Luxury Homes on the Central Coast
Sunset at Shell Beach
With San Luis Obispo being named the “happiest place to live in the US,” all of San Luis Obispo County is on the map for purchasing real estate. Having traveled from one side the US to the other, I have yet to find a better place to live, with its fantastic weather, beauty and so many things to explore.
Bluffs at Shell Beach
Luxury homes are showing some sales and that interest appears to be heading upwards. In the county, Avila Beach alone has had three sales in the last three months, Pismo Beach and San Luis Obispo with 3, one in Oceano and one in Cayucos. All these homes were sold at $1,795,000 and above. For these sales, the average days on the market were 168 days, another good indicator of an improving market.
Currently on the market, our inventory of luxury homes above $1,500,000 number 93 properties, county wide. Of the 93 available, 39 have ocean views (a whopping 42%) and 15 are oceanfront homes. This is an incredible time to buy with lots of options to choose from. Looks like buyers will see this trend throughout 2011.
All homes noted are single family and do not include condos, and all these information are from the Multiple Listing Service on the Central Coast.
Eddie Stanfield / Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist
Hot Sales in Avila Beach Real Estate
As the weather heats up, so does the sales of Avila properties on the higher end. This year, we have already experienced three sales over one million dollars, with one over $2,000,000, at $2,450,000. Buyers are realizing there are so few ocean front and ocean view properties available in Avila Beach and realizing the deals that can be had in a down market.
Avila Ridge
Investors know values and what little inventory means with supply and demand theory coming into place. I believe all three of these sales have been sold as cash transactions, plus add another one in December of 2010 at $2,400,000.
Are you starting to get the picture of how popular Avila Beach is becoming? Businesses are popping up this year at every corner, with at least half a dozen new starts projected in 2011 alone. Looks like it could be a banner year for Avila Beach, the future looks bright.
Beach Homes in San Luis Obispo County
Shell Beach Bluff hike
How would you like to own an oceanview home near the happiest place in the United States? Well, you can have an oceanview just minutes from downtown San Luis Obispo. SLO was recently voted the happiest place to live by Yahoo!
Surrounding beach towns near SLO include what may be the best beach in the US, Avila Beach, the ever popular beach town of Cayucos, Morro Bay, Los Osos, Pismo Beach, Shell Beach, Grover Beach and Oceano. North of SLO also includes Cambria, and San Simeon. Avila Beach and Cayucos are south facing beaches and are noted to have the warmest weather, which also makes them the most popular and the most expensive to purchase. Going South from SLO, Avila Beach is less than 10 miles away from downtown SLO, Shell Beach at just under 9 miles, Pismo Beach at 11.5 miles, Grover Beach is 14.5 miles, and Oceano is 15.5 miles. Morro Bay and Los Osos are 13 and 10 miles away. Headed North, Cayucos is 19 miles and Cambria is 32 miles away, all very close (all approx miles).
Last count I had in February 2011 was 260 oceanview homes for sale in our MLS system in these areas. That’s a lot of choices! Of the 260, about 40 were oceanfront homes. So if you really want to live close to the happiest place in the US, but want an ocean view, you’re just a short drive away.
For more information, I specialize in oceanview and oceanfront homes on the Central Coast, give me a shout at 805-714-7558 or email me at eddie@eddiestanfield.com.
New places to explore in Avila Beach
Heart's Desire Soap Co.
New establishments worth exploring are sprouting up all over Avila Beach. These are the new spa at the Lighthouse Suites, called The Spa Central Coast Avila Beach; Cuvee & Delights Champagne and Dessert Bar (coming soon in April), a great alternative to our already popular wine tasting in Downtown; and Hearts Desire Soaps and Exotics, a herbal skin care and soap specialty shop. Joanne at Hearts Desire is also adding a new iced tea option, which I’m sure will be a big hit on our warm summer days. These three fresh businesses bring new growth and excitement to the new Avila Beach downtown area just in time for our busy summer season.
Avila Spa
Starting April 1, our popular downtown Farmers Market opens for 2011. If you haven’t attended this market, you’re missing out big time. Featuring fresh seafood, fruits and veggies to pick from, plus all the local vendors selling delicious food while you listen to live music, you may not find a better venue to enjoy the ocean than downtown Avila Beach. Each week features a different band through September.
The farmers market has grown to be an extremely popular event, so come early in order to find a parking spot. Many find this event a great time to relax, eat, listen to music and enjoy the sunset.
The 3 biggest challenges to building a custom home in San Luis Obispo County
If you are thinking of building a custom home in San Luis Obispo County, I recommend doing your homework first. Building a custom home can be a very complicated and stressful experience. Each county of our state differs immensely with their permitting requirements. San Luis Obispo county can be considered a challenge and costly with numerous building restrictions depending on the area your building. To save yourself time, money, and stress, carefully consider all your options before planning to build.
Here are the three challenges that you may face when building a custom home in San Luis Obispo County:
1) If you are building in a rural area, opposed to within city limits, you’re faced with additional restrictions and costs. Obstacles such as providing potable water, sewer and road access are the main ones, and all these affect your building costs. Rural areas require drilling a water well that produces minimum of 2.5 Gallons per minute (GPM), a building code requirement. In drilling a well, the costs mount quickly depending on first, finding water and the depth needed to provide ample supply to meet the GPM requirements. To provide sewer, you will need to have a percolation test submitted to the county with your plans. A soil test, or percolation test, is required to determine what type of septic system will be necessary for your new septic system. The permeability of the soil is determined by a percolation, or perk, test. Road requirements include having Cal Fire address accessibility for a road for a fire truck, possibly costing thousands to meet building permit standards. If there is no power (electric) on the lot or parcel, the costs to get power to your building site can be astronomical.
2) Costs to build vary substantially. These depend on building in rural or within city limits. As an example, to build a 2500 square foot home (city limits) permit costs start at $12,000. Included but not limited to these fees are inspection fees, plan check fees, Cal Fire fees and public facility fees. In the city you shouldn’t have to deal with road fees and an environmental review. On utilities, most city lots or parcels have utilities already at the curb, thus saving thousands of dollars. Building rural is another story as you will need to provide water with a water well, electric and sewer, adding a ton of cost from the very beginning. If your rural lot has a 10%+ slope (grading plan), that could add an additional $3500.00 and lots of time (delays) by needing a mandatory grading plan.
3) Time also varies. The planning & checking department with the county normally takes 6-8 weeks minimum, with no hiccups. Phase 1 of planning check deals with zoning and building code issues and takes minimum of 6 weeks. Phase 2 (resubmit), involves viewing all changes and revisions, takes another 1-2 weeks minimum. These are best case times that shouldn’t be counted on generally.
Building a custom home can be very rewarding. To avoid unnecessary stress that comes with it, know all your options and plan well ahead.
