I don’t post very often even though I read this forum religiously, but just want to clear up a bit of misinformation on this thread and add some “inside” observations. Please don’t flame me, but I have an interest in Carmel Valley real estate (yes, even in this market), and have actually visited the homes recently for sale in Saratoga and spoken with a couple of the agents/owners as well as some neighbors.
SDRE4ME actually is correct that the sellers of 10707 Heather Ridge upgraded to a Derby Hill home while the sellers of 5281 Foxborough are looking to upgrade to a larger home closer to their daughter’s private school, Horizon Prep in Rancho Santa Fe. This really shouldn’t be a surprise, since it’s usually easier to move up in a bear market, right (the same proportional decline in value translates to more absolute dollars saved)? The sellers of 10704 Heather Ridge are going through a divorce, as are the sellers of 5241 Brickfield. The seller of 5274 Foxborough never really lived in the home – it was a flip gone bad for him. He is now living with his girlfriend. Finally, the seller of 10687 Heather Ridge is ALSO the listing agent (the wife has a real estate license), which is why there is a FSBO sign in the front. The husband is working in Orange County, and they would like to move closer to his office, but are willing to wait out the market (they have a fixed mortgage and owe very little on it).
Now for the corrections… As others on this thread have pointed out, SDRE4ME is incorrect that 10707 Heather Ridge sold in 2 weeks. It was first offered FSBO in November of last year, then went through 2 rounds on the MLS (change of brokers) before it went into escrow in March.
I need to correct FLU a bit, as well. 10744 Heather Ridge WAS a model home (the Plan 3 model), and was sold by Pardee’s agents for $988K with landscaping. I’m not sure who paid the original $1.012MM purchase price in September 2005 (probably an investor that then leased the home to Pardee for use as the model home – common practice in the industry). 5108 Great Meadow, the other Pardee offering which sold for $950K, was the home with no landscaping.
My point in sharing all this information is to illustrate the wide range of reasons people sell in a bear market. It’s a mistake to make blanket assumptions. 3 of the 6 Saratoga resellers did/do have to sell, but the other half did/do NOT.
OK, that was a long post – hopefully I added some value to the thread. Back to lurking now…
