Hollister - While the local housing market may be slowing down and frustrating sellers, it does seem to be holding up better than markets in neighboring communities.
The Realty Times reported that the median price of a home in the Silicon Valley dropped in the past two months by $50,000 from $820,000 - just more than 6 percent - while homes in San Benito County have dropped in price by less than 1 percent over the past year. Half of the homes on the market are more expensive and half are less expensive than the median price, which locally is $589,888, according to the regional MLS provider. In May, however, the local median home price was $670,000.
"It is definitely a buyer's market, meaning that buyers have more choices and more negotiating power," Dee Brown wrote in an e-mail. Brown is a broker associate with ReMax Platinum Properties in Hollister. "In 2005, sellers often got multiple offers, above asking price, and had to make no concessions in negotiations."
But local sellers are now being forced to play a slightly different ball game. Homes are staying on the market for an average of two months, necessitating that they come down in price somewhat in order to sell. Last year, homes were staying on the market for an average of two weeks, and some sellers who saw their neighbors' homes sold within days are now becoming frustrated at the amount of time the process is taking.
"They're looking to the agents and saying, 'Well, where are the buyers?'" Jack Kirk Jr. of Realty World said. "And we know they're out there, but it's taking more time to reach them."
Houses that stay on the market longer can hurt families who have to move immediately due to a job opportunity, or who have already bought another house and are stuck paying two mortgages until their old home sells.
"Really you have to take a look at your motivation for selling," Ray Pierce of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage said. "If you're looking at a market in another state or even in the Central Valley, you can take your time, but if you're trying to move back to San Jose, for example, you're going to want to sell quickly at the bottom range, because that market is still increasing. ... If you're just looking to move up in Hollister, you can probably take some more time."
Moreover, this can be a slow time of year for real estate. Now that children are back in school and the holidays are just around the corner, families can be reluctant to pick up and move. The slower pace is challenging real estate agents to find new buyers.
"We're spending more money on marketing," Kirk said. "And we're having to get creative with our ideas, like the best way to use the Internet in our marketing."
Danielle Smith covers education for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or dsmith@freelancenews.com
Danielle Smith
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