Coastal Real Estate and Lifestyles

Keeping your seller clients up to date on where their property is being exposed is important in this changing real estate cycle.  Here is one way I follow where my listings are showing up on Google.  It’s easy to set up and quite handy.  Google Alerts - I type in the property address and get email alerts when the address shows up on Google.  Then I can tell where the search engine activity is coming from, such as californiamoves.com, my website, the property website, Realivent, Trulia, Zillow, Redfin, Movoto, craigslist, fogster, someone else’s blog, etc. etc.  I have found that the Google Alert is usually, but not always, current.  In one instance, both my seller and I noticed that the price was incorrect in the subheading.  Upon clicking on the link to the full page, the information was updated and accurate. (Thank goodness!)

I just started using Google Docs and Google Talk.  Google Docs has a useful tool for collaboration with your clients.  We can jointly edit letters, update and share marketing plans, and I will soon start to use the spreadsheet function.  Google Talk is an instant messenger tool that you can use with one of the new site widgets to enable your website visitors contact you with a question while you are online.  There are other instant messenger tools, I just happen to use this one with the interface product Plugoo on my site.

Our industry is in transition on many levels.  I think online real estate marketing is in its infancy.  The more it matures along with tech-saavy future home buyers, the more mainstream these tools will become.  And I don’t even own Google stock!  So as I learn this cutting-edge approach to marketing myself and my clients’ properties, I will stop to share from time to time so we can all jump on this bandwagon.  Tomorrow it will be expected that agents take full advantage of web resources, and those resources are being developed every day.  I would love to hear about what new ideas work for you or what communication tools you use to enhance client interactions.

Coldwell Banker Half Moon Bay Broker/Manager, Robert Ross, announced in our office meeting today that Coldwell Banker NRT through Reology’s Charitable Relief Foundation (501 3c) has created the Southern California Wildfires Relief Campaign and will match donations up to $100,00, for a total relief package of $200,000.

All Coldwell Banker agents and staff are encouraged to contribute to this fund.  The three charities to receive the funds are American Red Cross, The Salvation Army, and Direct Relief International.  Here is what they are doing in these initial stages of the disaster, taken from the official notice from NRT’s President.

If you are a CB agent or staff person, please donate to this matching fund.  Non CBers can look for other matching funds or contact me to contribute to this fund.

I just read on Inman News* that the National Association of Realtors is donating $500,000 through its Realtors (r) Relief Foundation.  I don’t think these are matching funds.  If someone knows differently, please share.

San Diego real estate agent, Amy Steele, has been keeping us informed from her blog on ActiveRain.  If you are trying to reach someone in the area of these fires, try contacting Amy through her blog to see if she has additional information for you.

* The full Inman News article dated October 25, 2007 available by subscription.

So named by the residents of Stenner Glen near Cal Poly SLO as they greet this impressive creature upon their comings and goings.  Garth settled on this prime location between a tall shrub into which he can quickly dart for much needed privacy and a building with handy trash recepticals.  A location rich in potential nourishment and entertainment.  Today he hit the food jackpot as he peacefully sits in the middle of his orb slowly digesting.

These college kids have the real deal to kick off their Halloween decorating!

We’re heading out of town and stopped in a new coffee shop to give it a try.  Expected a little wait since they are, after all, new.  When it appeared that the staff was adjusting to the Saturday morning crowds, I thought that perhaps their systems needed a little more work.  While I waited almost an hour for 3 coffee drinks (along with tens of others), I had time to think about systems in my own industry. 

A good analogy is the first week of a new listing.  The first-week-on-the-market systems are critical because that is the week the property will see the most “eyes”,  a short period of time with the greatest opportunity to capture a prospective buyer, and agent’s, attention.   Good preparation for that first open house is crucial.

Let’s just take the similarities of entering a new coffee shop and visiting an open house from the “customer” point of view:

Expectation:

Breath in the freshly roasting coffee, take in the buzz of friendly gatherings, in anticipation of that first warm sip.  You think, 5-10 minutes tops…it’s gonna be good!

You walk up the steps taking note of the front yard, landscaping, front door, you go into the Open House expecting an agent with a professional demeanor and material about the house on nice print quality paper (assume spelling, copy, address, contact info, etc. has been checked), a knowledgeable agent who knows the neighborhood and comparable properties in the area, the current inventory, days on market, number of expired listings or forsalebyowners.

