Leon's Blog - Central Coast California Real Estate

Attention First Time Home Buyers!

2007-03-09T15:41:00.000-08:00

Purchasing your first home can be one of the most exciting and frightening things you can do. To live the American dream and become a homeowner, especially on the Central Coast shows that you are doing well. Not only will you obtain the pride of ownership, you will also, in time, gain appreciation on the value of your home. Believe me this is almost always the case in a buyers market, such as now. Los Osos has been leading in value on the real estate market on the Central Coast. Where else can you find a 3 bedroom, 2 bath home with approx 1300 sq ft. for $349,000?
This is definitely a great time to buy, and before you do so, make sure to consider the following issues:

Pay Off Bad Debt- It is very common for first-time home buyers to compile any extra income into a savings for a down payment. A down payment can be very helpful for the right buyer, but if there is outstanding credit card debt, student loans or car loans on you credit report, saving for a down payment may be more harmful than paying off your debt. Most credit cards have a higher interest rate than what your mortgage rate would be. Also paying off credit cards lowers your debt to income ratio. Most lenders won't lend to someone with 40% or more debt to income ratio.

How Much Can You Afford- As a rule of thumb, your annual mortgage payment, taxes and home owner's insurance shouldn't exceed 28% of your gross income. It is also extremely important to have some extra cash for home repairs and emergencies. Closing costs which are usually 3-5% of the value of the home need to be considered, but they are becoming more and more negotiable with the sellers, who may contribute to the costs.

What Type of Loan?- Mortgage brokers are masters of creative financing. There are so many options for loans, that 100% financing is more common than not. I would be happy to refer you to a lender who could meet your needs.

I hope that this information has been helpful and please contact me with any of your questions or concerns.

In the Real Estate business, nothing makes me happier than putting someone in their first home!

San Luis Obispo #6 in the Nation!

2007-02-20T12:15:00.000-08:00

What do these cities have in common?

1. Panama City, FL
2. Vero Beach, FL
3. Bridgeport, CT
4. Lakeland, FL
5. McAllen, TX
6. San Luis Obispo, CA
7. Wilmington, NC
8. Manchester, NH
9. Fort Collins, CO
10. Atlanta, GA

Besides being rich in culture and beauty, all 10 of these cities were ranked by CNN's Money Magazine and Business 2.0 as the top 10 cities to buy now! They are predicting that the real estate slum could get worse before it gets better, and those who have the patience to buy and hold will be making a great investment.

Notice that San Luis Obispo is the only California city, and the only city in the whole western U.S. listed!

For those of you lucky enough to be home owners on the Central Coast, this should be no surprise to you. You have invested in one of the most beautiful and diverse areas in the nation. We really have it all; beaches, mountains, & valleys.

Not to mention that our county is becoming a world renowned area for the wine industry. Even French vintners are buying property in Paso Robles.

If you are interested in purchasing your first home, upgrading, downsizing or investing in a rental property, this is the time!

Thanks for checking in and feel free to contact me anytime! 801-1133

Welcome to the New Year!

2007-01-30T14:34:00.000-08:00

It is hard to believe we are approaching the 2nd month of 2007! Here is a little re-cap of 2006. There were 185 homes sold in Los Osos, with an average sale price of$532,832 and with an average of 97 days on the market. This is compared to 2005, where 259 homes sold at an average price of $533,465 and with an average of 65 days on the market. One would summarize that the average price of a home increased from 2005 to 2006 when in reality we have experienced value dropping as much as 20% in certain price ranges. The main reason for this apparent increase is due to a larger percent of homes that sold over one million dollars.

Unlike the rest of California, I feel that the SLO County Real Estate will have a much lighter cooling off period. We have seen a decrease in the number of active listings, and the numbers of pending sales are pretty consistent to that of last year. We will have a better idea of what the trend will be in 2007 within the next few months.
The great news is that the interest rates are still stable and actually lower than they were this time last year. You can get a conforming 30 year fixed loan at 6% with one discount point.

Thanks for checking in! Please feel free to call me with any Real Estate Inquiries!

(805) 801-1133

SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY REAL ESTATE UPDATE AS OF AUGUST 11, 2006

2006-08-11T17:07:00.000-07:00

The current SLO County Real Estate Market is still strong but its definitely cooling in that we have seen price reductions of up to 15% on certain properties in the County! The number of ACTIVE LISTINGS have increased 5 fold and the number of sales to date are down 30% from last year. The number of days on the market has increased from 25 day to 125 days.
The following is a recap of the San Luis Obispo Market from the first of the year to date:

SALESPRICE ------ACTIVE------ PENDING------ SOLD
100 k-550k--------951----------- 147--------------866
550k-700k-------- 588----------- 102------------- 452
700k-1 mil---------534------------ 70-------------- 324
1 mil and up------- 412------------ 46---------------195
TOTAL-----------2485------------365--------------1837

BY LOCATIONS:
SLO--------------- 239------------ 43-------------- 252
Los Osos---------- 130------------- 16--------------- 99
Morro Bay-------- 116------------- 17--------------- 61
Nipomo----------- 159------------- 24-------------- 105
Arroyo Grande---- 270------------- 41-------------- 214
Avila--------------- 33-------------- 1--------------- 10
Pismo Beach------- 111------------- 12--------------- 73
On a positive note the FED's did not increase the short term interest rate this week!
You can still get a 30 year fixed rate for as little as 6.25% with 1% loan fee.
Thanks again for checking my website!
Have a wonderful week!

High Prices | Low Sales

2006-07-18T23:08:00.000-07:00

Its interesting that the that medium home price throughout California is still increasing 6- 8% but the number of homes that have SOLD year to date compared to the past Five Years, has dropped as much as 40%-50%.

So are the Real Estate prices up from last year or not? No, the reason for the increase in prices is that the true sign of a Bear Real Estate Market is that the Highest prices homes have a tenancy to be the last wave of homes that sell prior to the market cooling down, thus you have a small number of Higher price homes closing escrow which makes everyone think that prices are still going up!

Los Osos like a number of other Communities in the County has experienced a 10% price reduction compared to this time last year. Thus if your home was appraised for $ 500,000.00 last year don't be surprised to get a current appraisal at $ 450,000.00.

If you would like a true Honest evaluation of your property, please don't hesitate to give me a call. Thanks for logging on!

Sincerely, Leon