Hi Frank,

The advice regarding crime in Seaside below is good. Check with the local police department. They are the only ones who can give you accurate information regarding the current crime rate.

As far as whether the prices will continue to drop and if you should wait until next year, I would have to say that it depends on what you are looking to buy in Seaside. I think the market is starting to gobble up the larger homes. I personally have been involved in a couple of foreclosures transaction in Seaside that have had multiple offers the same day they hit the market and have gone significantly over the asking price (roughly 20% over in both cases). With that in mind, I would say that most of the foreclosure property is coming onto the market at aggressive price points and it would be a safe bet to purchase one of these properties today. There are other properties that are still over priced and do not have any activity as of yet. Those properties will be forced to come down to the level of comparable foreclosures.

I think it is safe to purchase now if you pick the right property. I also think this market will continue in Seaside through next year. So you will have time to find the one you like. That is the beauty of a buyers market.

Good luck with your purchase and let us know if we can help you.

Mark Bruno
Monterey Peninsula Home Team

Frank,

contact the local police department or County Sheriffs department. they have access to the most up to date and accurate information. good luck.

The "Eckler Team"

Hi Frank,
First of all congratulations on your decision to buy a home. I don't know if this is your first purchase or not. If it is we offer a great book for free specifically for first time buyers called "Your First Home" by Gary Keller. It's a great source of information even if it is not your first home. You can get it by going to our website listed below.
About crime in the area, one way to check it out is to go to this site:
http://www.idcide.com/citydata/ca/seaside.htm.
All economic indicators for our area say that we will continue to have a buyer's market in Seaside well into next year. That said, the absorption rate in Seaside has picked up dramatically due to investor and buyer interest in Bank Owned Properties and Short Sales. The number of properties sold and under contract is up dramatically over last year and the year before. Pricing has had a lot of do with this as the average sales price has also dropped signifcantly.
In the price point you discussed will find 30 active listings at this time.
None of us have a crystal ball. If you can buy now and are pre-approved for a mortgage you might consider familiarizing yourself with the area if you do not know it well and doing a preliminary tour through available listings just to get a feel for the market.
Best of luck!

Frank, do you mind if I give you some historical reference? Seaside was originally a support town for the Fort Ord Army base. Young men and women, far from home and lonely/bored equaled drugs and prostitution. When the base closed down, many of the customers for the criminals in Seaside dried up. The rise in rents and housing prices that followed forced most others to leave the area.

When I got to the peninsula in '97, I'd drive through Seaside and see bars on the windows and sometimes choppers overhead with searchlights. Times have changed. Many homes have been updated, the police force has aggressively patrolled the problem areas of the past and you hardly see graffiti like you use to. It's not perfect , but it's a far cry from what it was just 10 years ago.

There are still areas that are "rough" for lack of a better word, but I would say that there are more areas that you'd find quite nice to live in.

As far as when to buy, I'd say that's up to your situation. I always tell people they should buy when they are comfortable with the payment over an extended time. Will there be foreclosed properties next year? I think so, but things can change A LOT over that time period. Plenty of rumors that interest rates will rise. That could affect your payment even more then getting a lower price. How about the buyer's tax credit that you can qualify for if you buy this year? You might miss out on that. One more thing, I'm hearing lots of noise about some investors that are pooling a big pile of cash to purchase bulk properties directly from the banks. They will likely rent them out for 3 to 5 years until the market appreciates. This will cut down on the good inventory and drive prices up. So, you know what you have now, but are you sure of what you will have next year?

Just stay away from any area that has kids that wear baggy pants and bling. Up near Yosemite St has a lot of bored kids selling dope and carrying guns. Be careful there.

If you are interested in finding out about the crime in Seaside, check out the crime log the city publishes or better yet, to talk to them about a particular area before purchasing. As a listing agent for bank owned properties in Seaside, I can tell you it is very competitive right now in the price range you are looking at. Be prepared to have a decent down payment, a preapproval letter and possibly paying more than list price. Entry level housing right now is moving quickly. Current inventory - 108 homes available in the city of Seaside. Of those - 14 are $300,000 or less. There are an additional 69 currently in escrow (under contract to purchase) and of those 14 are $300,000 or less (list price). All the best - Becky

28 homes for sale in Seaside? I wish,maybe prices would stop dropping. There are actually about 78 homes listed in Seaside. I have noticed prices have come down in the past month, but interest rates have gone up.Be aware that there is competion in that price range. All the properties that I put offers on have had multiple offers. It took me 6 tries to finally purchase a house. Most of the recent sales I've seen have sold for list price or bellow but all 6 houses that I had offers on sold for above list.

Frank, Curt Abramson from Bailey Properties here. You've seen the info from others about crime and how to get those statistics, so I won't be redundant. As far as price, There are 28 homes on the market in Seaside right now. Of those, 11 are bank-owned, 1 is a normal sale with a seller not in distress, and the other 16 are short sales. In a market like this, if that high a percentage (about 40%) have gone back to the bank and are being unloaded, it's pretty safe to assume a majority of the short sales will end up back in the lender's hands, too. There will almost certainly be more downward pressure on prices as those transition to bank-owned properties. What we don't know is whether loans will be easier or harder to obtain, or have higher interest rates. So prices will drop, probably. Is now better than later to buy in this area? Not if you get a good price today, while interest is still low. If you are ready to make a move, negotiate hard, get your deal, and ride out the rest of this downturn in a beautiful coastal area.

You can look it up at http://www.crimereports.com

Try searching seaside local news!