Century 21 Hometown is a small town brokerage, but we are in a lot of small towns along the central coast. We were honestly surprised to learn that our company is now ranked as the 303rd largest real estate brokerage in America for our performance in 2012. In a report curated annually by the research firm Real Trends, real estate brokers are ranked by dollar volume. We have long known that we are the largest brokerage by looking at volume in our Multiple Listing Service – but we did not know how we ranked nationally. This is exciting news.
We look forward to seeing the impact of the 6 offices we have added Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties. Had the production of those offices been considered, we may have entered the top 100.
From all of us at Century 21 Hometown Realty, we would like to thank our customers who have supported us for so many years. We realize that you have a choice in representation in your real estate transactions. We are thankful that you choose us.
Century 21 Hometown Realty has one of the most successful Ranch and Ag sales divisions on the Central Coast of California. We are grateful to be able to offer this spectacular 30 acre property. The ranch is located just three miles outside of downton Paso Robles, blending rural living with the convenience of everything that Paso has to offer, including world class dining, shopping, schools, and social activities.
The ranch itself is nestled around many fine vineyards and tasting rooms. The terrain, from level to rolling hills, is fenced and cross-fenced. This is an ideal property for vineyard development with the highly sought after # 152 Linne Colado soil type. There are gorgeous views surrounding the 1800 square foot log home with granite counter tops and Italian porcelain tile flooring. The home features a two-sided fireplace and more than 12” thick, very well insulated walls to help stay cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Five acres of 4 year old pomegranates are planted on drip and a seasonal creek with a natural spring is adjacent to the southern boundary. There is a barn, a horse shelter, dog run, shed, vegetable garden and plenty of area to park.
There are literally millions of real estate information websites on the internet for you to use, but they are not all created equally. We are happy that you choose ours. What you may not know if that real estate agent and broker websites are governed by laws that protect you in ways that consumer websites are not. One of the most important features of an agent or broker website is the assurance that the property information that we provide on this website is accurate and up to date. We run our property updates every 15 minutes to make sure that every listing on this website is as current as possible. Websites like the newspaper website, Zillow, Trulia, Craigslist and others have as many as 50% of the listings which are inaccurate or not for sale.
We ran across this humorous video today that you might enjoy.
Next weekend, the Young President’s Organization will be having an event here is San Luis Obsipo County. It will be hosted by Ed Stevens, CEO of Shopatron, one of the county’s largest private companies with more than 100 employees, and a member of YPO. To be eligible for YPO, you must be under the age of 45 and the CEO of a company that has more than 50 employees, has a payroll that exceeds $1mm, have revenue of at least $8M, and be valued above $10M. In other words, these are the young successful leaders of our nation.
As part of their visit to the coast, they will be learning about the local wine industry and the lifestyle of San Luis Obispo County. They are sure to be inspired by the regions glorious ocean vistas discretely contained backed by mountain backdrops and the rolling hills planted with the worlds best wine, fruit, and vegetables. We are truly blessed to call San Luis Obsipo our home. As part of the tour, these YPO executives will be provided with area real estate information provided by Century 21 Hometown. Here are the 3 most posh properties that are available for sale in San Luis Obsipo County.
1. $21,850,000 – 591 Hi Mountain Road, Arroyo Grande. Rancho Arroyo Grande Vineyards. Stunning vineyard estate with about 230 Acres planted with Vines, Olives. View It here
2. $19,995,000 – 8383 Lone Palm Drive, Cambria, CA. Casa Pacifica – If you want to live like the Hearst family, you may want to consider this ocean front property offering 1000 feet of sandy beach. View It here.
3. $9,000,000 – 5225 Buena Vista Drive, Paso Robles, CA – This ranch offers nearly 350 acres of vineyards and orchards. Nearly 100 acres are planted for wine grapes, about 125 acres planted for pistachios, about 40 acres of pomegranates, and about 50 acres cleared and ready to plant your dream of deliciousness. View it Here.
4. $6,500,000 – 678 Sheehy Road, Nipomo, CA – Spectacular home approx. 8,806 sq.ft. with loads of amenities and features for those seeking the very best. The property is a total of approx. 22.8 acres. There is nearly 20 mile panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean, Central Coast and surrounding rolling hills. There is an orchard with approx. 987 avacado and 481 lemon trees room left over for a vineyard! View it here.
Remember, Century 21 Hometown Realty has offices though out the central coast from Ventura County to San Luis Obispo county with more than 300 REALTORS(r) ready to serve you. We also have a Ranch and Vineyard division, a group of agents who offer a depth of understanding on areas of California Tax Law, Water, and other critical areas of these speciality properties that are critical to understand.
The central coast is among the most outstanding wine regions in the world, offering the prefect conditions for producing a wide range of outstanding varietals. For those who enjoy wine, there are few gastronomic pleasures beyond tasting a wine with your feet planted in the very soil in which it was grown. This may sound somewhat odd, but you can actually smell the vineyard in the wine – it is a rich earthly smell that changes from region to region.
In addition to the bounty of wine, there is a culture of wine that is as diverse as the wines themselves. The community boasts groups of all types of wine enthusiasts. Although there are massive wineries here, producing thousands of cases of wine for international distribution – there are also far more backyard vineyards where property owners embrace their version of the micro-winery. The results are outstanding.