Disappointment:

The line moves quickly enough to give my order and then I wait, and wait… orders are being called out but not all drinks are claimed.  Hmmmm, what’s that about?  They’re pretty popular this morning, new business, everyone is checking them out…no problem, I can be patient.  Why aren’t people picking up their drinks??

You look around the house, looks pretty good.  So you take a closer look.  You notice stains on the ceiling, small cracks on the kitchen counter, personal belongings (i.e. clutter) taking up permanent residence all around.  Your initial enthusiasm about the house is waning, you feel a little discouraged, yet you think, these are minor issues - look past it - the location is great.  Then you look at the asking price.

Frustration:

Patient patrons peer around heads to see if it was their name that was called.  I notice my friend, she mentions in passing that they have been waiting over 30 minutes…I begin to look around the coffee shop and see how many tables DON’T have cups on them.  I start to think, wow, I may be waiting a reallly long time.  OK I’d like to try out this new coffee place but 30 plus minutes for 3 coffee drinks is too long.  Do I walk away from my $12 bill?  I look around to see what others are doing.  Some ask for a refund, instead they get a “raincheck” type card to come back another time to get coffee.  We stay, invested in the time already, we don’t want to go to another coffee shop now.

You start to wonder if you will ever be able to afford to buy a home in this area.  You wonder how the seller can have the nerve to list his home for this price in this condition.  You take your frustration out on the agent.  If an agent is not prepared, an opportunity is lost.

Vexation. Some walk out of the coffee shop without coffee…senses assaulted…expectations shattered…sigh.

You walk out of the Open House with a less than stellar impression of real estate agents, the real estate market, and anything associated with real estate.  You continue to rent or own the house that’s too small or too big or not in the location you really want - end of story.

Surrender. This is not the day to try this new coffee shop, but we wait anyway.  They have some things to work out.  Accept it.

I guess I’ll just keep looking since this is not the right house.  Seller, agent and buyer will never know.  The customer has already formed an impression. 

Reading some of the recent articles about new online marketing models made me think of my own blogging network.  It seems like the social networking arena is starting to get into the referral business.  Isn’t social networking about something more casual?  In an effort to keep up with the latest marketing trends, I formed a profile on LinkedIn, answer questions on TruliaVoices.  I’ve not written a thing on Facebook.

I don’t have time to manage offline marketing, online property marketing, and now online agent marketing.  I could spend all my time in the blogosphere if that was my choice.   Except that I really love my real estate career and I would prefer the majority of my working hours be helping clients buy and sell real estate.  I acknowledge that marketing oneself is a continuous effort - maintain the tried and true - experiment with new approaches - tweak and modify when necessary.  That must be why I joined a blogging network!  Well, to be perfectly honest, that wasn’t my intention.

My Broker, Coldwell Banker, hosted a free event.   I showed up (somewhat skeptically) even though I subscribed to the blog of one of the speakers.  It was the first time I had ever subscribed to a blog because I found many of the ones I came across to be somewhere between bad and just okay.  I found this blog, Transparent Real Estate to be refreshing and different for a real estate-related site, “content rich” (my new phrase) with much-needed doses of humor from time to time.  I was curious to put a face to an online presence that I already respected.  So I thought this would be a good person to hear about the topic of “blogging”.  I didn’t think I would take up blogging because I already knew I didn’t want to (have to) write articles several times a week!  I’d never have time for my clients - or family.  On the other hand, I knew I enjoyed writing, I like to meet new people, I like to learn new things, so I blocked out my calendar and attended this 2 hour session.  I still didn’t think I would take up blogging; I certainly wasn’t thinking about a blogging network!  I now find myself in a different world from 2 months ago.

I thought Pat and Kevin at Domus Consulting were going to teach me how to blog.  In fact, they are teaching me and our group members how to blog - but it is really much more than that.  I did not realize this at first.  Our group has the willingness to get to know each other, the opportunity to bond and form relationships, and to potentially create referrals for each other because we communicate regularly, we share ideas, and we share a common frame of mind that blogging (the right way) ads value to our clients and our communities.  I know that these other Realtors have a similar work ethic and that they take their careers seriously.  We each made an investment of time and money in this process which I don’t take lightly.  In the future of real estate marketing, if online groups are carefully formed to enhance this piece of the group blog, to me, it provides an even more powerful marketing and listing tool for realtors.  This approach goes way beyond 1) how to create and write a blog, or 2) how to enhance your online presence, but also how to build a meaningful referral network.  I believe that to be a huge value to all parties involved.

