny pennies this week. In fact, two made our list for Best Deal of the Week.
The first is a short sale on Lyon in Belmont. It’s listed for only $759,000 and to be in the west-side hills location for that price is a good buy. Of course the banks still need to sign off on the offered price but if you can hang around for awhile you may be able to get that home. FYI—most lots on Monroe and Lyon are only 4,000 square feet rather than the usually 5,000.
Here are some details:
|
Beds, Baths: |
4, 2|1 |
|
SqFt: |
1980 (Assessor) |
|
Lot Size: |
4,000 sq ft (Assessor) |
|
Yr Built: |
1962 (Assessor) |
|
Age: |
49 years |
Our next home is a favorite of mine on Eaton in San Carlos. It’s sold before, in fact my old manager used to own it. I love the feeling—it’s like you are in your own private resort with a pool and palm trees. The rear landscaping is great and it backs up to the creek for even more privacy.
Don’t be fooled by the two bedroom listing. This home was a three bedroom with one room being converted to a den.
|
Beds, Baths: |
2, 1|0 |
|
SqFt: |
1620 (Assessor) |
|
Lot Size: |
8,476 sq ft (Assessor) |
|
Yr Built: |
1948 (Assessor) |
|
Age: |
63 years |
|
Parcel #: |
051-294-050 |
|
Zone: |
R100 |
|
Tract: |
White Oaks |
Don't forget. If you would like to see one of our Best of Tour homes give us a call at (650) 508-1441
We’re excited to announce three “Best of Tour” homes from our Broker’s tour on Tuesday.
These homes represent homes we think offer a good value and should get snapped up quickly.
BELMONT
There were two in Belmont we thought we’re an excellent value. The first one was at 3484 Lodge but since it already has three offers since Sunday’s open house we may as well skip that one. It was listed at $799,000 which is an ex excellent value for the West side.
The second Belmont home at 2223 Thurm listed by Better Homes and Gardens M. Smith. It’s located right on the border of San Mateo on a pastoral 13,000 square foot lot. The four bedroom three and one-half bath home is nicely appointed and at 2,714 square feet it’s a very good value too.
SAN CARLOS
We liked 132 Arundel. Looks like a nice move-in condition home with three bedrooms, two baths with 1, 390 square feet of living space on a nice sized 8,500 square foot lot. Listed by RE/MAX D. Roberts
1362 Geneva in the White Oaks is a three bedroom three bath home of 1,860 square feet on a tad bit small 4,040 square foot lot but this home looks great and should fly off the shelf. Listed by Coldwell Banker R. Jabeen
As always, if you want us to look specifically for the best of tour home for you drop us an email or connect with us and let us know what you’re looking for. We’ll be your eyes and ears on the peninsula.
San Mateo County Market Snapshot--Are We Treading Water?
Those of you who follow our market updates know we put our hometown, Belmont, under a market microscope every month to get a glimpse as to where the market appears to be headed.
Of course that really is living in a Petri dish when it comes to the real estate market as a whole.
Real estate is very local—what goes on in even one part of a city could be entirely different from another. That said eventually positive market trends trickle down and negative ones up.
As evidence of this phenomenon one can go back and look at our charts from 2007 when Palo Alto was still doing famously yet Daly City may as well have slid into the ocean (many homeowners probably wish it had).
Today we visit the numbers—year over year—for San Mateo County as a whole, hoping to see some trends that will give us an inkling as to where consumer sentiment is, as reflected in sales, median price, etc.
SALES
|
New Listings |
Current Inventory |
Closed Sales |
Average DOM |
Average Sales Price |
Median Sales Price |
% LP Rec'd |
Total $ Vol |
|
2011 545 |
1400 |
233 |
74 |
786,509 |
587,500 |
96.48 |
182,470,145 |
|
2010 484 |
1156 |
229 |
82 |
840,235 |
650,000 |
97.17 |
192,413,866 |
|
2009 530 |
1452 |
163 |
74 |
683,900 |
553,750 |
97.20 |
110,791,806 |
|
|
It’s easy to see that the ripples of consumer uncertainty could easily capsize the boat of recovery if the tides of low interest rates come in too fast.
