It's the end of the year and time to begin compiling data and drawing conclusions about what the real estate market was like in Santa Maria and Lompoc this past year. Often, sellers and buyers rely on "days on market" to tell them additional and useful information about the real estate market. However, as with any one statistic, days on market can be an unreliable and misleading indicator of true market conditions.
Nestled between May Grisham Elementary and Highway 135 is a strip of cute little townhomes known as the Orcutt View Park Condos. These homes offer 3 bedrooms, two baths, a one car garage, and a birds eye view of community sporting events held in the sporting fields next to the school. They are about are about 1400 sq. ft. in size and the association dues are about $180 per month. Most of the townhomes offer a small patio and backyard. For those who wish to commute to Vandenberg AFB, the location is ideal; the commute time is about 15 minutes to the main gate.
Are you looking for a home in a gated community in Santa Maria? You may want to check out the homes in Hidden Pines. It is located near Preisker Park and across the street from the gated community of Regency Estates.
Home to Jim May Park (an 11 acre park which includes a lake and walking trails) and Ida Redmond Taylor Elementary, the River Oaks development offers an idyllic setting which parallels the Santa Maria riverbed in northeast Santa Maria. Built from 1999 -2003, these homes range from 1400 sq.ft. up to almost 3000 sq.ft. in size. Current asking prices for active and pending homes in the River Oaks development range from $260,000 to $299,900. In the past 6 months, home sales prices in River Oaks ranged from $235,000 - $310,000.
Built by a local developer, Inland Pacific Builders, Pacific Crest is conveniently located on the south end of Santa Maria and a short 20 minute commute to the main gate of Vandenberg AFB. The Pacific Crest homes were constructed beginning about 2005, and the last few homes are still being sold by the developer. The floorplans are some of my favorites built in Santa Maria, with circular interior entries, spacious kitchens, and luxurious master suite options.
Lake Marie Estates is a secluded enclave of executive and luxury homes in Orcutt, located east of Highway 101, off the Clark Avenue exit. When exiting 101 on Clark, instead of heading west toward downtown and Old Town Orcutt, head east toward the vineyards and wineries. Lake Marie offers a truly rural setting that is just minutes away from shopping and other conveniences.
The Edgewood Homes in Orcutt are a delightful collection of one and two story homes just west of Bradley Road and north of Union Valley Parkway, adjacent to the Oak Knoll neighborhood and St. Joseph High School. These homes are about a 20 minute drive to Vandenberg AFB. They were built in the mid to late 1980's and range in size from 1300 sq. ft. to 1800 sq. ft. The development includes a private park that is gated and for the use of residents only.
In a short sale, the seller asks the bank to allow a sale even though they owe more on the mortgage than the property is worth. Accordingly, the seller is not permitted to take any proceeds from a short sale. In a "normal" sale, sellers have a vested interest in getting the highest price for their home. A higher offer means a bigger net for the seller.
When I searched the MLS for active properties this morning, I came up with 158 single family homes or condos for sale. 29 of those listings are short sales, and 35 are active REO listings. There are 234 contingent listings, and 222 of them are short sales. In the last 30 days, 131 homes have sold, with an average price of about $250,000, average price per square foot of $150, and averaging about 75 days on market. 28 of those sold homes were closed short sales, and 61 were REO (bank owned property) sales. Average days on market for short sales were about 120 days (this reflects the time period to obtain bank approval), and average days on market for REO listings was about 53 (this includes the time it takes to get the contract finalized by the bank).
I just received a counter offer back on a Bank of America property (formerly Countrywide) with a new twist that I haven't seen before in REO contracts. Countrywide officially became Bank of America Home Loans about two weeks ago. I've sold quite a few Countrywide REOs and was used to how they did things. However, it appears that the switch over to Bank of America has changed some things.