Real Estate stories from Central Valley area Merced and Atwater

Welcome to our blog. It’s a crazy real estate world out here and we are here to share and help whenever possible!

I’m so glad to be sharing information with you and it will be my pleasure to help people by blogging about real estate in the Central Valley. My real estate partner Doug Van Riper will relay information about the Bay Area and more specifically the East Bay area soon. On occasion we will present joint stories and insights. In addition to this blog I encourage you to read the past entries by either clicking on the ‘Archived Blog’ button or by clicking here. In the past entries you’ll get a feel for the history and what we are all about which is focusing on our client’s needs. More information will also be available through our news link section in the near future.

I have so much to say but realize that the longer I go the more likely you are to stop reading. I do encourage you to read this first long entry so you can see what’s going on in most of the markets out here.

I’m going to start with a small bio about myself which will quickly lead into what’s been happening the past few years.

I’ve been a California resident on and off for the last 16 years. I started out living in the South Bay area for several years, followed by the East Bay, a move to Idaho and now I’ve been living in the Central Valley area. I’ve been involved in real estate for 10 years now. I started with a company helping locate and negotiate commercial lease space. I became a residential real estate agent starting my 5^th year now. Even as a 12 year old I can remember driving by homes with my parents and thinking wow that home is "really cool looking." I often wondered what was going on inside these mysterious looking homes. I believe it was my destiny to become an agent where I now help people get through the often confusing and sometimes frightening process.

I’m by no means new to the Central Valley region. My wife’s family has 50 years plus of ties to the Central Valley in places such as Modesto, Turlock, Merced, Planada and Fresno. We would visit her family several times each year before relocating to Merced.

For the past 2 years we heard that Merced County was in the top 5 for foreclosures. Armed with this information last April (2009) we started looking for a new home in Merced. I was expecting there to be several hundred homes with at least 4bd, 2ba and 1700 or more square feet of living space to accommodate our kids and animals. I was quickly shaken into reality.

Our agent presented me with around 20 homes to view online. I couldn’t believe it. I said how is this possible when Merced is in the top 5 for foreclosures nationwide! It was another reminder that just because the news reports something it doesn’t make it true. Well it was partly true. The banks have been holding onto so many foreclosed homes for the past 2 years. They own the homes but they aren’t releasing many. It’s more of a trickle here and there. Inventory in certain price ranges has been historically low for the Merced area.

What’s troubling is that any time a home is listed in say under the $200,000 range more times than not the home has multiple offers on it within a day. What’s more troubling is that often some of these offers are cash which at times beat out the offers backed by FHA, VA or conventional loan funding. Long story short it took us 6 home offers to purchase a home. We didn’t have much of a choice. We knew the area we wanted to live in and that made it even more limiting, but in the end we have a very nice home. It’s not my dream home but in today’s market that home is very difficult to find. Flash forward 6 months from us moving into the home and stories indicate it can takes 15, 20 even 25 offers or more for some people to purchase a home. For buyers in today’s market this can be a frustrating process.

One alternative to remember is that the Central Valley has several cities to search for homes in such as Tracy, Manteca, Modesto, Turlock, Merced and Madera. There are also several smaller cities such as Ripon, Salida, Delhi, Livingston, Los Banos and Dos Palos just to name a few. Most of these cities are within 15 minutes to 90 minutes from each other making it more convenient for home buyers.

Still in today’s market as a buyer you have to be prepared. What this means is first and foremost know what amount you’re approved for and feel comfortable paying on a monthly basis with your lender. Have a pre-approval letter in hand before you visit the homes. In some cases you won’t be able to visit the home unless you do so within hours of it being listed. My wife and I made all offers based only on seeing the pictures of the home along with the map and satellite views for the location and the school district information which was important for us. Our agent previewed a few of the homes and sent back additional pictures. We wrote our offers the same day. We made sure the offer was as attractive as can be both price wise and with our earnest money (the money put down in good faith often viewed as a sign of buyer intent of seriousness).

Great news is that despite low inventory levels homes are still being listed throughout the Bay Area and Central Valley region. In many places home prices have dropped making them affordable where just a few years ago that was not the case. Mortgage rates are still low which helps keep the payments low. For sellers setting the price can be a challenge but the great news is that your home if priced and marketed well will sell rather quickly.

I can’t wait to help people with their real estate needs. Through all of life’s challenges we all need a place to call home. As a part of the Bay to Valley home team we would be honored to represent you whether you are selling your current home or planning on buying a new one.

If you’re looking for a home please search the site and/or sign up for automatic email to see the homes the same day they are listed. If you need to sell your home we have a great marketing plan for you! Either way email or call us with any questions, concerns or just to talk about real estate.

All the best,

Scott Messing

Century 21 M&M and Associates

209-769-4028

Lic #01883959