Sales are certainly better than the low of 2009 and remain steady as they did in our Belmont example. But as in the Belmont report the median price showed a decline in home values since last January. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, especially if you are a potential home buyer and it doesn’t mean values are still dropping, just that they did drop year over year.
Interest rates are going up, and have done so rapidly in the last few months—around ¾ of a point. That hurts the ability for people to qualify for a home and with less demand there’s a potential for prices to decrease further.
But as we cautioned ourselves, we are comparing 2010--a year of government sponsored tax rebates to 2011 without. Let's see if our minnow of a recovery can weather the storm without a life raft.
Thanks for checking back in with us.
*Data San Mateo County MLS.
Disclaimer: This information is for entertainment purposes only and includes no legal, accounting or real estate advice nor is this response in tended to be specific to your situation-consult a specialist for your specific situation.
Whenever a holiday falls on a Monday, many homes are not toured on our usual Tuesday tour day. Simply put they miss the tour sheet since the deadline is moved to the Friday preceding the holiday, instead of the usual Monday deadline.
So there weren’t a lot of homes to choose from but we did find this home in Redwood Shores which stood apart from the rest for the value it offers.
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Interested in this home? Why not give us a call. We here to answer any questions you have and help you on your way to home ownership. (650) 508-1441 |
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For Belmont homeowners there appears to be some stability creeping into the market. Home sales were brisk this December—double what they were in 2009. Those of you who may remember the home buyer tax credit was due to end in November last year which pulled a lot of buyers from December sales into November—all across the country. Not so much in Belmont since the qualifying purchase price had to be less than $800,000. Nevertheless we went back to compare previous December sales and they normally fall in the area of 12 for the month of December. One has to go back to 2005 when the housing market was red hot to see sales figures this high.
These first two graphs illustrate the housing activity in Belmont for the Month of December 2010 and the year end averages for the entire year.
If we run we run down the usual list of market indicators, across the board there are some positive signs for homeowners.
*Highlighted homes were sold by Drew & Christine Morgan. Click on the graph for a full-sized image.
DOM
The time it took for a seller in Belmont to get a contract on their home was at 58, up only slightly from last year’s 50 and is pretty well mitigated with the doubling of sales.
PERCENT RECEIVED
Belmont sellers received 98.1% of their asking price in December 2010 as compared to 97.22 in December of 2009.
Half of the homes in December 2010 underwent price reductions for on average $58,000 before they sold. Last year 42% of sellers reduced their price by on average $69,000.
Of the 24 sales this last December two sold at the seller’s asking price, 16 sold for less than asking (by on average ($33,488), and six homes sold over the seller’s asking price by on average $17,183.
Homes which sold over asking did so on average in 26 days while homes which sold for less took more than 65 days to sell.*
MEDIAN SALE PRICE
If you’ve followed this blog for any length of time you’ve heard us talk about how deceiving the median price can be in any small sample size. Once again the median home price is a bit misleading as it has the median home price in Belmont in December of 2010 at $912,500. That’s $102,750 (12.7%) more than last year’s $809,750.
So the answer lies somewhere in the numbers but ferreting out a more accurate sense of value is difficult. The size homes which sold in 2009 were on average 277 square feet smaller than the homes which sold in December of 2010, which accounts for most of the perceived median price increase. It just so happens that the size home you could get this year was also around 13% larger than last year—effectively whipping out any gain.
Using the year-end totals helps even out some of the distortion inherent in median price figures as the graph above demonstrates. If you take an average of each month’s median home price in Belmont for 2009, the average median home price was $847,604 and for 2010 it was $908,159—an increase of 7.1%. The average size of the home which sold in the two periods also increased from 1730 in 2009 to 2000 in 2020, a 15.6% increase. So was there any home appreciation in Belmont in 2010? Probably not. It appeared that in the first quarter of 2010 homes might increase in value but as quarters two and three came to a close (immediately following the conclusion of the homebuyer incentive programs) it was clear that would not be the case. The fourth quarter managed to salvage some of the losses in the two previous quarters as you shall probably hear soon n the media.
If you are considering selling your home this year be sure and contact us for a valuation of your home. We are experts in selling peninsula properties and our record of selling every home we list for sale is unparalleled in our industry.
