“Sometimes things could be right under your nose, the only problem is your eyes are above it”
-Unknown

We often feel like we need to travel a long way to see something really amazing. But sometimes when you look up and really look around your own home in San Mateo County, you will see that amazing things, amazing surroundings, and amazing people are usually just under our noses.

For example, have you made a trip yet to Pacifica Performances yet? The Pacifica California organization has been staging concerts all over the community for years. It began in 1976 as the Pacifica Arts and Heritage Council, assisting art shows, sponsoring art, dance, and poetry, and providing a meeting place for artists within Pacifica.

Today, Pacifica Performances is housed in the Mildred Owen Concert Hall, a former school building transformed into a beautiful 175-seat concert hall. With a focus on live performances, the roster that they have today boasts a variety of acts – from Latin rhythms to stand up comedy. Below are a few upcoming events. As you read them, and possibly explore further into these musicians, you may find something truly amazing right outside your Pacifica home.

Los Boleros
When: Saturday, January 15th @7:30 pm
Dance moves, spins, passion! Los Boleros brings you back to the golden era of traditional Cuban son, cumber, merengue, danzon, and, of course, bolero! The lead singers combine a Havana-born son of a famous vocalist, the amazingly clear voice of an experienced performer, and  the addition of Flutes, Sultry Saxophone, dreamy violin and smoking Tres Cubano.

Richard Smith
When: Saturday, January 22 @7:30 pm
What do you get when you combine Scott Joplin Rags, Sousa marches, Mozart, fiddle tunes, Chet Atkins, Django gypsy jazz, Bach, and the Beatles? Answer: Richard Smith’s Virtuoso Guitar Series. This British-born musician showed incredible talent as a toddler. He can quickly master whatever guitar style that piques his interest, often taking only a single hearing to get it down. He really is a musical prodigy and definitely worth seeing at least once.

Bobbe Norris, Kenny Washington with Larry Dunlap Trio
When: Saturday, January 29@7:30 pm
If you’ve ever missed the voices of Nat ‘King’ Cole and Ella Fitzgerald, here is a wonderful reminder. Bobbe and Kenny come from soulful New Orleans roots, inspired by the greats. This is your chance to see the two of them together on stage.

Will Durst
When: Saturday, February 5
5 Time Emmy Nominee. 7 Time American Comedy Awards Stand Up of the Year Nominee. First comic invited to perform at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. This man has done it all and has got the resume to prove it. This political comic is a C-SPAN darling, and now he is coming to Pacifica.

Click Here for more information about Pacifica Performances and Ticket Prices.

What did we tell you about looking right under your nose? We would say that these acts are pretty impressive and they are just the tip of the iceberg. Pacifica, California is a place full of art, culture and performance. There is so much to love about this neighborhood, but it’s best explained by showing. When you are ready to come take a look at what Pacifica Real Estate has to offer, please give us a call.

Kathy & Michael Rain
Your San Mateo Coastal Real Estate Experts

San Mateo Coastal Real Estate
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 Current homeowners can now receive a $6,500 tax credit, while first-time buyers are still eligible to receive an $8,000 credit. 
But act soon, the opportunity of a lifetime ends April 30th, 2010.

First time Home Buyer Credit has now changed 3 times.  The biggest change came in December 2009:
Extends the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit of up to $8000 to first-time home buyers until April 30, 2010 under the Binding Contract Rule-“as long as a written binding contract to purchase is in effect on April 30, 2010, the purchaser will have until June 30, 2010 to close.
Who Qualifies-First-time homebuyers and current home owners purchasing a home between November 7, 2009 and April 30, 2010, who have used the home being sold or vacated as a principal residence for five (5) consecutive years within the last eight years.
Increased Buyer Income-Under the Extended Home Buyer Tax Credit-effective on November 7, 2009, single buyers with incomes up to $125,000 and married couples with incomes up to $225,000-may receive the maximum tax credit.
Price-Under the Extended Home Buyer Tax Credit, credit may only be awarded on homes purchased for $800,000 or less.

