In this article, we’ll discuss in depth the steps involved with the Carmel Valley home buying process. We’ll also share some of our favorite activities and things to do on the Monterey Peninsula, and take a look at the Carmel Valley homes for sale. The listings and charts below are updated live as properties are listed and sold so that you have the most current source of information.

Different Types of Homes For Sale

Here are the most recently listed Carmel Valley single-family homes on the market. Click the link below the properties to view all Carmel Valley homes for sale, or you can wait for specific neighborhood searches and searches by price range below.

Determining Price

Finding out what you can afford is the first step to buying a home in Carmel Valley. If you require traditional financing, we refer our clients to Chad Hawker due to his timeliness, professionalism, and knowledge of the loan process. There are many great lenders to choose from, but we recommend working with someone locally who knows the Monterey Peninsula market. Too often we run into out of area lenders that complicate the escrow process because they are not familiar with our area, or deadlines are not met because of timezone differences. When you hire a mortgage consultant, the interest rate is not the only thing that matters. Make sure they are very familiar with your situation and have the resources you need in order to fund and close on time.

Once you are pre-approved, it may be helpful for you to search online in your price range. Here is a table of Carmel Valley homes for sale organized by price.

Carmel Valley Homes For Sale | Search By Price

Deciding on a Carmel Valley Location

The best thing to do when considering a Carmel Valley location is to drive around different neighborhoods with your Realtor and have them tell you all about the community. It may be helpful for you to spend some time searching the various MLS areas associated with Carmel Valley homes for sale online before your property tour so you can become familiar with the market. By clicking one of the Carmel Valley homes for sale that interests you, you will be directed to a full property detail page with map locations, info on the Carmel School District, and an interactive mortgage calculator.

Carmel Valley Homes For Sale | Search By Neighborhood

Summary of Carmel Valley MLS Areas

Some of these MLS areas have Carmel 93923 addresses, but we consider properties near Carmel Valley Road, to be Carmel Valley properties.

Carmel Views – Close to Carmel proper, this neighborhood north of Carmel Valley road offers the potential for big ocean views, lots of sun, larger homes, and a better price per square foot. Carmel Views can only be accessed through Rancho Rio Vista and Canada drive, not through High Meadows on Highway 1.

Brookdale – One of the premier neighborhoods in Carmel Valley. About halfway from Highway 1 to Mid Valley, Brookdale is located on the southern side of Carmel Valley Road. It’s common to find properties with a level acre of land. Some homes closer to CV road have road noise, but others are very secluded and private.

Hacienda & Del Mesa – Senior living communities ages 55+. Costly monthly HOA fees, but they take care of just about everything you need except your phone and WIFI bill. Hacienda is south of Carmel Valley Road, Del Mesa is north. Some Del Mesa properties have outstanding views, like this one we sold recently.

Quail Meadows – Properties in Quail can be right on the golf course, turnkey, and absolutely stunning. They vary in size and price, but it’s rare to find a single family residence under $1,250,000. The golf course is level and lush with many difficult sand traps and pesky trees to challenge even an experienced golfer.

Mid Valley – These properties are south of Carmel Valley Road in the Garden Homes complex and neighboring streets. Convenient location near Safeway, the laundromat, Chase Bank, Ace Hardware, and the Shell gas station.

Tierra Grande – Located across Carmel Valley road from the Mid Valley Shopping Center, these properties can wind several miles up Tierra Grande Road. Some have beautiful views, and the neighborhood is very nice. The drive can be tedious depending on how far back you live, but if you like to decompress in the car after work, it’s not bad at all.

Carmel Valley Ranch – Golf course single family residences, townhomes, and planned unit developments comprise the Carmel Valley Ranch. Several associations with varying fees, floor plans, and construction styles. Beautiful golf course views, and a wonderful social membership to join at Carmel Valley River Ranch. Here’s Ben giving us a tour during our 2017 Chili cookoff.

Village Views – Another premier neighborhood in Carmel Valley. Approaching Carmel Valley Village on the north side of Carmel Valley Road, this neighborhood is known for views overlooking Garzas Canyon. This is Carmel Valley charm at its finest.

Carmel Valley Village – Many of these homes are walking distance to all of the great restaurants and wine tasting venues. Ben has lived in the village for 30 years, and loves it! Many different styles of homes, lot sizes, and potential for views and guest quarters.

Upper Valley Cachagua – Upper Valley is known for a very reasonable price per square foot. These properties can go 30 minutes past the Carmel Valley Village, so they are quite far from grocery stores and other amenities. Stunning views of the valley with potential for owning many acres.

What About Condos and Townhomes?