Note: We throw out homes we know were re-listed or underwent huge price reductions only to sell for slightly higher than their greatly reduced price.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this newsletter is educational and intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute real estate, tax or legal advice, nor does it substitute for advice specific to your situation. Always consult an appropriate professional familiar with your scenario.
I was awakened from my long winter nap by the predictable sensational reporting of the latest Case-Shiller home price indices.
The latest press release by Standard and Poor’s states:
New York, December 28, 2010 – Data through October 2010, released today by Standard & Poor’s for
Home Price Indices, the leading measure of U.S. home prices, show a deceleration
in the annual growth rates in 18 of the 20 MSAs and the 10- and 20-City Composites in October
compared to what was reported for September 2010. The 10-City Composite was up only 0.2% and the
20-City Composite fell 0.8% from their levels in October 2009. Home prices decreased in all 20 MSAs
and both Composites in October from their September levels. In October, only the 10-City Composite
and four MSAs – Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco and Washington DC – showed year-over-year
gains. While the composite housing prices are still above their spring 2009 lows, six markets – Atlanta,
Charlotte, Miami, Portland (OR), Seattle and Tampa – hit their lowest levels since home prices started to
Fall in 2006 and 2007, meaning that average home prices in those markets have fallen beyond the recent
lows seen in most other markets in the spring of 2009.
The index showed a decline in the Bay Area from October to September’s numbers but a year-over-year increase for the same period.
What does this mean? It means that compared to last year home values are up in the San Francisco MSA (metropolitan statistical area) which includes San Francisco down to Redwood City. It also means that the values dropped from September to October. How much? 1.9% to be exact. Not what I would call earth shattering and I certainly wouldn’t describe it as one of our local TV stations did as “Bay Area Prices Plummet”.
Later in the evening a competing station had the headline “Bay Area Prices up”, referring to the year over year statistic.
Neither news headline tells the whole story.
The much ballyhooed double dip in fact did occur but it was much more pronounced in other parts of the country and more akin to a glitch than a dip—and likely it was caused by the cessation of government subsidies which helped to prop up home values in 2009.
SF MSA
The information contained in this newsletter is educational and intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute real estate, tax or legal advice, nor does it substitute for advice specific to your situation. Always consult an appropriate professional familiar with your scenario.
We love the holidays as much as anyone, but a little less red in the chart would be nice too.
Belmont home sales for November of 2010 continued the trend of the last two quarters with fewer sales and declining home values as compared to the same period in 2009.
(Click on the chart to see a full-sized image)
Clearly consumer confidence is woefully short of normal. While consumer confidence does not in and of itself control the direction of the economy it does reflect consumer sentiment. Consumer sentiment is well represented by consumer spending—when consumers are comfortable with their view of the future they tend to spend more. Considering that some estimate consumer spending to represent 2/3rds of our nation’s domestic product (GDP) suffice to say that consumer confidence is necessary for a sustained recovery. For consumer confidence to rebound there needs to be more jobs and of course the feeling that the job one has won’t go away soon either. On a positive note the consumer confidence index rose to 54.1 in November from a revised 49.9 in October. It was the highest level in five months. The index was benchmarked at 100 in 1985, a year chosen because it was neither a peak nor a trough in consumer confidence.
How does this affect the housing market? The tenuous job market is taking its toll on nervous home buyers. Buyers are still purchasing homes but fewer can qualify for a loan and when they do it’s usually for less home than before. Those who are willing to purchase a home seem to want only exceptional deals—building into their offer price a buffer against further price declines.
SALES
Home sales in Belmont remained fairly strong considering the aporetic feelings among buyers.
This November we saw 16 homes trade hands in Belmont as compared to 22 in 2009.
Of the 16 sales, six sold for on average $21,350 more than the seller’s asking price in 17 days, one sold at the asking price, and nine sold for on average $16,500 less and took 82 days to sell.
Six sellers also reduced the price they were originally asking for their home by on average by $149,342, while last year there were only three homes which had price reductions during the same period and for on average only $13,590.
