Central Coast spring home buying off to strong start

Along with the rest of the country, the spring home buying season on the Central Coast is in full swing.

Americans bought homes in March at the fastest pace in more than a decade, according to the National Association of Realtors.

“Job security has gone up and a lot more jobs are being created which brings a lot more people into the area,” said Alfonso Palma with Elite Realty Services.

Nationwide, would-be homebuyers are dealing with a shrinking number of properties for sale and prices trending upward.

The national median sales price in March climbed 6.8% over the past year to $236,400.

That’s hundreds of thousands of dollars less than the median sales price here on the Central Coast.

In Monterey, the median sales price of a single family home rose 5.1% over the past year to $562,450.

“I’m looking for a four bedroom, three car garage,” said Marina resident Bill G. “Many of the houses I couldn’t afford.”

In Santa Cruz, the median sales price of a single family rose was up 3.1% to $814,500 in March.

The California Association of Realtors recently reported that March’s statewide median home price was $517,020, up 6.8 percent from March 2016.

“March’s solid sales performance was likely influenced by the specter of higher interest rates, which may have pushed buyers off the sidelines and close escrow before rates moved higher,” said C.A.R. President Geoff McIntosh. “The strong housing demand, coupled with a shortage of available homes for sale, is pushing prices higher as would-be buyers try to purchase before affordability gets worse.”

Realtors also said rent on rental properties is going up.

“Our rent is about the same that we would pay for a house so it makes sense for us to spend our money wisely,” said Dori Jones, who is looking to buy.

Pacific Grove continues its trend as a hot housing pocket on the Central Coast. “Houses are moving extremely quickly, and often with multiple offers assuming they are priced right,” said Mark Bruno, president of Monterey County Association of Realtors.

So where those buyers coming from? Many from the San Francisco Bay Area, but people from Texas, Colorado and San Joaquin Valley are also showing up with cash offers, Bruno said.

Some are buying as retirement properties, others are also buying to rent with the intention of moving in after they retire, Bruno added.

“I think they’re looking for getaways or retirement and we’ve got great air quality,” said Realtor Kimberly Stuhler with Coldwell Banker. “It’s beautiful and it’s a place that you don’t find often.”

Palma also said people in the Bay Area are buying in the Central Coast because they too are being squeezed out by outside money, China in particular.

“A home in San Jose might be a million dollars,” said Palma. “They’ll come in with a million one hundred cash. “That takes pretty much out everybody else for the simple fact that that’s what people want. A buyer will definitely take cash over a loan.”

But what about home buyers looking for a deal? “The lower end inventory is depleted in the entire county,” Bruno told KION. “Anything that comes on the market in Marina or Seaside seems to move quickly.”

“It seems like everything moves real fast,” said Mark Jones, who is searching the market.

“The things that don’t move fast there’s a reason why,” said Dori. “So there’s issues with anything that doesn’t move fast.”

While Pebble Beach is world famous for luxury properties at eye popping prices, Bruno said the lower end of Pebble Beach is also moving fast.

A search of MLS listings found a $12.5 million 7 bedroom, 5 bath house in Pebble Beach, but it also turned up a total of four properties at the lower end listed under a million, including a 4/3 listed at $859,000.