If you’re trying to decide between having a bit of land with a single-family residence or buying a condo, do a little cost-benefit analysis. Would you rather have more land? Do you have time to maintain it or the money to pay someone to maintain it? Would it be more convenient to have a townhome where the Home Owners Association takes care of the maintenance for a fee? You can request a PDF of Carmel Valley HOA estimates in one of the guides on the right sidebar of this page. Here are the condos and townhomes for sale in Carmel Valley, and below organized by price. Since there are so few on the market, I included Carmel condos as well.

Carmel Valley Condos Under $800k

Carmel Valley Condos $800k-1M

Carmel Valley Condos Over $1M

Presenting an Offer and Negotiating

When you have found your perfect home, the next step is to write an offer. Your agent will find out the seller’s reason for selling to help determine their level of motivation. Run comparable sales, active listings, and pending sales to determine an appropriate valuation. Consider roughly the amount of work you think is needed. This will become more clear when you get a home inspection during escrow, but it is good to have a general idea of what kind of work the house needs. Your agent can guide you through this.

Some factors to consider when estimating work needed:

1. Take a look at the roof, the deck, the floors, and windows.
2. How does the property slope?
3. What does the drainage system look like?
4. Is the property serviced by Cal-Am or is it on a well?
5. Septic or sewer?

Your offer will include other terms besides the purchase price. Consider the terms of your escrow. A standard escrow is 30-45 days with 17 days for due diligence – meaning your physical contingencies and appraisal. All of your inspections will be conducted during these 17 days. An earnest money deposit will be necessary upon getting into escrow. Standard is 3%, but this is negotiable.

Another factor to consider when making an offer is the demand for the property. Are you competing against any other buyers? Your agent will provide guidance on how to make the most compelling offer in your best interests as your fiduciary.

Once you submit your offer, the sellers can either accept, decline, or counter. If they counter, you can accept, decline, or counter again. If they decline, you can resubmit a more compelling offer. Once you have reached an acceptance, you have entered escrow!

Due Diligence

Your due diligence period will go by faster than you think, so it’s best to schedule inspections immediately upon entering escrow. Schedule a home and pest inspection. The home inspection will give a general outline of the condition of the home. There may be recommendations for further evaluation in particular areas such as roof, chimney, soil, drainage, etc. These further evaluations can be done during your due diligence period as well. We have a long list of vendors we can provide you with, but here are two that we often work with to get you started.

Home Inspector

Pest Inspector

Once you have done all your inspections, you have an opportunity to negotiate repairs or credits based on the information you learned in the reports. Seek guidance from your agent for an appropriate strategy specific to your situation.

Your lender will order an appraisal to be conducted during the due diligence. If the property appraises and you are satisfied with repair negotiations, you can remove your physical contingencies, leaving the final loan approval as the only contingency remaining unless you have a contingency for sale of another property. If the property does not appraise, you may need to request a reduction to the purchase price to satisfy the lender.

Once you have final loan approval, you can remove your loan contingency. You’ll do a final walkthrough, sign loan docs, and sign title paperwork, then escrow closes and you’re a homeowner in Carmel Valley!

Considering Your Investment

This may be the biggest investment of your life, so we understand you may want to learn more about investing in Carmel Valley. Consider the Carmel Unified School District and its outstanding rankings. Whether or not you have kids, buying in an area with a school in high demand is great for resale value. Carmel Valley is also a great community for folks looking to retire somewhere sunny near the coast. Carmel Valley is a beautiful town, full of rich history and things to do. We have a substantial amount of international buyers and buyers from the Silicon Valley and Texas. Carmel Valley is a popular location for folks looking to move away from the Pebble Beach, Pacific Grove, and Carmel fog.

The food and beverage hospitality business have been steadily picking up over the last decade in Carmel Valley, and now we are delighted with the wide range of options for our pallets. Carmel Valley has become a miniature Napa due to the perfect grapes grown in the ideal Santa Lucia climate. Here’s a tour of some of our favorite places in the Carmel Valley Village.

5 Tips for Carmel Valley Buyers

1. Be cautious of the 100-year floodplain and flood zone on properties south of Carmel Valley Road.
2. Don’t rush your purchase, it has to feel right.
3. Have your agent schedule private property tours. Open houses have too many distractions.
4. Be aware of the permit status of accessory dwellings
5. Buying in Water West territory is a tremendous value.

How’s the Carmel Valley Real Estate Market?

This chart is updated live every week. You can subscribe to weekly housing stats by clicking here

Buying with The Heinrich Team

Here’s a message from our clients who bought in the valley with us recently. They share their experience with the home search process, negotiating a purchase contingent upon the sale of their prior residence, and some of the key components of our service.

Living in Carmel Valley | We Bought Our House With The Heinrich Team from The Heinrich Team on Vimeo.