June Newsletter

The good news is, the Carmel market seems to be moving at a healthy pace, actually up from last year; the not-as-great news is, it’s looking a lot like only a single rate cut, probabyl right around the elections this year. That doesn’t seem to be affecting home prices or market health too much, though, at least locally. Last week policy makers kept their target for the short-term federal funds rate at 5.25 to 5.5%. This week, 30 yr fixed mortgages were clocking in a bit lower around 7%, with Jumbo 30 yr rates at 7.25%. Not much change one way or another, but as it relates to the home market here on the Peninsula, we still have generally strong demand and overall the highest average prices we’ve ever seen.

Next week, we are bringing a very exciting property to market, at the SW Corner of San Carlos & 8th Ave, in downtown Carmel-by-the-Sea. A beautiful, Claudio Ortiz design, this home was imagined by a wonderful new client of ours, at 1600 feet on a standard 4,000 Sq Ft lot, right on the edge of the Golden Rectangle and the downtown commercial district. With a blend of Mediterranean notes and classic Carmel light and brights, this home lends to a lifestyle of entertaining and taking full advantage of all the shops, tasting rooms and restaurants right across the street. With accordion doors seamlessly uniting the dining room and exterior patio, and a substantial ocean peek upstairs for your guests, this property stands alone as the ultimate pied-à-terre.

Quick recap of last month for our team – we closed 3 homes in Carmel and brought to market a Markham Ranch estate property, which we subsequently put into contract in 3 days, also representing the buyers. This month we were able to close that same Markham property, as well as bring 2 properties to market in Monterey, putting both in escrow inside of a week, and closing one, so far. We have a small handful of Carmel-by-the-Sea, Golden Rectangle properties bearing prepared for market this Summer, and a few other listings we’re slowly working to develop across the Peninsula.

In Carmel for May, year to date sales of 112 units are actually 17% ahead of this time last year.
There were 33 closings in May – one of the most active months in the past couple of years. And active listing inventory has been increasing for the past 4 months in a row with 146 active listings at month’s end – the highest level in the past several years. The average sale price is up a whopping 45% YTD at $3,142,757 and the median sale price is up 32% at $2,355,000. Please remember that averages do not mean the values of standalone properties have gone up 45%. Most of the percent increase is derived from the top end of the market showing more velocity, which is very positive. Overall all very healthy signs of a vibrant market for Carmel. Another indicator to watch is the average sold price per sq. ft. and that is at $1,396 Ytd – up 16% over this time last year. This is the main indicator of values trending upwards.

For May in Pebble Beach, year to date sales of 23 units are 36% behind 2023 so far. Active listings are slightly higher (37 actives) compared to 32 this time last year. While the median sale price of $2,628,200 represents a 5% increase over last year, the avg. sale price is down 17% at $2.83M. That just means that the ultra-premium market in Pebble is not as active as it was last spring. Home values are not falling. One interesting metric to watch for the month of May is the list price to sale price ratio which ended up at 101.7%.
That means the 6 closed sales in May were sold at full price and slightly higher than full price. So in general, the issue there is more that Pebble Beach does not have what the market sees as very high quality listings, overall.

What does this all mean? We have a healthy market (not white-hot where sellers can ask silly numbers), steadily increasing property values in just about every area, and choice and newer product continues to win the day, albeit listings must be priced accurately rather than with some fat on top. This market has shown us time and time again, that sellers must price with precision to sell for full value, quickly, or have a fighting chance at multiple offers with secure terms.

Thanks for reading and please call me if you are someone you know could benefit from our services this year. I am excited about this selling season!

Cheers,
Ryan & Team