MEDIAN PRICE
The median price (on paper) went up 5.4% to $843,475 from November 2009 when it was $800,000. However, in 2009 the median size home which sold was only 1,558 square feet as compared to this November when the median size home sold was 1,920 square feet—a difference of 352 square feet. At the median price per square foot that homes sold for during November, $466 and the difference in the size home sold, 352 sq. ft. one could make an argument that if all things were equal (the same size home selling in the two periods) the adjusted price for 2009 would be closer to $964,032 ((352 Sq. Ft. x $466 per sq. ft. = $164,032) + $800,000) =$964,032. This allows us to estimate that home values dropped around 12.5% year over year in the month of November. How much the median price changed for the year as a whole is yet to be determined. Remember, just because homes dropped 12.5% in the month of November, earlier increases in the year can mean at year's end the median price could be up for down from the previous year.
It’s also interesting to note that although the median size home which sold in November of 2010 was much larger, only one home sold over the one million dollar mark as compared to three in 2009.
DAYS ON MARKET (DOM)
Not surprisingly it took more time to sell a home this year than last--on average 62 days—up dramatically from 38.5 days in November of 2009. One also must be cognizant that last November the first-time buyer tax credit was in effect which skewed the numbers in favor of more sales, selling faster, and for more.
When home values are dropping, the time it takes to sell a home typically increases as sellers often price their home based on recent past sales. But when home values are falling, recent sales were worth more. Eventually most sellers get the idea that they must get ahead of the pricing curve and lower their home more than the market suggests it might be worth. This has an ancillary effect of lowering home values rapidly and perhaps more than they would otherwise drop.
Noting the huge difference in not only the number of homes which had price reductions, but the steep adjustments that were made, illustrates the difficulty in pricing a home in a declining market and underscores the importance of introducing your home to the market at the right price.
Summary
There’s always some danger in looking at a small market sample such as Belmont with only 16 sales in a given month. Seasonal factors play heavily in the statistics which is why we choose to compare each month we examine to the same month a year before. However, it’s important to note that other factors can effect comparing these two periods. For example, last November the first-time buyer tax credit was expiring, causing many buyers to rush to the bargaining table. This increased competition for homes undoubtedly buoying the prices while increasing sales.
Our leading indicators of future market conditions indicate a gradual recovery in the housing sector.
On a local level our professional staging company has reported to us that their orders for staged homes are booking up fast for January, indicating that Sellers are interested in getting a jump on the spring market.
If you are considering selling your home next year you may want to consider doing it sooner rather than later before inventory rises to levels which make price reductions necessary to attract Buyers.
If you are considering selling your current home and/or purchasing a new one be sure and contact us for your real estate needs.
Now for the inevitable disclaimer: The information contained in this newsletter is educational and intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute real estate, tax or legal advice, nor does it substitute for advice specific to your situation. Always consult an appropriate professional familiar with your scenario.
Most of you know we’ve been operating out of the Carlmont Associates office in Belmont. Effective today, Carlmont Associates has joined a partnership with Re/Max Star properties.
Our level of service and commitment to our clients will be unaffected except that we'll have access to the benefits the number one real estate franchise in the world can offer.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
(Redwood City, CA Nov. 20, 2010)—Re/Max Star Properties, a real estate leader in San Mateo County with projected sales of over 200 million dollars for 2010 announced today that it has added the premier Carlmont Associates team and premium location in central Belmont to its local group of Peninsula offices. “Carlmont Associates is a well established, centrally located real estate firm serving the Belmont area for over 50 years and we’re proud they’ve chosen to join forces with us”.
“We are both pleased and excited by this merger”, said Tom Diridon, one of the principals of Carlmont Associates. He, his wife Eda Diridon and partner Gary Rossetto couldn’t be happier”. Mr. Rossetto mentioned, “It will bring state of the art systems, services and global name brand recognition and lead generation systems of RE/MAX to Carlmont Associates allowing us t better serve our clients.”
“This move will bring major benefits to the local consumers and its agents by the ability to offer more marketing solutions, exceptional financing opportunities and unmatched after the sale protection”.
There you go again…
That line was made famous by Ronald Reagan when he was running for office against President Jimmy Carter in 1980. It was used by then Mr. Reagan as a way to diffuse opponents who harped upon the same issues over and over.