The home buyer dilemna goes on between living on the east or west side of Highway 1.  The real differences seem to be whether you want to walk to town (if you are in Half Moon Bay) without crossing the highway…or if you want to walk to the beach without crossing the highway.  Crossing the highway where cars are cruising at 50+ mph is not the same as crossing a neighborhood 25 mph zone.

Plus, there are only a few sidewalks to safely (with a light) allow highway crossing: Highway 1 at Kelly, at Hwy 92 & at Main in downtown Half Moon Bay, also at Frenchman’s Creek; Coronado Rd in El Granada; Capistrano Road in El Granada/Princeton; none in Moss Beach and none in Montara.  That is 6 safe crossings in a 10 mile stretch.  There is a crosswalk without a light at Hwy 1 and Filbert in HMB.  When it comes to choosing a neighborhood to settle down in, here are a few things to keep in mind.
View Larger Map

East of Highway 1:
Some neighborhoods are hillier with lots of trees
Some neighborhoods have incredible views
Some neighborhoods are a little more protected, equating to a little warmer
Some neighborhoods offer more land and room for horses, agriculture, etc.
Middle School located in downtown Half Moon Bay
High School located in downtown Half Moon Bay
Private 1-8 School in Half Moon Bay (Seacrest)
Elementary School in El Granada (El Granada Elementary)
Private Elementary School in El Granada (Wilkinson’s)
Elementary School in Montara (Farallone View)

West:
Very close proximity to the beaches
Very close proximity to the Coastal Trail (Half Moon Bay & El Granada)
Some Moss Beach neighborhoods very close to Fitzgerald Marine Reserve
Can be a little cooler and windier
The salt air can be a little harsh on a house’s finishes
Some neighborhoods offer rare oceanfront properties
Most neighborhoods offer level parcels
Many of the ocean views are from the second story
Elementary school in Half Moon Bay (Hatch)
Princeton Harbor in El Granada for boats, fresh fish, live/work, industrial

The easiest neighborhoods to get back and forth – if that is important, are:
in Half Moon Bay:  Alsace Lorraine, Old Town Half Moon Bay (Spanishtown), Frenchman’s Creek, Miramar
in El Granada:  lower El Granada, Clipper Ridge

Another article to come:  Best neighborhoods to walk to coffee!

At C.A.R.’s annual convention this week I learned two new, very different but related, bits of information about staging that I want to pass on to you:  First one is important, second one fun, so keep reading to the end.

First, Attorney William Jansen discussed potential liability that homeowners and/or their agents could face from uninsured stagers.  Does the stager or staging company have liability insurance if a floor, door, wall, etc. gets damaged in the staging process?  Does the stager have worker’s compensation insurance if the stager or one of the stager’s employees gets injured on the job?  He reminded us that this is a new industry and that seller should ask these questions if hiring them directly; and Agent should find this out before recommending a stager.

Second, I discovered a new approach to staging at one of the vendor booths - “Online Staging”. Peggy Selinger-Eaton’s business works like this:  Homeowner takes photos of the space(s) to be staged, sends them to her digitally,  and she consults on what should be done to the rooms via a phone appointment.  This unique approach to staging costs $69 per room.  I wonder if a bathroom is the same price as a kitchen or living room?  I thought it sounded really creative and decided to call her to find out a little more before I passed it along.

So I call the phone number on the back of her brochure to see if I can use the promotion code in my blog for you, my visitors, to get the discount if you decide to give it a try.  A man answers the phone and I ask for Peggy.  He says there is no one by that name at this number. I verify the number and he says “right number…talk to my wife”.  I speak with his wife and it turns out she is a stager!!  This is no joke.  I’m having a really nice conversation with a person I reached by accident and she’s in the same business!  She’s in the same area as Peggy because it was the same area code.  So I’ll let you know of another stager/interior designer/home stylist in the East Bay named Janet Nunan since she so delightful to chat with.  I said I would make sure Sam Benson and Julie Joyce knew about her for their East Bay clients.

