Anja Kerstens - Signature Homes and Estates

March 2009 has been and continues to be a busy month for Gilroy Real Estate.

This has been an amazing month in terms of sales here in the desirable community of Eagle Ridge, in Gilroy, California. We have three more days to go but the numbers are in. Inventory is down to 20 single family homes from 38 just at the beginning of this month!

This is very eencouraging news for those homeowners who have seen the values of their homes drop sharply. When inventory is down prices tend to increase.

Eagle Ridge is a very desirable golf course community in the Gavilan foothills. It has a homeowners association and is governed by CC&Rs. The community has two nice parks; the main park offers tennis courts, a junior olympic sized pool, club house, basketball courts and play structures. The use of solar panels to heat the pool keeps the cost of operating the pool down.

Eagle Ridge is a only a short distance from the hustle and bustle of San Jose and its tranquility attracts many buyers from the Bay area.

Contact me if you are interested in a home in Eagle Ridge; I will be happy to assist you.

March 2009 has been and continues to be a busy month for Gilroy Real Estate.

In February of 2009 the inventory of single family homes in Gilroy was 352 with 42 homes sold and 91 new listings. The absorption rate was 7.3 months. That means that it will take 7.3 months for a new listing to close sale when no new homes come on the market. This absorption rate indicates that we currently are in a buyers' market. Mortgage rates are coming down and the new homebuyer tax credit is an additional incentive to purchase a home.

This month is not closed yet but the numbers are already looking better than last month. Currently there are 230 homes in inventory. In the first 27 days of March 49 homes sold and 75 new homes were newly listed.

If you are a first time homebuyer I will be happy to assist you in your search for the "perfect" home and help you with your purchase.

Our market is looking good!

There are some encouraging signs which could indicate that the real estate market is turning around.

We have seen a flurry of activity. In my small community of Eagle Ridge we had 38 active listings this month. Sixteen listings went to contract including eight in the last ten days. During our open house last weekend we had about 16 couples come through; that was more than in the previous weeks. The bank received multiple offers. It is starting to look better every day.

I am not an artist but I have a passion for cycling and I am ready for the Tierra Bella Tour.

The Tierra Bella Tour is organized on April 18th, 2009 by the Almaden Cycle Touring Club http://www.actc.org/index.php. Cycling enthusiasts flock to GavilanCollege in Gilroy to participate in this wonderful event. Riders can choose from 4 different routes depending on their level; options are 60, 100, or 200 kilometers or 100 miles. My personal favorite is the 100 kilometers which takes me through the east side of Gilroy past the Gilroy Hot Springs and back to the west side of town and north along Uvas Reservoir to Morgan Hill. This year the longer tours will not take the riders to MetCalf. The new route takes them to South San Jose and up to Henry Coe Park. http://www.actc.org/tb/tb08map.html

Hopefully the weather is perfect and we won't see the repeat of two years ago when we were biking in the pouring rain. It was a great time to become an expert at changing flat tires. One of my fellow cyclists had three flat tires within two hours. That was a record. Unfortunately, she didn't get a price for that.

You must take a look at the cool jerseys this year; they are awesome and a collector's item. ttp://www.active.com/page/Event_Details.htm?event_id=1658005&assetId=a9ef61c2-67c1-4be8-b5c9-96fb03fd22e6. Another reason to participate in this tour.

The event is well organized, sells out fast and the food is terrific . I am one of the lucky ones. I can cycle in this beautiful area every day of the week. Well, not really because I do have to work too. But all kidding aside: I do get out at least twice a week during the year with my cycling girl friends and enjoy the magnificent hills of Gilroy, Morgan Hill and occasionally the south side of San Jose. At on the weekends our husbands can come too!

It is Saturday and I am looking back to a very busy week in real estate. Gilroy saw an increase in properties that went to pending sale and closings in the past week. At our open house today we had at least 10 couples coming through which is more than in previous weeks. That is a good sign. Let's get the REO properties and short sales out of inventory so that prices can increase again. It is definitely a buyers' market. In the Eagle Ridge Golf community we had 38 listings last week with 12 going to contract. All were REOs and short sales.

Entrance to the Eagle Ridge Golf Community

This is the Eagle Ridge Golf Clubhouse. A favorite spot for wedding ceremonies.