Christine Monteith on the Pebble Beach Coast

Pebble Beach Stone Towers

In the last few weeks, there has been a spontaneous art movement, visitors are creating towers of stone. This section of Spanish Bay, just off 17 Mile Dr in Pebble Beach is naturally strewn with lovely ocean-rounded stones.

Bird Resting in Stone Towers

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Just love living here! If you are a jazz fan, living on the Monterey Peninsula is great. There is the Monterey Jazz Festival each year. During the rest of the year, several artists perform here. The Jazz and Blues Company has a great line up. The Sunset Center in Carmel offers a mix of jazz, popular, dance and theatre in it’s outstanding venue.

Last night, I was offered a grounds ticket to the Jazz Festival. I went with a couple of friends. One is an amateur jazz pianist who gets a few gigs around San Diego. They wanted to see Barbara Dennerlein and she does not disappoint. The place was jamming.

We also saw Kurt Elling singing Coltrane-Hartman arrangements with Ernie Watts. I’d never seen Kurt Elling before. He is very talented and very entertaining in his segues. He also featured an adorable vocalist Jamie Cullum. It is great that there is some young blood interested in performing jazz. Jamie is talented and very easy on the eyes.

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Reading an article in Forbes.com about the surprising number of foreclosures in some of America’s wealthier neighborhoods. According to the article, “The median home sale price in Newport Beach is $1.4 million and there are 89 homes in foreclosure; in La Jolla, there are 158 foreclosures, due mostly to second-home buyers overextending themselves.” (9.16.08)

Interestingly, Pebble Beach has not experienced this trend. Presently, there are 3 homes listed as “short sales” in a group of 113 active listings. There is 1 property pending that is a “short sale.” And only 2 of 42 properties sold since April 2008 have been short sales. No a single bank-owned property has been listed on the MLS.

There is a notable exception… 3177 Del Ciervo Rd was listed in April for $30,000,000. This home was listed in the Notice of Default circular and sold at auction. According to the County Records, the sale price on 8/4/08 was $6,850,000.00. Quite a bargain for a completely remodeled 10,000 sq ft. home with Pebble Beach golf course and ocean views.

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My colleague, Laurel Jaques who is a REALTOR and appraiser was speaking to a loan underwriter on an appraisal. Pacific Grove is categorized as a declining market. Data Quick News shows property value decline of 15.8% vs. year ago. MLS median sales prices for past 4 quarters are: Q3 ’07 $870K, Q4 ’07 $775K, Q1 ’08 $775 k, Q2 ’08 $725K.

The prices are declining and that is harmful for a property owner that purchased in 2005 or later and needs to sell right now. For a property owner that purchase before 2005, you will still is a profit from the sale of your home.

Since July 1, 2008, there have been 26 sales in Pacific Grove. The highest sold property was $3,550,000 for a home on Sunset Dr and the least expensive was a gutted, historic home on Pacific for $370,000. The average sale price for 4 homes under 1,000 sq ft was $547,500. And 2 of these properties were big fixers. $547,000 is still a commanding price for a property.

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From the C.A.R. website, “Home sales increased 43.4 percent in July in California compared with the same period a year ago, while the median price of an existing home fell 40.3 percent, California Association of REALTORS reported Monday.” Yeah homes sales are up from last year!

“Sales improved significantly in July 2008 and remained above the 400,000 level for the third consecutive month,” said C.A.R. President William E. Brown. “Deeply-discounted, distressed sales continue to drive volume in many regions of the state. July also was the first full month during which the effects of higher $729,000 conforming loan limits likely had an impact on closed sales.”

“The median price of an existing, single-family detached home in California during July 2008 was $350,760, a 40.3 percent decrease from the revised $587,560 median for July 2007. The July 2008 median price fell 4.5 percent compared with June’s revised $367,130 median price.” EEEEeeeek! the sale prices continue to scream downward.

Popularity: 1% [?]