California Mortgage Recovery: San Benito County Market Rebounding

San Benito County real estate picked up in March, but the number of homes on the market and the time they’re sitting unsold continues to rise.

According to data the Hollister (Calif.) 33 home sales closed in March, more than doubling a February total of 16 and topping the 26 sold in January as well.

The median price increased month-over-month, from $585,000 and $595,000 - making for a highly expensive California mortgage for first-time buyers.

But the market saw a similar upswing between February and March 2006, when home sales jumped from 24 to 52. So does the increase in sales reflect a surging California housing market, or is it just a seasonal upsurge?

“It’s a combination of both those things,” said Melissa Mitchell, a real estate agent with Intero Real Estate Services. “‘Tis the season, and people aren’t as fearful.”

Mitchell said that buyers continue to be picky, but they’ve been a little more willing to take risks and apply for a mortgage now than they have in past months.

Jan Kisla, an agent with Coldwell Banker, said the market should continue to pick up.

“Over the next few months or so, we won’t have the market we had in 2005, but there will be some improvement,” she said.

But as California home prices and sales vary from month-to-month, one market number has been moving continually upward: the number of days homes sit on the market before selling.

In March 2006, homes spent an average of 78 days on market before selling. The average number of days on market has increased in almost every month since. By March of this year, homes had been on the market an average 154 days before selling.

At the same time, the number of homes on the market has also increased. There were 286 homes on the market in March 2006. That had increased by nearly 50 percent to 427 in March this year.

“Buyers are looking for deals,” Kisla said.

Mitchell said that’s hitting the most expensive homes the hardest. That’s because people buying a home for more than $1 million are usually moving up from one worth about $700,000 or $800,000.

But if they can’t sell their home, or they can’t get a good price for it, those buyers aren’t going to be looking at the priciest houses.

It’s not just buyers who are becoming more difficult. With home mortgage loan foreclosures increasing dramatically in recent months, more would-be buyers are being subjected to more scrutiny from lenders.

“You can wait 17 days and then find out the buyer couldn’t get the home loan financing,” she said.

Not everyone was dissuaded from buying houses for an asking price upward of $1 million. The most expensive home sold in San Benito County last month went for $1.125 million.

But even that four-bedroom “custom French Tudor” on “beautiful equestrian property” was advertised as “price-reduced and motivated” at the time of sale.

The least expensive home sold last month in San Benito County was an 81-year-old, three-bedroom home in Hollister that went for $420,000, a markdown from the original listing price of $448,000.

SOURCE: Hollister Free Lance