by Mary Pope-Handy | Sep 10, 2008 | Belgatos, Belwood, Market Info, Surmont
The Los Gatos real estate market has fared better than many other parts of Silicon Valley in recent months, but prices are declining, days on the market area increasing and inventory is climing.
The median sales (sold) price of homes is down about 26% year over year in Los Gatos (95030 and 95032). List prices appear to be flat (see graph below, which is from Altos Research, a subscription I have) but in many price points, homes are being reduced multiple times prior to selling.
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The higher priced homes seem to be hurting more than the entry level homes. This is interesting because most of the “correction” we have been seeing is due to the mortgage mess, and a large portion of the very high end homes (more than 3 mil) are not terribly dependant on loans. Many of them are bought “all cash”.
What about our east Los Gatos enclave of Surmont, Belgatos and Belwood? We, too, have rising inventories. At the moment, there are six homes for sale in these three Los Gatos neighborhoods. I can comment a little on these and perhaps it will seem less gloomy when I do.
Two of the six are tenant occupied and difficult to see. They are not being actively marketed except on the MLS (no signs, no ads, no open houses – only the MLS and related web advertising). When homes are hard to see, they are hard to sell. One of them desperately needs a coat of paint and for someone to water the front yard, which has dead grass in it.
Another of the six homes is really large and at the high end of the scale for neighborhood pricing.
That leaves us with three other homes on the market. Every home has some kind of issue, and these three do too, but they are nice enough that they should procure an offer, even if not close to list price.
Having homes on the MLS that don’t sell tends to really hurt the ones that DO want to sell. Bad makes worse.
What next?
It’s hard to say. This morning at the Los Gatos – Saratoga Realtors board meeting, one lender said that it hasn’t been this bad since 1981. So it’s a challenging time for sure!
It’s a good time to buy, but buyers need to carefully handle their loan papers to avoid glitches. Selling is doable, but sellers must realize that it’s a price war and a beauty contest. Homes that aren’t in top condition and priced aggressively are going to have a tough time selling.
Please call me or email me if you would like a confidential meeting to discuss your real estate wants and needs. I’m happy to help!
Mary
PS Please see also my Live in Los Gatos blog – I do market updates about once a week there.
Mary Pope-Handy
408 204 7673
Mary@PopeHandy.com
by Mary Pope-Handy | Mar 15, 2008 | Belgatos, Belwood, Market Info, Real Estate, Surmont
Homes in Belwood are selling at the same slow pace as most of the rest of Los Gatos.
Homes that are in top condition and priced well with no “issues” are selling decently. Others are sitting. At the moment (3/19) there is only one home available, two which are sales pending, and two more poised to come on the market in the next month or so.
Did you know that you can see the current list of available homes in the Surmont, Belgatos, and Belwood areas of Los Gatos on this website? Additionally, information on the expired listings and the sold and closed listings are here too. Just click on the “Homes Info” tab to stay current.
by Mary Pope-Handy | Feb 22, 2008 | Belgatos, Belwood, Market Info, Real Estate, Surmont
For weeks, there have been four homes for sale in the Belwood, Belgatos, and Surmont area of Los Gatos. Recently, one of the homes on Westhill went under contract or “sale pending”. It is a contingent sale, subject to the sale of another home – so not ideal by any stretch, but it is a sale.
When a home is sold contingent on the buyer’s selling a house or condo or other real estate, what does that mean?
Often, the listing agent will allow a set timeframe for the buyer to sell his or her property. Also, the Realtor working with the seller will usually include a “release clause” or “kickout clause” to that if a better (non-contingent) offer comes along, the sellers can effectively boot the first buyer out of contract – with some stipulations. Usually it’s a matter of time, like 72 hours to remove the contingency or to sell the home.
Sometimes homes that are “status 2” or contingent sales do go to closing, and sometimes they don’t. In a hot sellers market, homeowners will not ordinarily take a contingent offer. But in a market like the one we have today, sellers will consider any reasonable offer if their home’s been for sale a long time with no other offer.
Essentially, then, there are still four homes that are available to purchase. Two are in Belwood of Los Gatos (one on Belvue, the other on Belhaven) and two into the Begatos/Surmont side, both on Westhill.
And two more homes will be on the market in the next 2-4 weeks. Both of these are larger houses and will have higher price tags. One is in Belwood, and one is very close to Belgatos Park.
If you’re thinking of buying here in east Los Gatos, give me a call or drop me an email and we can talk about the market and the current opportunities afforded by it.
Mary Pope-Handy, Realtor, CRS, ABR, e-PRO, SRES, ASP, RECS, CNHS, ACRE
Helping Nice Folks to Buy & Sell Homes Since 1993
Co-Author: “Get The Best Deal When Selling Your Home In Silicon Valley”
877 397-5391 (Direct/Toll-Free/Fax); 408 204-7673 (Cell)
www.PopeHandy.com www.ValleyOfHeartsDelight.com
emailto: Mary@PopeHandy.com
Blog: www.LiveInLosGatos.com