Well the media is at it again. The media loves its headlines and of course they need to sell papers so it’s not put past them to choose a sensational attention grabbing headline and find data to support it.
Take the August 19, 2010 report on home sales in the Bay Area. The headline in the San Jose Mercury read “Peninsula home sales plunge in July”. Define plunge?
They reported, “After steadily rising for several months, Peninsula home sales plummeted to near-historic lows in July as demand remained tepid and the federal homebuyer tax credits that had helped caffeinate the marketplace in the past year finally went away".
When were these “near historic lows”? How near and how low were they?
Clearly the article is saying sales are down, and they are, but they fail the test of balanced journalism when they neglect to add the caveat “as expected”.
The accuracy of their article is subject to scrutiny as well. I reviewed our own analysis which we do every month since I didn’t recall being impressed by the large discrepancy in year-over-year sales mentioned in their article.
Our data is mined from the Multiple Listing Service. It doesn't contain all home sales—just ones which were listed with real estate agents. The percentage of homes which transfer ownership without the involvement of a real estate professional remains consistently a small percentage of all the homes which transfer—consistent being the operative word since the delta from one month to another is negligible.
Our statistics showed 385 single family homes closed escrow in July 2010, down from 393 in July 2009. According to our data the number of fewer sales this July compared to last were just eight, or 2%.
The San Jose Mercury claimed it was the lowest month for home sales in 20 years. But how many fewer homes sold? They don’t say. They also don’t mention that Dataquick, the source cited in their article as the resource for their reporting, issued a statement on August 19th, 2010 (the date cited as being used by the San Jose Mercury) saying that they only estimated the sales for San Mateo County:
“San Diego-based MDA DataQuick is a division of MDA Lending Solutions, a subsidiary of Vancouver-based MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates. MDA DataQuick monitors real estate activity nationwide and provides information to consumers, educational institutions, public agencies, lending institutions, title companies and industry analysts. Because of late data availability, sales were estimated in Alameda and San Mateo counties.”
But more to the point, industry experts predicted that home sales would drop after the expiration of the housing stimulus tax credit on May 1, 2010. Last year—the year used for comparing sales—the tax credit was still available in July. One only has to go back to 2007 to see sales as low as they were this July, not 20 years.
In Santa Clara county they report: “1,159 single-family resale homes that closed escrow represented a drop of 24.3 percent from the 1,531 sold a year earlier, making this the second-slowest July since 1990, according to figures released Thursday by the real estate information service MDA DataQuick.
I didn’t bother to verify any of this information. But let’s assume it’s more accurate than what they reported about San Mateo County. Sales haven’t been this low since…1990. Why does that date ring a bell? It’s the date of the last housing downturn. So what their report tells us is home sales drop when the housing market drops, and sales have not started to pick up yet, because they no doubt will someday.
But what the report does is continue to fan the flames of consumer skepticism. Unless and until the housing market recovers, the rest of the country will suffer. Responsible reporting might help us get back on track sooner rather than later. We expect the facts—the news—good or bad. Just don’t skew what you choose to report to further your own agenda.
The California Association of Realtors tracks the "HAI" which is the Home Affordability Index. Their methodology can be found here, but in a nut shell they take into consideration the median home price for a particular area, the median income, the current interest rates and mash it into an index which essentially says what percentage of the population can qualify for the median price home assuming they put 20% down and have 30% (which is conservative) income to debt ratios. The higher the index the more home people can afford to buy a home. Since there are three variables which could affect this outcome, a dramatic shift in any one could influence the affordability trend. In the case of today's market two of the three variables are in favor of home affordability-low interest rates and lower median home prices. The third-income-has impacted these number to some degree and kept the index from being even higher as wages have remained stagnate and unemployment is high.
What this means to you is if you are considering whether to buy a home in the Bay Area, unless you are concerned over your job security this is one of the best times to purchase a home in the Bay Area in decades.
