There is a tremendous amount of interest in buying second homes in this market. Due to the financial crisis and housing crash, some are taking the opportunity to buy a vacation home on the central coast. Although, we have most certainly seen significant price reductions, foreclosure activity is relatively low in Pismo Beach, Arroyo Grande & Grover Beach compared to the nearby northern Santa Barbara communities of Santa Maria, Orcutt, & Lompoc.
When examining the market for single family homes and condos, the Pismo Beach market has 111 active listings, and only abut 10% could be classified as a foreclosure or pre-foreclosure (8 short sales and 4 REOs). Approximately 15% of the active Arroyo Grande market are foreclosures (189 active listings, 16 short sales and 15 REOs). And, almost 25% of the Grover Beach market is similarly affected with 15 short sales, and 7 bank owned properties out of a total of 95 active listings.
In the past 30 days since September 11, 2008, of the 9 sold listings in Pismo Beach, none were foreclosures. In Arroyo Grande, there were 30 sales, one of which was a short sale, and 9 bank foreclosures. So, one third of the sold activity in Arroyo Grande was foreclosure driven. In Grover Beach, 40% of the sold inventory (10) was either a short sale (3) or an REO (1). So, the few foreclosures that are present in these markets are being snapped up at a high rate.
I specialize in helping people buy foreclosed properties; my background as an attorney is a tremendous asset in this market. If you would like a list of REO and short sale properties in the Pismo Beach, Arroyo Grande or Grover Beach market delivered to your email account, please send me an email at tni@mintprop.com, or feel free to give me a call to inquire about a specific properties’ status (805) 878-9879.
*Based on the information from the Central Coast Regional MLS & Lompoc Valley MLS. Neither the Association, the Multiple Listing Service, or Mint Properties guarantees or is in any way responsible for its accuracy. Data maintained by the Association or its MLS may not reflect all real estate activity in the market.
For those looking for foreclosure bargains in the Los Osos and Morro Bay areas, you may be surprised to hear that the actual number of REOs (bank owned homes) in those cities has remained relatively low. Foreclosures tend to force the rest of the market down, and areas with fewer foreclosures have seen slower and more conservative price recessions than areas that were overloaded by foreclosures. Morro Bay and Los Osos have not had the foreclosure inventory that the beach communities in southern San Luis Obispo county have seen.
What does the average home in Arroyo Grande cost? In the past 30 days, home buyers in Arroyo Grande have paid $640,476 for a home in Arroyo Grande, and an average of $235 per square foot. Sold properties averaged 66 days on market.
