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.
Are Santa Maria CA short sales getting a little easier? Maybe I'm on a high because I just received a short sale approval the other day, and I'm in escrow on another approved short sale that will close in less than 30 days. But, it seems like more and more short sales are being approved every day. A buyer of mine received an approval on another short sale they bid on this month, and lately I'm noticed an increase in the amount of "approved" short sales on the market.
Finally! Those of you who read my blog recall my recent blog post on buying a foreclosure and not receiving your keys until the day after it closes. It appears that the Claifornia legislature has take a stab at the heart of the problem, which was the fact that buyers were not allwoed to pick their own excrow companies in these transactions. Banks would hire title and escrow companies to complete their foreclosure proceeding and when they turned around to sell the property as an REO, they would compel the buye to use that same title/escrow company to complete the purchase.
