Closed Sales in San Luis Obispo County – Last 10 Years

This chart represents past closed sales in San Luis Obispo County for the last 10 years. It truly puts things into perspective since it shows that sales this year were only topped by the last three years. Sales levels are actually just back to normal, making it a great time for buyers to get that deal they have been waiting for!!

Click here to view Closed Sales in San Luis Obispo County!

Oak Leaves: The Oak Shores Community Association Newsletter

For details about this years Labor Day Barbeque, click here!

Read about the upcoming elections and new General Manager Annette Louder in this month’s issue of Oak Leaves!

Click here to read the August Issue of Oak Leaves!

Oak Leaves: The Oak Shores Community Association Newsletter

Read up on community news in the latest edition of Oak Leaves, the Oak Shores Community Association Newsletter.  In this month’s newsletter, learn about the re-opening of the Oak Shores gift store LOGOS, road project updates, advances in the Safety Committee, and much more! 

Click here to view Oak Leaves!

San Luis Obispo County’s Real Estate Trends

By Ermina Karim

ekarim@thetribunenews.com

San Luis Obispo County’s median home price set a record in 2006 even as sales in the county hit an 11-year low.

The annualized median home price last year was $549,000, up 7.6 percent from the 2005 median home price of $510,000, according to Data Quick Information Systems, a La Jolla-based research firm. The monthly median price — the statistical point where half the homes sold for more and half for less — peaked in June 2006 at $585,000.

However, successive monthly declines through the fall translated into a December median home price of $497,000, a 0.4 percent decline from December 2005 and a 3.1 percent slip from November 2006, according to Data Quick.

Home sales, meanwhile, were on a downward spiral for much of 2006, leading to the lowest number of home sales since 1995.

Just 3,741 homes (new, resale, attached and detached) were sold in 2006 –a 34 percent decline from the 5,699 sold during 2005, according to the research firm. Sales were off nearly 37 percent during December from the prior December.

“We saw sales fall sharply in 2006 as speculators continued to dry up, borrowing costs rose and a growing number of would-be buyers decided to watch from the sidelines, hoping for prices to drop as the inventory of homes for sale grew,” Data Quick analyst Andrew Le Page said.

The nearly 8 percent gains in the annualized median home price were primarily fueled by a 20 percent increase in new-home prices to $585,500 from $485,000. However, it was the slowest year for new-home sales since 1997, with just 675 sold during 2006. The median price of detached homes for resale was up 2 percent at $560,000, while resale condos moved up just 1.5 percent to $400,000, according to Data Quick.

Despite last year’s housingmarket downturn, many local real estate professionals are optimistic about thisyear’s outlook.

“We have seen a bit of a rebound in terms of activity,” said Wes Burk, chair of the Central Coast Regional Multiple Listing Service Committee andmanaging broker of The Real Estate Group in San Luis Obispo. “We are estimating 3 percent to 5 percent in overall appreciation with sales activity up significantly over last year. We expect a more normal housing market.”

“We are seeing signs of stabilization,” said Robin O’Hara, a real estate agent with Keller Williams Realty in Pismo Beach. “Sellers are more realistic, and more buyers are stepping up to the plate.”

But Data Quick’s Le Page says it’s still too early to predict how the housing market will fare in 2007.

“We don’t think it’s likely the market will see any big shifts over the winter. This spring we’ll find out how much demand there is out there at current prices,” Le Page said. “With so many unknowns out there right now — including the direction of the economy, inflation and interest rates — you might as well throw darts at a dartboard when trying to predict the housing market for the next year or more.”

10 Best Places in the Country to Live

These ten places are each special in their own way. The only downside may be that it’s hard to keep a secret, so most of them have seen considerable increases in home prices over the last couple of years. San Luis Obispo ranks number three!

• Click Here to View Top 10 Cities

Lake Nacimiento Spillway & Pipeline Update

LAKE NACIMIENTO SPILLWAY & PIPELINE UPDATE

By: Cindy Peyton

(Please note: These updates are per Cindy Peytons conversations with both counties)

Monterey County Spillway Modification

According to the Monterey County Water Resource Agency the spillway modification will not begin this summer as previously announced. According to Manuel Quezada of that agency the permit process is incomplete and the necessary funding has not been obtained delaying the project until at least next summer. Due to the possibility of storms construction can only be done on the spillway during the summer months and the construction window for the 2007 summer has passed due to the permit and funding issues mentioned above. Monterey County will continue their regular water release schedule for 2007. Click here if you would like more information on the Salinas Valley Water Project.

San Luis Obispo County Pipeline

San Luis Obispo County will begin construction on the Nacimiento Water Project on September 11, 2007. The project consists of a 45 mile pipeline which will carry supplemental water from Lake Nacimiento to the cities of Paso Robles, Templeton, Atascadero and San Luis Obispo. The county plans on exercising their rights to 17,500 acre-feet or 4% of Nacimiento water beginning in 2010 when construction is completed. The county anticipates little disruption to residents in the Nacimiento area during construction. One side of G14 will have to be closed when work is being done under the road but the county anticipates no other problems or inconveniences.

Oak Leaves: The Oak Shores Community Association Newsletter

Oak Leaves: The Oak Shores Community Association Newsletter featuring information on the Annual Fire Department Appreciation Dinner Dance, the President’s Report, the Pool Area Improvement Project, and MORE!!!

• Click Here to View the Full Oak Leaves Newsletter

Press Release – Grace Borzini Joins the Ranks of the Real Estate Industry’s Most Elite

Local Realtor® Joins the Ranks of the Real Estate Industry’s Most Elite – Grace Borzini Owner/Broker of Oak Shores Realty located at Lake Nacimiento Becomes Newest Member of Exclusive Realtor® Mastery Program.

Click here to read the entire press release.