HURRY IF YOU’RE THINKING OF PURCHASING OR YOU’LL LOOSE OUT ON FREE MONEY!

Open houses this week have finally slowed down.  Maybe it was the rain or just the time to get the Holiday shopping completed.  The market is still favoring Buyers. 

Pacifica had 8 new listings this week with 2 listed for over a Million dollars.  Brings the total of active listings to 47.  6 properties went sale pending this week.   All were listed at $698,000 or less.  There are 45 pendings.   6 new closings this week, all listed under $800,000,  brings the total closed homes YTD to 226.  Still a sellers market with low home inventory.

Next week will be our last week to report 2009 sales.    We don’t see any surprises before the end of the year.  The market has reacted to the Holiday Season.

Still a Buyers Market – HALF MOON BAY through MONTARA,CALIFORNIA with just under half of the listings listed at over 1 Million. The $900,000  plus price range is finally seeing activity with 25% of sales year to date.

Active Listings-106 Single Family Homes. 45  listed over $1,00,000, 18 listed under $600,000. 6 New Listings this week with 4 having been on the market and now relisted and  1 over $1Million.
Pending Sales-25 with 9 listed under $600,000 and 8 over $900,000.  4 pending sales this week with 1 over 1Million.
124 Homes Closed since January 1, 2009 with  32 that closed under $600,000 and 32 over $900,000.  3 closings this week with 1 listed over 2 Million.

PACIFICA, CALIFORNIA
With YTD sales of 224 and active listing at 49, Pacifica continues to be a Seller’s market.

Active Listings-49 Single Family Homes. 10 listed over $900,000, 21  listed under $600,000.  7 new listings with 4 under $600,000 and 1 over 1 Million.
Pending Sales-47 with 20 listed under $500,000. 3 new Pendings this week.
224 Homes Closed since January 1, 2009 with  83 that closed under $500,000 and 73 between $500,000- $600,000.  2 closings this week.

ABSORPTION RATE
Absorption Rate is the number of months it takes to sell the current inventory at the present rate of sales.
6 months supply is a balanced market.
Less than 6 months supply is a Sellers market.
More than 6 months supply is a Buyers market

Still a Buyers Market – HALF MOON BAY through MONTARA,CALIFORNIA with just under half of the listings listed at over 1 Million. The Million plus price range is finally seeing activity with 20% of sales in that price range.

Active Listings-108 Single Family Homes. 46  listed over $1,00,000, 17 listed under $600,000
Pending Sales-24 with 11 listed under $700,000 and 7 over $1 Million.
121 Homes Closed since January 1, 2009 with  31 that closed under $600,000 and 21 over 1 Million.

PACIFICA, CALIFORNIA
With YTD sales of 214 and active listing at 50, Pacifica continues to be a Seller’s market.

Active Listings-50 Single Family Homes. 10 listed over $900,000, 21 listed under $600,000
Pending Sales-44 with 18 listed under $500,000. 6 new Pendings this week. 3 under $500,000
217 Homes Closed since January 1, 2009 with  82 that closed under $500,000 and 71 between $500,000- $600,000.  No Closings this week

ABSORPTION RATE
Absorption Rate is the number of months it takes to sell the current inventory at the present rate of sales.
6 months supply is a balanced market.
Less than 6 months supply is a Sellers market.
More than 6 months supply is a Buyers market

Active Listings-120 Single Family Homes. 52 listed over 1 Million, 15 listed at $900,000 to 1Million.Pending Sales-41 with 11 listed under $600,000 and 10 listed over 1Million
93 Homes Closed since January 1, 2009 with only 14 that closed over $1,000,000 and 10 between $900,000 and 1 Million.

PACIFICA, CALIFORNIA
With YTD sales of 191 and active listing at 56, Pacifica continues to be a Seller’s market.

