Don Gerig Jr.- Broker Santa Cruz Real Estate

Capitola, CA Market Update and Listings Report - In October 2011, for the first time since last March, the Capitola, CA market sold more Single Family Residential and Townhouse/Condo than brought on new listing inventory. Statistics for this past month show that 14 homes sold in the Capitola, CA area versus the 10 new listings that became active, indicating a potential uptick in the Capitola real estate market.

Of the forty currently active listings for Capitola, CA in the Market Update and Listings Report, 25% are listed with American Dream Realty (ADR), the leader in matching homes to buyers looking to live in this centrally located Santa Cruz County beach town. Capitola appeals to all different walks of people, from surfers to business professionals and has the properties and pricing to match these diverse needs. ADR offer a MLS listings search for all of the newest Capitola properties for sale including homes, condos, land, and investment. Our website also features American Dream Realty information, Capitola Realtor directory, buying and selling Capitola property tips and a community page.

ADR’s current listings for Capitola, CA feature a luxury home at 208 EL CAMINO MEDIO ST listed by American Dream Realty’s Patti Boe, Luxury Beach Home Specialist. Near the steps to Depot Hill, this majestic home provides sweeping balcony views of Capitola Village and the Monterey Bay.

For those looking for deals, American Dream Realty also has amazing Capitola, CA short sales and foreclosures, including a short sale listings in the desirable Villas of Capitola with close proximity to Capitola Village, shopping and beaches. Now is also a great time to snap up a bank-owned listing in the Capitola Beach Villas with eco-friendly features, sleek & modern design at the heart and soul of Capitola.

Visit American Dream Realty's Capitola real estate resource page for more information about the Capitola, CA Market Update and Listings.

ADR, a real estate company in Santa Cruz, CA would like to thank Tim Huxley for his exceptional client service. Tim was awarded the use of the ADR Mercedes convertible for November. Tim joined the ADR real estate team a few years back after previously starting his career at RCI. Everyone at the office enjoys working with Tim, he is very knowledgeable, handles short sales with ease, and always works very hard. Tim has all the special qualities that make up a excellent short sale negotiator as I previous discussed in my blog "Tips for short sales".

ADR began 2011 with the intention of adding some fun and excitement for our agents. We wanted to incorporate a contest that would not only keep everyone motivated but to also encourage continued excellent client service. With this in mind we started a new contest that would consist of giving away a new convertible Mercedes Benz. Every month our ADR Realtors accumulate points with new property listings, closed transactions and positive customer surveys. At the begining of the following month we have a drawing that includes all of our agents that have accumulated points for the previous month. The winner is awarded the use of the Mercedes for the following month. At the end of 2012 we will be giving the new Mercedes to one of our Realtors. If you are a Santa Cruz real estate agent and would like to be part of a team that promotes enthusiasm and strives to acheive the highest level of client satisfaction please contact us Join ADR-Santa Cruz, CA.

Tim Huxley 831-477-3181

I am a Santa Cruz, Ca real estate broker for the past 20 years and manage my families brokerage. A large portion of the questions that i get asked on a daily basis have to do with short sales and foreclosures. This market segment consists of about 40% of our 450 annual closed transactions. It is not uncommon for a buyer to be in the middle of a transaction and have a lot of questions and concerns that do not adequately get addressed. It is important to understand the advantages and disadvantages of both short sales and foreclosures. Every transaction is different, alone with property condition/issues and buyers specific needs. I have written a document to help buyers answer some of these questions. Please view my understanding shortsales and foreclosures document. I have listed may of the advantages and disadvantages of each. This is a fairly complete list but I'm sure there are additional items. I encourage buyers to work with an experienced professional Realtor that understands the local market you are planning on buying in. Before writing/signing an offer for a property sit down with your agent and ask him/her to explain the entire process from start to close. Inquire about their past experiences with these types of transactions make sure they communicate well and are able to answer any questions you may have. For help or questions with short sales & foreclosures in Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, Monterey or San Benito Counties please contact us. View Santa Cruz Short Sales & Foreclosures for sale

I am a broker in the Santa Cruz real estate market and I would like to share with you a few tips with short sales. A large number of our closings are short sales probably around 40%. Even though these transactions are extremely challenging our close ratio is over 95%. How do we do this? Here is a list of things that have made us sucessful. The person who is negotiating the short sale (this may be the Realtor or negotiator) MUST have many of these traits if they want to be sucessful with shortsales. 1) They must have above average "people" skills. They must be pacient, calm, friendly, and have an ability to solve problems. People with short tempers, arrogance, and lack attention to detail rarely make good short sale negotiators. 2) They MUST be knowledgeable with the short sale process. if you do not understand the shortsale process inside and out your chances of closing drop consideraby. How does someone learn all of these skills? Well you can learn on the fly (which creates its own challenges) another way is forums and certification/training courses. My secret is forums. About 3 years ago I joined a long list of forums and stated to read everything I could get my eyes on. After investing some time educating myself I began to understand the entire process. Soon after I was able to train staff and all of my Santa Cruz Realtors. 3) Learn the art of negotiating. You do not have to be a total expert but you need to be reasonably good at it and have some understanding of the skill. Read some books on it or take a few classes on it. 4) Have good communication skills. This is a BIG one. You must be able to handle stress and communicate with all the parties involved. There is going to be plenty of bumps in the road during a transaction dont ever forget that you are the "glue" in the transaction. Without you there is a good chance the transaction will fall apart. Is that enought preasure for you? :) lol 5) Be NICE to the banks negotiator. Make friends with this person. He or She is going to is going to control the destiny of the transaction. Do not ever scream at, act rude towards, or act overly agressive with them. Remember they probably have 100 or more files on their desk and can easily put your file at the bottom of the pile. A special thanks to our in-house short sale negotiator Cheryl Heller. She does everything I mentioned exceptionally well and Im thankful to have her part of my Santa Cruz office staff at American Dream Realty. Follow these tips and you will increase your chances of gettiing a short sale closed. I have more tips I will follow up in a later blog. For a list of short sales inventory please visit our Santa Cruz, CA Short Sales For Sale

American Dream is very excited to announce our new Santa Cruz Real Estate Website. This amazing new site is easy to use and loaded with tools and information. We have a help section about Santa Cruz short sales & foreclosures. Our main page includes a weekly best buy section that is updated on Friday's. If you need help selecting an experienced Santa Cruz real estate agent we can assist you. We feature Santa Cruz County pages which have specific area information and the newest listings. Our buyer and seller sections have tips and guidelines to help answer questions you may have.

We are giving away a Las Vegas trip to celebrate the new website. To enter the drawing please visit the #1 Santa Cruz Real Estate Resource and register.

Don Gerig Jr- Broker

(831) 429-5700