I’ll update this if I hear from Peggy and can post the discount code.  Also, I would consider her business eco-friendly because driving is not necessary!

10/16/07 update:  Peggy did call me!  She was so apologetic for not getting back to me sooner and yes, she very graciously extended the discount to us all.  The promotion code to use is MAR07OL.  It gets you ONE ROOM FREE (a $69 value).  I’m not going to leave the discount code up indefinitely, but I didn’t discuss that with her.  Let’s play it by ear.  Thanks, Peggy!

One reason is micro-market activity…the price point of the home within its local market. By that I mean, “how many people can afford to purchase that home?” You would think that the higher the price the harder the house would be to sell. In fact it depends on the local market segment that the house falls into. If you were to break down the housing market in a local area, you would see that even at a hyper-local level the activity can be different. This is one reason why you will see some buyers entering the market having done their homework by reading and searching online (factual), certainly, but also with a belief about the market. Upon entering the active search phase of visiting and narrowing down prospective homes, they find the reality(actual) different. As an example, I took the city of Half Moon Bay to analyze this. I also wanted to see if the trend is consistent with what is happening in other parts of San Mateo County.

“For the majority of the micro-markets within our San Francisco/Peninsula region, affordability at the entry level and available inventory at the higher end are our biggest concerns. Home Buyers and Sellers are not hearing this message from the media. Now, more than ever, it’s critical to know your market, and know just how local real estate really is.” — Sept. 23, 2007 Weekly Market Watch, Rick Turley, CB SF/Peninsula President.

Here is Half Moon Bay’s figures based on a sales price breakdown by quartile since 2005. For this one city, I took average (not median) total sales prices from the MLS and divided them into 4 groups. I took the “average” number instead of the “median” number because there were so few sales in just the single city that I thought it would be more accurate to show the data with “average” numbers.

What this shows is that homes in the first and second quartiles are relatively flat in the last two years compared to the third and fourth quartiles, where appreciation has been greater. What this tells me is that, in Half Moon Bay at least, move up buyers may have a greater challenge if the house they want to sell is in the lower quartiles and they want to purchase in the higher quartiles. If the range continues to widen it will be harder for these people to make that move. On the other hand, homeowners considering downsizing or helping their children get into their first home may have an easier time in this market. The higher inventory and longer days on market means those sellers will need to be very competitive to sell their property. Of course, this is also neighborhood specific.
“Big picture” stories may be factual, but not necessarily actual figures pertaining to each local market segment.

Well maintained homes, wide streets, sidewalks, short distance to Half Moon Bay State Beach, the Coastal Trail.  Current asking prices for available homes are in the $900K-$1.6M range.  New listings are coming on the market reflective of recent market changes in this quartile  (Quartile report for HMB coming up so check back.).

Access from this neighborhood is terrific!  A resident or visitor could walk or bike across Hwy 1 in the handy crosswalk to Main Street in downtown Half Moon Bay for a warm drink, peruse a favorite bookstore, or to find a one-of-kind gift at a great boutique.  A short distance away across Kelly Ave., a bridge will take you on foot or bike to nearby Strawflower Shopping Center where you will find Safeway, Starbucks, Jamba Juice, Longs and more.  Plus, you are just a short drive away from Highway 92 to any destination “over the hill”.  Traffic can be heavy during commute/school drop-off hours; fortunately the Highway 92 road widening project is in process so we’ll see if that eases things a bit.

While this neighborhood suits all kinds of people, young families are drawn to it for the great Park and close proximity to Hatch Elementary School.  My own family has enjoyed many a birthday party or Mother’s Club play date at Ocean View Park.  It’s been upgraded in the last few years and still seems to be as popular as ever.  One of my closest friends lived on Valdez near the park and she loved the fact that she could look out her window and see her kids and their friends playing.  She lived in the cul-de-sac so the kids ran back and forth across the street without a worry of through-traffic.

View Larger Map  Here is a Google Maps link to explore further.

Alsace Lorraine runs smoothly into another nice neighborhood called Wavecrest, a.k.a. Arleta Park.  I’ll cover this one in another blog, but if you are house hunting now and you like a west side neighborhood with close beach and downtown proximity, this neighborhood is also worth a look.

I don’t know how Alsace Lorraine got its name but would be curious to know.  Feel free to leave a comment for all to learn the history of the name if you know…