THE ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODOLOGY USED TO CALCULATE C.A.R.'S TRADITIONAL HOUSING AFFORDABILITY INDEX (HAI)THE ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODOLOGY USED TO CALCULATE C.A.R.'S TRADITIONAL HOUSING AFFORDABILITY INDEX (HAI)
Step 1. MEDIAN PRICE: C.A.R.'s housing affordability index is based on the median price of existing single-family homes sold from C.A.R.'s monthly existing home sales survey. Starting in 1987, this survey is based on reports of closed escrow sales from 80 Boards or more of REALTORS® and multiple listing services around the state. Prior to 1987, the survey was based on reports from 45 Boards.
Step 2. DOWNPAYMENT: It is assumed that a household can make a 20 percent downpayment on the median-priced home. Therefore, the loan amount needed to purchase a home would be 80 percent of the median home sales price.
Step 3. INTEREST RATE: Using the national average effective mortgage interest rate on all fixed and adjustable rate mortgages. This is represented by the effective composite rate for previously occupied homes, which is reported monthly by the Federal Housing Finance Board.
Step 4.The monthly payment for PRINCIPAL, INTEREST, TAXES AND INSURANCE (PITI) is computed as the sum of three parts: -Monthly mortgage payment, based on the terms of the mortgage in Steps 2 & 3. -Monthly PROPERTY TAXES are assumed to be 1 percent of the median home sales price divided by 12. -Monthly INSURANCE PAYMENTS on the house are assumed to be 0.38 percent of the median home sales price divided by 12. The results of these three calculations are added together to find the PITI or total monthly payment for a household that buys the median priced home.
Step 5. It is then assumed that the monthly PITI can be no more than 30 percent of a household's income. Thus, the monthly housing payment is divided by .3 to come up with the MINIMUM INCOME NEEDED TO QUALIFY FOR A LOAN on the median-priced home.
Step 6. Starting in 1988, data for the distribution of households by various income ranges was obtained from Claritas. INCOME DISTRIBUTION figures were developed based on the projected percent change in the annual median household income. Prior to 1988, household income utilized in the housing affordability index was based on projections by C.A.R. using the 1980 census data as a base. (I wonder who "projects" incomes-my emphasis and what criteria is used for that)
Step 7. The minimum income amount calculated in Step 5 is multiplied by 12 to determine the minimum annual income needed to qualify. This amount is compared to the income distribution of households. The percent of the households with incomes greater than or equal to the minimum income becomes the HOUSING AFFORDABILITY INDEX (HAI). NOTE: The quarterly HAI series begins in 2006, prior to that the series was monthly. The quarterly HAI for a given geographic area in a particular quarter is based upon the quarterly median price for that area as well as the quarterly income distribution for that area.
Whether you are thinking of buying or already own a home the current historically low interest rates may help you save thousands of dollars.
Rates in the last week have averaged the lowest point since records were first kept over 30 years ago. Refinancing today may help you save hundreds of dollars in monthly interest payments but even more important are the long term savings.
Rates are low right now because the financial crisis in Europe is driving the appetite for U.S. bonds which in turn raises the price and lowers the yield (interest) payment. And since mortgage rates roughly track the 10 Year Treasury Bond you can see where rates are headed and why. Rates are the lowest they’ve been—period.
If you think about the past 30 year trend of interest rates, which have averaged around 9%, it’s easy to guesstimate that the odds are good rates will be higher in the future rather than lower. What does that mean to you? If you are considering a purchase it means that there are two ways to look at it: if you buy a home at today’s rates either your monthly payment will be substantially lower or you can buy a considerably larger home for the same amount of money. In fact a payment on a $1,000,000 home ($800,000 loan) would be around $4,234 per month as opposed to $6,437 at the average historic 9% rate. But that doesn’t even begin to tell the whole story.
Not everyone stays in their home for 30 years but this offers up a substantial savings in interest payments. Most people aren’t aware of the long term costs of homeownership so you’ll be interested to note that at today’s rate your total interest payments over 30 years would total $725,000 and at the historical 9% rate it would be as high as $1,517,000—over double the interest payment for the same home. What could you do with an extra $793,000?
Perhaps rates will never be as high as they were back in the late 70’s and early 80’s but rates have still averaged 6.7% over the last 15 years during a time of historically low rates.
