http://www.homescentralcoast.com/real-estate-blog From our experience... Thu, 17 Jul 2008 21:00:48 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Would you love to own a second home or condominium on the Central Coast but question whether you'll use it enough to warrant the expense?  You may be interested in a condo hotel (also known as condotel.) What is a condo hotel or condotel?  Think of it as a hotel ... http://www.homescentralcoast.com/real-estate-blog/condo-hotels.html Floods are a fact of life in many places around the country.  During the last few years, we have seen devastation from events like Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, the drastic flooding in Iowa, Missouri and many other states along the Mississippi River.  Unless you have lived in the Santa ... http://www.homescentralcoast.com/real-estate-blog/santa-maria-flood-insurance.html I continue to see below market pricing of foreclosure properties in the Santa Maria and Orcutt area resulting in a large number of offers which drive up the price.  Last week, a bank owned property came on the market in Old Orcutt which was listed at $189,900.  The previous owner bought the property for ... http://www.homescentralcoast.com/real-estate-blog/competition-heats-up-for-bank-owned-property-deals-in-santa-maria-orcutt.html The Pismo Beach Car Show took place this past weekend.   I used to participate by entering my 1969 Checker Aerobus and even was fortunate to win first place one year in my division.  Now it's fun for me to be an observer and to roam downtown Pismo Beach and talk to the owners ... http://www.homescentralcoast.com/real-estate-blog/pismo-beach-car-show-2008.html As real estate agents, we sometimes take it for granted that buyers understand how real estate agents are paid.  However, most first-time home buyers haven't experienced the process yet, so we wanted to clarify some important points for those who may be unfamiliar with how it all works. In most cases ... http://www.homescentralcoast.com/real-estate-blog/what-does-it-cost-homes-buyers-hire-a-real-estate-agent.html We often get questions from people who are interested in buying a Central Coast beach property that generates income as a vacation rental. Pismo Beach and Shell Beach are popular destinators for tourists and one of the key areas of interest for a possible vacation home. However many people, including ... http://www.homescentralcoast.com/real-estate-blog/buying-vacation-homes-in-pismo-beach-and-shell-beach.html The LA Times published an interesting article today featuring a Santa Maria family whose home is going into foreclosure. I think the article gives a good example of how many people ended up finding themselves in this situation. The article also notes the large number of homes in foreclosure in ... http://www.homescentralcoast.com/real-estate-blog/santa-maria-foreclosures-in-the-news.html Here's a snapshot view of sales for single family homes in some of our Central Coast cities based upon statistics from the Central Coast MLS -Multiple Listing Service: City # of Sales May 2007 # of Sales May 2008 Atascadero 34 17 Five Cities 47 38 Orcutt 14 34 Paso Robles 48 59 San Luis Obispo 28 14 Santa Maria 22 62     http://www.homescentralcoast.com/real-estate-blog/25.html We continue to see more national articles that support our theory that the real estate prices on the Central Coast are starting to stablize, particularly in the Santa Maria and Orcutt areas.   In an article entitled "Real Estate Outlook: Worst is Over", Kenneth R. Harney identifies some more signs of ... http://www.homescentralcoast.com/real-estate-blog/the-real-estate-forecast-continues-to-improve.html First American Title Company in Santa Maria reports each month on residential real estate sales activity and compares it to previous years.  Here is a summary of the number of sales of single family homes, condos,and Planned Unit Developments (PUDs.)  The report confirms that sales activity is really picking up.  In ... http://www.homescentralcoast.com/real-estate-blog/santa-maria-real-estate-sales-report.html