If you would like help selecting a property for your vineyard, we have vineyard specialists in Northern San Luis Obispo County, Southern San Luis Obispo County, and Northern Santa Barbara County to help you.
This month, one of our local wine enthusiasts is celebrating Paso Robles Syrah. Here is a great video to enjoy
Here is a search result from our website that displays some of our favorite properties, Click Here
Century 21 Hometown Realty is among the only central coast real estate companies that leverage television advertising as part of our marketing mix to support home ownership on the central coast. This month, we ran three ads during the superbowl. We hope that you saw them all. Each of them were created to drive consumers to the number 1 destination on the central coast for property information – c21home.com. Thanks for visiting and please enjoy this short promotional video.
From Century 21 Hometown Realty Chairman, Jack Hardy.
Here we GROW again! It gives me a great deal of pleasure to announce to you today that Century 21 Hometown Realty has acquired TWO Century 21 companies with a total of THREE new offices. Century 21 Buena Vista with an office in Ventura and Santa Paula is joining Century 21 Hometown Realty. In addition Century 21 Coastal Investments in Port Hueneme is also joining our company. We will be maintaining these offices and as of today they become part of the Century 21 Hometown Realty network of real estate professionals.
Kay Wilson-Bolton, the owner/broker of Century 21 Buena Vista is a longtime Century 21 franchisee. Kay brings a wealth of experience to Hometown Realty. Kay will be working as a Realtor out of our new Santa Paula location. Wen Fernandez and Pete Delgado, owners of Century 21 Coastal Investments will continue to work out of the Port Hueneme location.
I am also pleased to announce that Walter Trujillo, the current manager for Coastal Investments is joining Century 21 Hometown Realty as area manager and will report to Brett Noel. Please join me in welcoming these fine individuals to our company as well as the 35 additional real estate professionals that are joining Century 21 Hometown Realty. This acquisition gives us a total of 16 offices and will make Century 21 Hometown Realty the number one Century 21 company in our region.
I continue to be amazed at the wonderful professionals that are Century 21 Hometown Realty. I want to congratulate everyone in the organization on their efforts. You ARE the best in the business!
There are a number of forward looking indexes that try to predict the future of real estate values. They all fail. The only way to have certanty about the housing market is to look backwards, which is exactly what we have done.
Every economist has been trying to call the bottom of the market – or that point at which the foreclosure debachle that put pressure on housing prices changed from getting worse to getting better. We now have the answer. It was in September 2011. You may not know this, but every foreclosure in s amatter of public record. Banks file the foreclosure notices with local government. CoreLogic is a company that collects that data from local government and leverages it to track market activity. They also use that data to provide something called an AVM, or Automated Value Model. This AVM is the tool that banks use to monitor the debt to value ratio on all current loans and on loan approvals. As we all know, home prices are largely dictated on the loan value of the mortgage. It does not matter how much a consumer wants to pay for a home, it only matters if the bank will lend against the selling price.
Below are two charts. The first shows negative equity in the San Luis Obispo region. Up until December 2011, about 20% of all homes in the area were distressed. That means that the mortgage amount owed was greater than the estimated selling price if the home were sold that day. You may have heard phrases like “1 in 5 homes are underwater.” As of June 2012, the number of homes underwater had dropped by 25%, down into the 16% range. As home prices climb, underwater homes decline. We can tell you that home prices went up month over month throughout the summer and fall. Century 21 Hometown Realty was selling around 300 homes per month, and homes on the market for any length of time saw price increases rather than price cuts. Buyer demand for housing is strong and we are getting multiple offers on listings for the first time in many years.
The second chart below shows the reversal in foreclosures. From October 2011 forward, the number of foreclosure properties have gone down each month. This correlates to the negative equity chart.
Today, home prices are moving up. Real Estate markets always move – but since 2006 – the movement has been mostly down until the spring of 2012. That is a 6 year slump that has challenged both homebuyers and homesellers. Since the spring, home prices have moved up. This is a natural effect that seems to always happen in an election year. Here is something to keep in mind. If you are selling a home and buying a home, the market is always neutral. Any home buyer advantage is a home seller loss. Any home seller advantage is a buyer loss. It is balanced. For most, buying a home is not like any other investment. You are buying shelter for your family. You are buying lifestyle.
Our company has grown from 100 agents to more than 300 over the past few years. You have probably see more Century 21 Hometown Yard Signs than any other local company. We have had to open offices in nearly every town on the central coast to support the growth. Century 21 Hometown Realty is currently working with more than 850 buyers company wide. There are only 994 listings available – which means that there is only about a month of inventory available. Please contact one of our offices or agents today if you can refer us to anyone looking to sell their home.
Specifically, we are looking for homes with the following criteria
South County San Luis Obispo: 3 bedroom price from 300,000 to 550,000.
San Luis Obispo: Any property that can be rented. We have investors looking for rental units to fill demand for rental housing.
Atascadero and Paso Robles: Land suitable for new home building.
Santa Maria: Condos, Duplexes, or 2 bedroom starter homes.
Arroyo Grande or Edna Valley: Luxury Homes – 3500 to 6000 sq ft or lots suitable for new homes.
Feel free to pass this along to anyone you know who may have an interest in selling their home.