Active Listings-56 Single Family Homes. 8 listed at $1,000,000 or higher and 17 listed under $600,000.
Pending Sales-52 Single Family Homes with 20 listed under $500,000 and 15 listed between $500,000 and $600,000. 8 Properties went Sale Pending this week with 3 listed under $500,000
191 Closed Sales since January 1, 2009 with 8 that were listed for over $900,000. 107 sales were from homes listed at $600,000 or less. 4 new sales this week.

ABSORPTION RATE
Absorption Rate is the number of months it takes to sell the current inventory at the present rate of sales.
6 months supply is a balanced market.
Less than 6 months supply is a Sellers market.
More than 6 months supply is a Buyers market

Generally speaking the Bay Area real estate market has seen a bit of a bounce this summer with sales increasing in all categories—from the entry level homes and condos to the high-end market. 

National figures showed June with an 11% increase in home sales and the Bay Area seemed to share that trend with July sales up 15% over July 2008.  As the number of sold units continues an upward trend, price recovery is a bit of a mixed bag depending on the area. The entry level median price is increasing in all counties, due to very little supply against a healthy demand.  The just-under, just-over $1M mark seems to be holding its own, with a few multiple offers out there for the right property in a sought-after community. The higher end properties over $2M have, in the past 30 days, seen more activity than at any time this year, but price remains a critical factor as to which properties seeing this activity actually go into contract.  It seems the higher the price-point, the more critical it is for a very attractive list price.  Sellers who are selling are very realistic about marketing price, and Buyers who are buying are recognizing good value when they see it, and are taking action swiftly. For cash buyers or those with large down payments, this could be a great time to pick up a bargain in the luxury home market. 

This week the National Association of Realtors released its monthly existing home sales report (http://www.realtor.org/press_room/news_releases/2009/08/strong_uptrend?LID=RONav0021) noting “For the first time in five years, existing-home sales have increased for four months in a row, according to the National Association of Realtors®.”  The report went on to note, “Existing home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – rose 7.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.24 million units in July from a level of 4.89 million in June, and are 5.0 percent above the 4.99 million-unit pace in July 2008.  The last time sales rose for four consecutive months was in June 2004, and the last time sales were higher than a year earlier was November 2005.” 

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said he was encouraged.  “The housing market has decisively turned for the better.  A combination of first-time buyers taking advantage of the housing stimulus tax credit and greatly improved affordability conditions are contributing to higher sales,” he said. Ultimately these are all very positive signs for our market and are a strong sign that we are moving in the right direction towards a housing recovery.

A few other interesting articles of note for the week: 

• Home Prices On An Upswing In The Second Quarter Of 2009 According To The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices; Case-Shiller
• New Home Sales Blast Past Expectations; CNNMoney.com
• The Housing Market: Has It Turned the Corner?; TIME Magazine
• Mortgage Applications Increase In Latest MBA Weekly Survey; Mortgage Bankers Association
• Home Market Shows Signs of Life as Declines Slow; Bloomberg 

Now let’s take a look at this week in real estate: 

