Ben Lomond Home Sales, Prices and 2011 Market Update

Ben Lomond Home Sales, Prices and 2011 Market Update

2011 –year in review

Home sales rose by 50% in Ben Lomond during 2011 - 62 homes sold! The average home sales price was $378,905, taking an average of 2 months on the market prior to going into escrow. The discount between the list price and eventual sale price was 3.7% overall. The average home price fell about 10% compared to 2010.

The highest priced home sold for $821,000 – this was a 4 bedroom, 3 bath home on 25 acres – a traditional sale between people.

The lowest priced home sold for $77,000 – it was a shack deemed uninhabitable by the county, on just under an acre along the San Lorenzo River, sold by JP Morgan Chase.

Here is an example of a short sale I helped my clients sell, after the family breadwinner got a better job on the east coast. Situated on 7 hilltop acres, the buyer was lucky to purchase it for just $563,000.

2010 –year in review

42 homes sold in Ben Lomond during 2010. The average home sales price was $421,672, taking an average of 2 1/2 months on the market prior to going into escrow. The discount between the list price and eventual sale price was just over 2 % overall.

In 2010, the highest priced home sold for $875,000: described as “a funky old farmhouse” on 27 acres.

The lowest priced home sold for $60,000 – this was a red-tagged property high in the mountains along Love Creek without power.

Why did prices fall in 2011? In Ben Lomond the number of higher end homes - those selling for more than $500,000 – was fairly stable between 2010 (10) to 12 in 2011. On the other hand, in the affordable and fixer-upper home segment, 21 homes sold in 2011 for less than $300,000, more than 3 times the number (just 6) that sold in that price range in 2010.

50% of all sales (31 houses) were distressed sales in 2011 - homes that were either foreclosures or short sales, quite similar to 2010, when 54% (22) were distressed residential transactions.. All but 5 of the homes which sold in the affordable segment in 2011 were distressed sales. It’s my feeling that Ben Lomond prices fell due to the mix of homes that actually sold as much as anything else. Most buyer activity lately has come from first time buyers, investors, and those seeking vacation homes

To find out what your Ben Lomond home is worth now, click here