Now combine this with the recent decrease in home values and it’s hard to argue that waiting to buy a home will significantly benefit you.
What’s the big brouhaha about yet another extension of the $8,000 tax credit for first time homebuyers? Senator Harry Reid wants home buyers to have until September 30, 2010 to close escrow and receive the $8,000 tax credit. But before you go out and celebrate, understand that the only buyers this extension will help are people who already were in contract to buy a home by the April 30th deadline. The proposed extension would allow only those buyers to have until September 30th to close escrow rather than the looming deadline of June 30th. Senators Johnny Isakson, R-GA, and Christopher Dodd, D-CT, are joining Senator Reid in support of the amendment. And why not? It’s a good political move and even Senators who said they would never vote for another extension will feel pressured in an election year to get behind this move.
Will it help? Sure, in a few cases where there are delays in the closing of escrow where banks may be overwhelmed or dragging their feet on short sales or where buyers are simply not able to close soon enough.
But don’t look to the government to shore up the housing industry anymore for awhile. The housing market is like a bird flying the nest…at some point you have to find your own wings.
Case-Shiller released their report on repeat sales pairs for the 20 major MSA’s (Metropolitan Statistical Areas) across the country. San Francisco faired rather well, climbing 11.9% over last year in February. Phoenix lost another 1.64% but faired far better than Tampa Bay, which sank another 6% over last year.
No doubt many of these areas saw sales figures buoyed by the Federal Tax stimulus plan that rebates first time home buyers up to $8,000 and resale buyers up to $6,500. Additionally, the shifting of the majority of sales from lower priced homes to a more even mix has helped raise the median price point substantially.
Before the Super Bowl XLIV gets started we thought we’d take a look at what happened in Belmont in January 2010.
We’re including two spreadsheets—one for this last January and to help put in perspective, the one from last January.
Most statistics across the country point to January of 2009 as the low point for the real estate market. But what are they saying? The lowest point for sales, median price or what?
Many pundits are saying that home values hit bottom in January of 2009 and in fact in many of the hardest hit areas like Phoenix that may well hold to be true. But for areas that initially fared better, indications are that the price erosion is continuing.
January 2010
January 2009
(Clicking on either chart will deliver a larger picture.)
Looking at these two data samples, it’s easy to see that sales in Belmont are indeed up—way up. January of 2009 was simply dismal with only four sales and reflected that overall uncertainty of the future as buyers chose to sit on the sidelines and wait to see how much more prices will tumble.
SALES
This January’s sales reflect more buyers entering the market and buying homes. In January of 2009 there were 31% more listings available yet sales increased this year by 175%!
What accounted for the huge increase in homes sales? Part of it appears to be the resignation by sellers that they must take less for their homes than they had hoped for a year earlier. Note that all but five homes which sold this January not only had a price reduction but on average all received only 94% of their already reduced price.
MEDIAN PRICE
Most sellers had to lower their initial asking price by $50,000 and then accepted offers another $50,000 less than that. On a median home price of $850,000 that represents a huge disparity between what sellers (or their agents) think their home is worth, and what buyers are willing to pay.
Sales were up indeed but at deeply discounted prices. The Median home price in Belmont was $850, 000 which is about 4.7% less than January of last year. But not only can you get a home for 4.7% less than last January the home you get will be 6% larger. Another way to look at it of course is that prices have really dropped closer to 11% year-over-year.
DOM
Have the price reductions and lower asking prices helped sell homes faster? Just the opposite turns out to be true. The days it takes a seller to seller their home has almost tripled from 42 to 125.
Enjoy the game!
The information contained in this blog is educational and intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute legal, real estate or tax advice, nor does it substitute for profesional advice.
Sponsored by Drew & Christine Morgan"Helping People Make Good Decisions"smReal Estate Sales and ConsultingCarlmont Associates
We’re moving BeautifulMountainBlog but we’re still here…
Dear followers,
In 2007 we began our journey to bring you relevant information about Belmont local politics, activities and of course the real estate market. We amassed over 300 posts, some where we suceeded much better than others in entertaining and/or educating our readers. We hope that you will continue to follow us at our new location as we venture into a more mobile friendly platform.
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