• East  Bay—Berkeley reports some buyers are still not prepared to compete in a multiple offer situation and may not believe this market until they’ve lost out on a few properties.  Castro Valley reports there is very limited inventory in our local market right now.  We had nine homes on Brokers tour during the course of this week, and Agents are hungry for homes to sell.  We had a few properties that hit the market this week and went pending in a matter of days.  Multiples, multiples, multiples.  There is an increase in the number of buyers calling our office looking for agents to help them buy.  We have gotten a lot more floor activity in the past week, despite the drop off in activity due to kids going back to school.  Danville reports all market activity is strong.  Lack of inventory is holding down sales.  Prices at the bottom are firm – prices at the top are still correcting.  Oakland reported we had three nice sales averaging $2 million for the week.  One of them was the property that we had marketed for a year and a half.  The buyer came to an open house (we had over 100 groups through) and bought it all cash for over $2 million dollars and a very quick close.  Everyone feels there is momentum in the market.  We had more open houses last weekend than previous weekends  and they are well attended
• Monterey County—The steady beat of listings and escrows continues the Monterey Peninsula.  We are seeing sales in all price ranges, except the very top over $10 million and those are slow even in the best of times.  One third of our new escrows last week were for properties priced between $1.2 million and $1.9 million.  We see sales in that $1-2 million range really picking up of late. 
• North Bay—San Rafael reported cash is king when it comes to winning the multiple offer game in the entry level market.  Nearby Southern Marin reported every deal requires heavy negotiating and seller concessions and last minute delays in removing loan contingencies.  Sebastopol noted open houses remain well attended. Every escrow has its own special demands, lender conditions, low appraisals, and Agents on the other side that won’t play nice.  Santa Rosa noted REO listings are starting to appear in increasing numbers. A noticeable increase in open escrows from $500,000-$900,000.
• Peninsula—Burlingame noted that activity has picked up a lot, many buyers are getting involved in multiple offers and are beginning to understand that the market has changed and they need to step up to the plate when that perfect property comes along.  Half Moon Bay reported activity has picked up on the coast as seller’s are pricing their properties to sell within one or two weeks, along with the moving of some stagnate listings requiring many counter offers.  Menlo Park Santa Cruz Avenue reported two homes sold last week with multiple offers however neither went over the list price. Open houses were busy averaging 20-25 groups.  Palo Alto reported Inventory is slow to come on the market. Listings and sales are seasonally slow. Looking forward to a brisk after Labor Day market.  San Mateo reported there has been some more intense movement in the $1.2-1.5 range – Hooray!!!
• San Francisco—The Lombard office reported a slow week except for the entry level and REO markets which remain hot, with multiple offers, including a surprising number of all cash. Major price reductions on the upper-end bringing mixed results. More hints of a listing surge post Labor Day.  The Market Street office reported lots of activity the last two weeks.  Back-up offers being elevated, properties that have been on the market for a while getting into contract, and buyers who want to get in to a home before prices go up and be assured of their $8,000first-time home buyer credit. There has been more activity than a normal August with fewer agents in the office taking time off.
• Santa Cruz County—In last four months, the median price in the county has risen 23% or about $100,000 which is a very good sign.  Prices are still down about 14% from where they were a year ago at this time but it is definitely going in the right direction.  Inventory levels are down from a year ago with a 5.5 month supply of single family homes on the market as compared to 8.5 month supply in July/August of last year. Overall, there is improvement which is wonderful!
• Silicon Valley—San Jose Almaden reported a hot low end market continues to fuel sales.  Highest sale last week was $550,000.  Two-thirds of the sales were under $300,000!  The Willow Glen office reported we are seeing a lot more multiple offers on our listings.  Saratoga reported our Previews (luxury end) market is still slow.  REOs and short sales still dominate the market; however there is a slow steady increase in our office’s average sales price. I think this is due to a much healthier market in the $750,000 to $2,000,000 range.
• South County—Sale prices are exceeding list prices on sales under $400K due to lack of inventory.  On REO listings it is typical to have 5-10 multiple offers in that price range. Contingency time frames are usually shortened to strengthen the offer.  Short sale listings are increasing with back up offers in place.  Open houses are well attended and floor calls have been on the rise!  Morgan Hill reported the market remains unchanged for the past several weeks.  There is great demand for entry level homes–multiple offers happen and then there is just one successful buyer. 

Several offices are talking about a post Labor Day surge in new listings.  The Buyer appetite seems to be there, as long as the listings are priced right.  Typically August is the slowest of summer months with vacations taking priority, however this month has seen the best Buyer activity all year long for many offices.

 Please note that next week we’ll take a brief hiatus from Weekly Market Watch for the Labor Day weekend, but we will return the following week. 

Until then,

Make it a good one,

Rick 

Rick Turley

President, San Francisco Bay Area

Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage

Still a Buyers Market – HALF MOON BAY through MONTARA, CALIFORNIA with 17.5 months supply.

