Gorgeous views of the entire southwest valley from this knoll top location. 7.88 acres of gently sloping pasture, 2040 sq ft home built in 1993 make this a very special property. The entire south facing portion of home has decking to enjoy the wonderful views and cool afternoon breezes. Water features with Koi to relax you. Great room w/vaulted ceiling and views of the Table Rocks. Nice large kitchen with hardwoods;informal and formal dining areas. Master has hot tub on the deck overlooking the valley lights.

You look out over the south valley all the way to Pilot Rock and Mt Ashland. Your immediate view is of the Table Rocks. Off to the west there is the pastoral view towards Grants Pass. The large country kitchen has hardwoods, tons of storage and a pantry. There is a breakfast nook just off the kitchen with a slider to the deck. The living room windows look to the south and take in the great views. The ceiling is vaulted and there are sliders out to the deck here. The wood stove is certified and the sellers say it is very efficient to use. The master bedroom is large with a large bathroom with a Roman shower.

There is a series of three small ponds that are all tied together and are located just past the deck. The sound of the water rushing between the ponds is soothing and relaxing. The ponds support a thriving Koi population. The seller has planted extensive gardens and has all the plants on drip systems. The area around the house is fully fenced with deer fencing. The property used to have a medical hardship approval which can be reused in the right situation. A buyer could build a shop where the medical hardship used to be as there is a septic and water storage there to service it already. The well is strong and also has a holding tank as the seller loves to garden!

For the discerning home buyer this property will make you smile! Built by Wheeler Construction with all the bells and whistles you want in a new home. The beautiful rock work on the front invites you in to the open floor plan and the soaring ceilings in the great room. Skylights continue the illusion that the outside and inside are one. Snuggle up in front of the gas fireplace and enjoy a good book.

An open kitchen and dining area flow into the great room. The kitchen with it’s granite counter tops, upgraded appliances and beautiful cabinetry invite you to throw a party! The pantry allows you to ’shop til you drop’ at Costco and still have room for it all!

The master bedroom is large and gracious with a master bathroom to die for. The soaking tub and large walk-in shower give you relaxation you need at the end of a long day.

The property is on a large corner lot so there is a great area to build a shop for those that are so inclined! The back yard is totally fenced and ready for you to put your landscaping prowess to work in it! The gate was built to be large enough to drive your RV into the back and have it parked behind the gate. If you have more toys than that, no problem….there is plenty of room to store them all!

The home boasts 1959 sq ft of warmth, comfort and ease. Come on by and take a look, you won’t be disappointed! Shady Cove is just a stones throw from the hub of town but a million miles away from it all.

The other driving force behind the increase in sales as I said was the first-time homebuyer tax credit.  It is something that is causing buyers to ‘get off the fence’.  Many of the buyers are hoping that they will extend the credit as it is a dog-eat-dog world out there right now when writing offers.  I have a buyer that saw a foreclosure house the first day on the market, we got her pre-qualified while were standing in the driveway  on the phone with the seller required lender, went back to the office and wrote a great offer.  The bank  countered her in two minor areas, we accepted and got everything signed and back to them.  AFTER we had the acceptance of the offer the lender got other offers in and they pulled the acceptance from us so that they could negotiate with the other buyers too.  They said because they ‘hadn’t signed the offer’ they weren’t bound by it.  That of course doesn’t sit well as I have never had a bank sign any part of an offer until the final day when it closes.  So basically the bank selling properties in foreclosures are setting their own rules and expecting us to ‘play nice’ even when they aren’t.  Anyone other than a bank that requirement for a signature would hold true absolutely but the banks never sign anything ‘because they don’t have to.’

We moved on to another property; yes, another foreclosure, and wrote again.  This time I drove the other agent nuts demanding to know when the bank considered it accepted and making him prove it in writing.  This offer has it’s own quirks. The banks sent papers on legal sized paper. I had the buyer sign them and send them back. They refused to accept them because they were on legal so I had to shrink them down and resend them!!  Flexible…you just have to be flexible…don’t let the small stuff drown you and keep moving forward at all times! 

During this time of crazy offer writing and negotiations and increased sales the bad news is that prices are still dropping. The median price home dropped again last quarter.  The previous median was $190,000 and now it is down to $186,000 as reported by the MLS.  That brings the price of homes over the past year down by 19.7% and over the last five year period they are down by 12.8%.  Of course there are some areas that have a higher median such as Ashland.

Some of the outlying areas seem to have reversed those trends.  Talent over the 5 year trending is actually up 22.6%.  That would be accounted for by the fact that all the folks that wished they could afford to live in Ashland have settled in Talent and are willing to pay a higher price for the proximity to that end of the valley.  The most surprising one to me is that Shady Cove and Trail is up 32.0%.  I am guessing that the reason for this lies with the fact that there have been some new subdivisions created over the past five years that made it possible to have a decent inventory to choose from at more reasonable rates. My guess is that it is driven by a retired and semi-retired population looking for a slower pace of life. 

West Medford has been hardest hit by the decline with it being 23.2% over the five years.  The greatest amount of change over one year is Jacksonville. It’s decline was 51.4% in one year!!!!  Examples of that trend are seen in the properties like the Farms on “G” St in Jacksonville.  Marketed at right around the $300,000 range a few years ago they are being built new and selling in the $170,000 range.  It used to be that ‘affordable housing’ and Jacksonville were not words you spoke in the same sentence.  If you have equity or are interested in investing or are one of those first-time home buyers, it is a really great time to find a buy!