It’s special days such as Memorial Day where we like to step back from the barbeque and reflect on what is we are celebrating and why. Of course Memorial Weekend is the unofficial start of the summer season and along with summer comes grilling, BBQ’s and cookouts. We’ve got a great recipe we saw on Bobby 
Flay’s BBQ Addiction for Root Beer BBQ Ribs which we’ll be trying out this weekend. We hope to inspire you to get your cookout on the right track, but first, we’d like everyone to ponder the meaning of this very special Day.
We observe Memorial Day on the last Monday of May. We honor men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. Originally it was named Decoration Day. Decoration Day originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971. Many of us will observe Memorial Day by visiting cemeteries or memorials, holding family gatherings and participating in parades–unofficially marking the beginning of summer.
The flag of the United States is raised briskly to the top of the staff and then solemnly lowered to the half-staff position, where it remains only until noon It is then raised to full-staff for the remainder of the day.
“The half-staff position remembers the more than one million men and women who gave their lives in service of their country. At noon, their memory is raised by the living, who resolve not to let their sacrifice be in vain, but to rise up in their stead and continue the fight for liberty and justice for all.”—History.com
So while we hope that your Memorial Weekend is fun and you travel safely, we also hope we can all take a moment to remember the many sacrifices that we honor on this special day.
Best of Tour-May 5th 2015-Belmont
Best of Tour-May 5th 2015-Belmont
The Inventory of homes continues to increase as we visited 17 homes for our clients on tour Tuesday.
Best of Tour this week goes to the newly listed home on Dekoven in Belmont (we’re not allowed to give the house number since it isn’t our listing—dumb rule, I know).
It’s listed as a four bedroom two bath home (actually it has two and ½ baths). Now it needs some updating but what intrigued us was not just the lot size, (12,960 sqft.), and the size of the home, (2,830 sqft.), but the layout was very unusual—not your typical Belmont ranch home.
Think of an Eichler-esque style home with an atrium in the middle which brings in a lot of light—we imagined a Nana wall opening up this space and incorporating it as a part of the flow of the home—we’ll perhaps not this dramatic.
Open this May 9th from 1:00-5:00 (Saturday—not Mother’s Day).
As always, you can click here to find more information on this listing or any other homes on our advanced real estate site.
Disclaimer:
Drew & Christine Morgan are REALTORS/NOTARY PUBLIC in Belmont, CA. with more than 20 years’ experience in helping sellers and buyers in their community. They may be reached at (650) 508.1441 or emailed at info@morganhomes.com.
You can find them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Morganhomes and also find them on Twitter @ https://twitter.com/morganhomes
The information contained in this article is educational and intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute real estate, tax or legal advice, nor does it substitute for advice specific to your situation. Always consult an appropriate professional familiar with your scenario.
Best of Tour for April 28, 2015
Selecting today’s Best of Tour home made for a difficult decision. Not because there were too many intriguing homes to choose from, or great deals to be had, but rather that there were none which offered any attributes we found remarkable or outstanding.
I don’t profess to be any sort of great hiker, and today proved why. We hiked up and down more stairs today than was portrayed in the famous lithograph Relativity by M. C. Escher in 1953.
Aside from the common denominator of “mundane” in the homes we toured today, was the abundance of cliff side homes. There are two kinds of cliff-side homes—cliff hangers—you know, the sort of homes you wonder if your kids would get out the bungee cords and leap over the edge, and what we refer to as cliff clingers—those homes which are on the up-slope with a yard better suited for a Billy Goat.
Now don’t get us wrong, many of these very homes offer spectacular views and often little yard maintenance. But when you’re out touring 20 of them in a row, one pines for just one sprawling California ranch home.
So if you are looking for an excuse to step back from the relentless open house weekend, we recommend you get away and tune in next week. Perhaps a nice hike would be in order…
Best of Tour for April 14th 2015
The definition of a mansion varies from person to person but we’re weighing in and calling this best of tour home in San Carlos so unique as to rise to the level.
Perched on the prestigious Hyde Park development with sweeping views of the surrounding canyons and San Francisco Bay, this stately home offers a plethora of elegant verandas and vistas to choose from.
Swank and extraordinary best describes this home and it comes with an equally extraordinary price tag for San Carlos where the average home sold this year for just over $1,400,000—yet there’s nothing average about this home. Listed by Coldwell Banker at a cool $4,988,000.
Click here for more images and details…
Disclaimer:
Drew & Christine Morgan are REALTORS/NOTARY PUBLIC in Belmont, CA. with more than 20 years experience in helping sellers and buyers in their community. They may be reached at (650) 508.1441 or emailed at info@morganhomes.com.
