New Public Library in Santa Maria, CA1275 single family homes sold in Santa Maria and Orcutt in 2009. This excludes PUDs, condos, and manufactured homes. This figure is slightly higher than the 1255 homes which sold last year. Of the 1275 homes sold this year in Santa Maria, 661 were bank owned foreclosures (REOs), 273 were short sales, and only 29 were estate/probate sales. So, approximately 73% of the home sales in the Santa Maria market were foreclosures or pre-foreclosures in 2009. Last year, that figure was 76%, so there was a very slight drop. 175 condos and PUDs sold in Santa Maria – Orcutt during the same period in 2009; compared to 130 units in 2008. 105 bank owned foreclosures (REOs), 37 short sales and only 2 probate/estate sales. So, 81% of the condos and PUDs sold in Santa Maria and Orcutt in 2009 were foreclosures or pre-foreclosures. Last year that figure was 79%, so there was a very slight increase in the number of foreclosure units in this category. The average sale price in Santa Maria was about $218,000 at $139 per square foot. And in Orcutt, the average was $333,000 at $182 per square foot.
Overall, the number of home/condo sales in Santa Maria and Orcutt is up from 2008. About 34% for condos/PUDs, and only about a 1% increase for homes. But keep in mind that throughout 2009, buyers experienced low inventory and bidding wars for foreclosure properties. It does not look like we are anywhere near finished with foreclosure activity in this market. Clearly without foreclosure and short sale homes, we would not have much to sell in Santa Maria – Orcutt.
If you would like a list of currently available short sale and foreclosure properties in the Santa Maria – Orcutt market, send an email request to me at tni@mintprop.com. Or give me a call at (805) 878-9879 and set up a buyer consultation today. You can also search for foreclosures on my website: www.BuySantaMariaForeclosures.com.
*Based on the information from the Central Coast Regional 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.
In July 2006, Mint Properties opened an office in the Mission Creek Plaza on Santa Maria Way. Tni’s stated aim is to offer the highest quality representation and professional service to her clients. Independence affords her the ability to avoid a volume driven approach; the result is prompt, reliable, individualized service coupled with straightforward advice. Indeed, she brings the same level of professionalism to real estate as she did to the law.
I have another short sale success story to report. I just closed a short sale that was fully approved by both short sale lenders, Select Portfolio Servicing (SPS) and Specialized Loan Servicing (SLS), within 41 days of submitting the short sale application. Working with two short sale lenders can be difficult, and I do think that this is the number one reason most short sales fail. Negotiating between two lenders can add a significant amount of time to the approval process. However, by staying in almost constant contact with both lenders I was able to negotiate this short sale in record time, with no seller contribution and the deficiency waived on both loans.
The Traditions at Bradley Square is community of newer homes for sale in southeast Santa Maria; it is near much of the new shopping in south Santa Maria (Best Buy, Home Depot, TJ Maxx) and it is also adjacent to the award winning Rotary Centennial Park.
Many homeowners who are severely underwater ask this question. Generally, the reason a bank accepts a short sale is due to the hardship of the seller. It is not because the short sale offer is close to or far from the loan balance. Once hardship is established, the issue becomes the market value of the asset. If market value is half -- market value is half -- there is no way around that.