Active Listings continue to stay high and inched up this week from last week.  The number of active listings has not been at this level since the first of the year.  This is a very encouraging sign for Sellers. Still, just under half of the listings are listed at over 1 Million and 12% at $600,000 or less. 7 of those listings are located at Martins Beach which continues to attract buyers even though the properties will have to be abandonded in 12 years.
Of the 3 new Pending Sales this week, all were listed at $799,000 or less.  This weeks activity was a bit of a slow down from the previous week.

Active Listings-130 Single Family Homes with 59 listed at $1 Million or more.
8 New Listings this week with 5 over 1 Million.

Pending Sales-39 Single Family Homes with 8 listed for under $500,000 and 8 over 1 Million.
3 Properties went Sale Pending this week.

57 Homes Closed since January 1, 2009 with only 8 that closed over $1,000,000 and 8 between $900,000 and 1 Million and 9 listed at $500,000 or less. One home closed this week that was listed at $799,000.
 
Sellers Market with few Homes for Sale – PACIFICA, CALIFORNIA with 1.58 months supply.

Statistics remain consistent another week With the current number of Active Listings divided by the average number of homes sold YTD, there is 1.58 months of inventory of Active listings. Sales look like they are going to slow considerably unless more listings in the lower price ranges come on the market.  Most of the short sales have been sold. 

Active Listings-30 Single Family Homes.  6 listed at $1,000,000 or higher and 9 listed under $600,000. NO new listings this week.
 
Pending Sales-59 Single Family Homes with 4 listed over $900,000 and 25 listed under $500,000 and 20 listed between 500-600,000. 
6 Properties went Sale Pending this week from $849,000 to $525,000 list price.

146 Closed Sales since January 1, 2009 with 5 that were listed for over 1 Million. 64 sales were from homes listed at $500,000 or less and 39 homes listed between $500-600,000.
5 Homes Closed this week with 4 that were listed under $580,000.

Considering the decreasing inventory, few new listings and higher prices for those remaining active listings, we expect to see the sales activity continue to drop.

Statistic remain consistent another week With the current number of Active Listings divided by the average number of homes sold YTD, there is a little more than 1 month of inventory of Active listings.

Active Listings-45 Single Family Homes. 12 listed at $998,000 or higher and 18 listed under $600,000. 7 new listings this week with prices ranging from $449,000 to $849,000.

Pending Sales-59 Single Family Homes with 2 listed over $900,000 and 49 listed under $600,000.
1 Property went Sale Pending this week that was listed at $499,000. This is the slowest week for pendings since the begining of the year

115 Closed Sales since January 1, 2009 with 5 that were listed for over 1 Million. 79 sales were from homes listed at $600,000 or less.
7 Homes Closed this week with only one sale that was listed over 1 Million.

Still a Buyers Market – HALF MOON BAY through MONTARA, CALIFORNIA, San Mateo County

Active Listings continue to stay at the same level week over week. Still, around half of the listings are listed at over 1 Million and 15% at $600,000 or less. 8 of those 20 listings are located at Martins Beach which seems to be trying to get whatever sales they can before the land lease expires in the next couple of years.

Year to Date Sales are most prevalant at $700,000 or less with 21 of 49 that have closed. The high end is showing 7 closing over 1 Million and 7 closing between $900,000 and $1 Million. The Market is still favoring Buyers.

Active Listings146 Single Family Homes
10 New Listings this week with 3 over 1 Million. Active listings continue to keep steady.

Pending Sales-27 Single Family Homes with 7 listed for over $999,000 and 12 under $600,000.
3 Properties went Sale Pending this week. List prices were varied once again this week for the third week in a row with no price range being dominant.

49 Homes Closed since January 1, 2009 with only 7 that closed over $1,000,000, 7 listed between $900,000-1 Million and 21 listed at $700,000 or less.
3 Homes Closed this week with list prices of $299,000, $899,000 and $999,000

69 Active Listings are listed at over $1,000,000.