You can find them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Morganhomes and also find them on Twitter @ https://twitter.com/morganhomes
The information contained in this article is educational and intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute real estate, tax or legal advice, nor does it substitute for advice specific to your situation. Always consult an appropriate professional familiar with your scenario.
Best of Tour for April 7th 2015
Today’s Best of Tour was chosen due to its awe factor of being what I would consider my dream home. Imagine living lakeside in a mountain retreat but really just minutes from downtown Redwood City with its nightlife and great restaurants, not to mention the “Weather Best by Government Test” slogan the city boasts.
But get your wallet out as this amazing five bedroom five and one-half 4,250 square foot home will set you back a cool $4,498,000 if there are no multiple offers…
Disclaimer:
Drew & Christine Morgan are REALTORS/NOTARY PUBLIC in Belmont, CA. with more than 20 years experience in helping sellers and buyers in their community. They may be reached at (650) 508.1441 or emailed at info@morganhomes.com.
You can find them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Morganhomes and also find them on Twitter @ https://twitter.com/morganhomes
The information contained in this article is educational and intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute real estate, tax or legal advice, nor does it substitute for advice specific to your situation. Always consult an appropriate professional familiar with your scenario.
Listed by Coldwell Banker
Best of Tour for March 31st 2015
We see a lot of homes on tour but this home stood out as our best of tour because of its outdoor recreational areas for all ages and the indoor entertaining space for large gatherings.
This stunning 6 bedroom, 5 bath Tudor style home is in the sought-after Emerald Hills location. This rare opportunity affords one a large, level lot with a rural feel, yet it remains close to 280, downtown Redwood City and San Carlos. This ideal floor plan offers plenty of room for large gatherings and entertaining, with a master en suite and 3 additional bedrooms upstairs, 2 bedrooms downstairs, including extra-large bedroom suitable for in-laws/au pair. A “Great Room style family room with custom entertainment center and wet bar is open to the remodeled kitchen. Enjoy resort-like living with pool, fire pit and outdoor kitchen including a recessed outdoor flat panel TV for the sports enthusiast in your household.
Belmont’s Housing Market is Dead?
What Happened to Belmont’s Housing Market?
Talk about a slow start…Belmont has started this year with a big yawn when it comes to the housing market. New listings year to date are down 67% over this time last year—and 2014 was a slow year for listings.
San Carlos on the other hand is enjoying a 27% increase in listings to date at a median price 30% higher than last year.
One hopes we can begin to catch up! Stay tuned…
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Drew & Christine Morgan are REALTORS/NOTARY PUBLIC in Belmont, CA. with more than 20 years of experience in helping sellers and buyers in their community. They may be reached at (650) 508.1441 or emailed at info@morganhomes.com.
For all you need to know about Belmont, subscribe to this blog right here. You can also follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Morganhomes and on Twitter @ https://twitter.com/morganhomes
The information contained in this article is educational and intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute real estate, tax or legal advice, nor does it substitute for advice specific to your situation. Always consult an appropriate professional familiar with your scenario.
Belmont Enjoys Steady Home Price Increases–2014 a Year in Review
Belmont Enjoys Steady Home Price Increases
Since the housing recovery began in earnest in 2012, Belmont has enjoyed a steady increase in home values. Since 2010 Belmont’s home values have increased 44%, while year-over-year prices continued to increase 17% in 2014.
Part of the rapid increase in home values is due to historically low interest rates coming off a reduction in home values during the Great Recession. Another influence continues to be the influx of new jobs which jump started the need for housing in 2012. But the scarce housing inventory may have been the largest contributing factor by creating bidding wars and over exuberant offer prices.
To put the meager housing inventory into perspective, there were four times the number of homes for sale at the end of 2010 and 2011 than there are now, while new listings in 2014 were a quarter of what they were in 2010.
The time a home sat on the market dropped 70%, from 52 days down to just 16, while the percent a seller received increased 10% as sale prices averaged 109% of the asking price last year.
It’s safe to say that Belmont’s robust housing market has become self-evident. But how does Belmont stack up to other nearby cities such as San Carlos?
San Carlos bested Belmont in the median price category coming in at $1,425,000—11 % higher than Belmont for the year. The rate of appreciation over the past four years as also been higher as San Carlos home values increased 52% since 2010 as compared to Belmont’s 44%.
When compared to San Mateo County as a whole, a different picture develops as both Belmont and San Carlos are at the front of the pack. San Mateo County reported a 15% increase in the median home price year-over-year—with a median home value still 21% lower than that of Belmont’s. Here’s the supply and demand answer as to why home values are skyrocketing—the available homes for sale in all of San Mateo County dropped 73% over 2010 and the number of new listings dropped 21%.
