Lavigna is a new gated community of detached townhomes in the southwest part of Santa Maria referred to as the “Westgate Ranch” area. There is a lot of recent building in this area: Pacific Crest, Harvest Glen, St. Claire (now rental apartment homes), and Siena (planned). Recently, the City of Santa Maria built out Battles Road which improved accessibility to the area greatly. There are also plans to build out Carmen Lane which will further unite the Westgate Ranch area with the south end of Santa Maria. Even without the Battles and Carmen build out, the area offers great accessibility to Vandenberg AFB with a straight shot out Blosser/Skyway to Highway 135/Broadway.
Lavigna offers a community pool with a Lighthouse tower, tot lot, and a community green belt area; it sits directly adjacent to Liberty Elementary School. I just visited the model homes yesterday and they all look appealing. The floor plans range from 1700 sq. ft. to 2200 sq. ft. with at least two offering an optional bedroom downstairs. By purchasing a new town home, you have the luxury of building the townhome out exactly the way you prefer. I would recommend taking a buyer’s agent with you when looking at new homes. We can provide great advice during the process as the sales agents in the office usually exclusively work for the seller/builder. A buyer’s agent can give you advice about which options will help you resell the unit, as well as current comparative sales information for similar re-sale units. Lavigna recently reduced some of their prices and they now range from the low $300,000’s to around $330,000; and home owners association dues are $113 – 122 a month.
Built in 2004 and 2005, Arborwalk is located at the intersection of Miller & McCoy in the heart of “New” Santa Maria. This gated development is close to shopping, banks, and restaurants and it offers a fitness trail, greenbelt basin, and rose gardens throughout. Once you drive home you truly don’t need your car; you can get out and walk to everything; units in this development earn high “walkability” scores. These detached town homes are excellent for buyers who don’t want the obligations of yard work but still need a little outdoor space for their pet and/or a BBQ grill. Also, these homes are fantastic for investors who plan to market a rental to nearby Vandenberg Air Force Base. Arborwalk is tremendously attractive to potential renters as it sits adjacent to grocery stores, coffee shops, and restaurants.
Monthly HOA dues in Arborwalk run about $95 per month, and floor plans range from 1600 to 2400 square feet. There are 5 floor plans offering balconies, picket fences, and generous master bedroom suites. There is at least one floor plan that has a bedroom and full bath downstairs. Arborwalk is completely sold, so there are only re-sales in this development. As these units first sold during the housing boom, most of the current sales are short sales or foreclosures (REOs). In the last 3 months of 2008, re-sales prices ranged from $237,000 for a 1650 sq. ft. model to $284,000 for a 2150 sq. ft. home, with a median selling price of $250,000.
For those interested in high end townhome developments, but who don’t require a gated community, the communities of Somerset Gardens, Stonebridge, The Villas at La Ventana, and Foxenwood Garden Villas should be explored. They each offer open floor plans, well maintained grounds, and generous amenities to their residents. If you would like to search for Santa Maria – Orcutt CA properties, I offer three ways to search for property on my websites: SantaMariaRealEstateSearch.com, iLoveOrcutt.com, BuySantaMariaForeclosures.com. Or if you would like to receive email alerts about properties, send me an email request at tni@MintProp.com, or if you would like me to arrange a personalized tour of Santa Maria area properties please give me a call at (805) 878-9879 and I will set it up for you.
*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.
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).
Many investors that I am currently working with in the Santa Maria and Lompoc real estate market are paying all cash for their rental homes. That is why the market for foreclosures is so difficult for Santa Maria home buyers using FHA/VA financing; it is difficult to compete against a cash offer on a foreclosure where the bank wants to make no repairs to the property.
Hancock Park is located in southeast Santa Maria adjacent to Marian Medical Center, Allan Hancock College, and near the new Trader Joe’s. The name Hancock has a long and storied history in Santa Maria, beginning with Captain G. Allan Hancock and his adoption of the Santa Maria Valley as his retirement city. In keeping with the prestige that the Hancock name confers in the local area, Hancock Park remains a premier area in Santa Maria and it also offers convenient access to Highway 101 and the Five Cities area. Nestled within Hancock Park is Joe White Community Park which hosts a play area, gazebo and plenty of greenbelts.