Hollister
– San Benito County home prices have fallen significantly since
the first of the year.
Hollister – San Benito County home prices have fallen significantly since the first of the year.
From January to November, the monthly median price for homes sold here has fallen from $669,000 to $539,000, according to data from the REInfoLink database.
“It’s definitely a buyer’s market,” said Dee Brown, who is a broker associate with ReMax Platinum Properties in Hollister.
Things were different last year, Brown said, when San Benito County home sellers were often able to choose from multiple offers.
As an example of how the market has gotten tougher for sellers, Brown said one of her clients agreed to sell their home for $645,000 at the end of 2005. However, the deal fell through, and although their asking price has dropped to $599,000, they still haven’t managed to sell.
Instead, they’re renting the house out for a year and hoping the market improves. “They decided that’s better than just having it vacant,” Brown said.
County real estate agents have closed 433 sales to date in 2006, with houses staying on the market for a median of 52 days. In comparison, 500 homes were sold in 2005, and half of them sold in 15 days or less.
Karl C. Skow, a mortgage broker with Pacific Finance Company, said many home buyers overextended themselves when prices were going up in recent years. “A lot of people bought in over their heads,” said Skow, who is a state director of the California Association of Mortgage Brokers. “Now they’re being forced to lower their prices.”
Thirty-seven homes sold locally in November, at prices ranging from $375,000 to $1.5 million. The median price last month was $559,000. During the same month last year, 39 homes were sold at a median price of $660,000.
California, meanwhile, has seen a big drop in sales. According to San Diego-based DataQuick Information Systems, 39,200 California houses and condos were sold in November. That’s a 23.5 percent decrease from the same month in 2005. The median price in November was $469,000, up from $458,000 in Nov. 2005.
The National Association of Realtors reported that home sales have also fallen nationally. The organization’s chief economist, David Lereah, said homebuyers have a window of opportunity that’s likely to last until early spring.
Anthony Ha covers local government for the Free Lance. Reach him at (831) 637-5566 ext. 330 or [email protected].