We start 2015 with the lowest inventory of homes for sale since we started tracking home statistics in 1998. This will invariably create more multiple offer scenarios forcing buyers to outbid one another for their ideal home. This in turn will continue to put upward pressure on home values. And if interest rates remain stable (currently at a 1.5 year low), we expect another year of double digit appreciation, though we also expect the rate to slow as it did last year, down 2% from 2013.
Disclaimer:
Drew & Christine Morgan are REALTORS/NOTARY PUBLIC in Belmont, CA. with more than 20 years of experience in helping sellers and buyers in their community. They may be reached at (650) 508.1441 or emailed at info@morganhomes.com.
The information contained in this article is educational and intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute real estate, tax or legal advice, nor does it substitute for advice specific to your situation. Always consult an appropriate professional familiar with your scenario.
If you are considering selling your home we’re somebody you should know. Be sure and include us in your interview process—we’ll show you our proprietary EXCITE listing program which has netted our sellers more than any other top Belmont agents.
Winter Home Prices Increase
Winter home prices increase and buck the trends of a winter slowdowns.
We’re getting close to our most anticipated analysis—the year end summary for Belmont. But before those numbers are in the history books, we are closing out the year with November’s home sales report.
The Belmont home market continues to show strong growth after a lackluster fall market. Typically we see a strong push for home sales after Labor Day and a winter hibernation period once we get past Thanksgiving. This year seems to be at odds with historical trends as seen in the median home price which has risen steadily since August.
This November in Belmont the median home price was at $1,342,000 which was only eclipsed once in July of this year. Last November the median home price was $1,089,000. That translates into a 23% increase in the median home price year-over-year.
Did larger homes sell this year artificially skewing the median home price higher? The answer is yes. The size homes which sold this November were 18% larger. If we account for this in the median home price analysis we arrive at a more reasonable appreciation level of 5% year–over-year—which of course is just an approximation.
As prices get higher, demand wanes and the rate of appreciation levels off—as is demonstrated in the above numbers.
SALES & NEW LISTINGS
The number of homes sales dropped 44% year-over year since last November. Upward pressure on home values is being fed by the lack of inventory as new listings dropped 20% as well.
PERCENT RECEIVED
The amount which Seller’s received of their asking price was essentially unchanged at 107 % of asking.
OVER-UNDER
While 72% of all home sales sold for over the asking price—unchanged since last November, this year no seller’s had to adjust their asking prices lower. Last November 20% of sellers lowered their asking price for on average $200,000—indicating a slightly more robust November this year.
On a macro-level, the San Francisco Metropolitan Statistical analysis (the SFMSA) prepared by Standard & Poor’s, and referred to as the Case-Shiller study, reported a decline from August to September of .2%. The Case-Shiller uses a repeat sales pair methodology—virtually watching the same home sell over time. Not that .2% is a monumental shift in trends, since as can be seen in the chart below, seasonal factors cause even a large area like our MSA to fluctuate to a much greater degree.
This graph compares the MSA for our area year-over-year for the past three recovery years. Note that a fair amount of each year’s appreciation (increase in the index) occurs in the first two quarters of each year.
Disclaimer:
Drew & Christine Morgan are REALTORS/NOTARY PUBLIC in Belmont, CA. with more than 20 years experience in helping sellers and buyers in their community. They may be reached at (650) 508.1441 or emailed at info@morganhomes.com.
The information contained in this article is educational and intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute real estate, tax or legal advice, nor does it substitute for advice specific to your situation. Always consult an appropriate professional familiar with your scenario.
Fed Up Buyers Take Action
Fed Up Buyers Take Action
Buyers, tired of multiple offers, are forming an alliance in an effort to alter the current inequitable supply and demand of housing inventory. Known as Buyers Usurping Real Property, or BURP, Their grass roots movement is gaining momentum as their “just sit on the fence” attitude is resonating with other frustrated buyers.
Implicit in their long term goal is to bring real estate prices down and shift the market from a seller’s market to that of one which benefits buyers, by resisting the urge to compete in the housing market.
Ben Dover, the collation’s founding father and leader was quoted as saying, “Just say no to multiple offers. Sellers have had it their way long enough and frankly we’re tired of this”. He went on to elaborate, “The market should have shifted by now—we all have life plans and we need to move forward. We’re committed to remain in our rentals forever if need be
[rather] than purchase at today’s inflated prices”. Asked what he thought about the inflated rents, he responded, “Well, that’s just market forces at work isn’t it?”
Mr. Dover continued, “We’re confident we’ve got sellers with their backs to the wall. If we continue to resist the temptation to purchase a home, our movement will be a success. We plan on waiting out the winter market and spring into action next year, when our boycott will have created enough inventory and affordable housing for all.
Asked if he thought the actions of his devoted followers would be enough to alter the course of the housing market, Mr. Dover reasoned, “It had better we’re banking on it”.