Santa Cruz Real Estate News

Site Editor: Maggie Barr, Realtor, Keller Williams Santa Cruz
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Market at a Glance

Silicon Valley workers snap up homes locally

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Tech industry employees invest in first and second homes within county

By Elaine Ingalls, Santa Cruz Sentinel

Original article: https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2019/02/28/silicon-valley-workers-snap-up-homes-locally/

FEBRUARY 28, 2019, SANTA CRUZ, CA >>> The number of Silicon Valley employees seeking homes in Santa Cruz County is on the rise. Michael Kaufman, a realtor with Coldwell Banker in Los Gatos, was the buyer agent of one of the highest-priced houses in the county in January. The three-bedroom and four-bathroom house at 114 Central Ave. in Capitola, closed escrow Jan. 30 for $2.1 million, according to Kaufman. He said it was originally listed at nearly $2.4 million and was on the market for 100 days. Kaufman said it was a six-day close and the South Bay buyer paid for it in cash. “To the seller, that’s very appealing,” he said.

When the buyer pays all cash, the risk of the deal not happening is eliminated because there is proof of funds, he said. Kaufman said there has been a trend in the last few years of affluent buyers in the technology field buying primary or secondary residences in Santa Cruz County.

Mike O’Boy, sales manager at Sereno Group Aptos, said a majority of home buyers in the county are still coming from Silicon Valley, buying second homes or primary residences here because they are priced out of the Bay Area market. O’Boy said many in the industry were expecting to get back to normal inventory levels after last fall’s slowdown in sales, but that hasn’t happened yet this year. “We’re not seeing a lot of new, good quality inventory hit the market,” he said.

The unsold Inventory Index shows the relationship between supply of houses and demand for purchase. The normal inventory of houses is at about a five- to eight-month supply, O’Boy said. He said the market is now at a four-month supply, but has been less than a two-month supply for almost three years. However, the real estate market is facing a stronger spring than the market was in the fall because the economy is a little more stable, he said.

“Good properties that are well-priced are still getting multiple offers,” he said. The median home price, the midpoint of what sold, for single-family homes in Santa Cruz County, was $826,000 in January, according to Gary Gangnes of Real Options Realty, who tracks the numbers. Gangnes said the median price was $787,000 in January 2018.

By the numbers

How median home prices shifted:

Month Year:Price

January 2019: $826,000

December 2018: $926,000

November 2018: $911,250

October 2018: $907,500

September 2018: $920,000

August 2018: $920,000

July 2018: $885,000

June 2018: $927,500

May 2018: $900,000

April 2018: $905,000

March 2018: $935,100

February 2018: $800,000

The median price for condominiums and townhouses was $602,500 in January, according to Gangnes. It was $637,500 in January 2018.

January 2019 statistics

Single-family homes

Median price: $826,000 ($787,000 a year ago)

Listings: 305 (247 a year ago)

Sales volume: 74 (114 a year ago)

Distressed: No bank-owned or short sales

Unsold Inventory Index: 4.1 months (2.2 months a year ago)

Average price: $926,018 ($858,940 a year ago)

December’s average price was, $1,132,420, according to Gangnes.

Condos/townhouses

Median price: $602,500 ($637,500 a year ago)

Listings: 107 (58 a year ago)

Sales volume: 28 (33 a year ago)

Distressed: no bank-owned or short sales

Unsold Inventory Index: 3.8 months (1.8 a year ago)

Average price: $645,023 ($650,410 a year ago)

Source: Real Options Realty

Close to the median:

City of Santa Cruz

1222 Laurel St., $950,000

206 Glover St., $855,000

242 Jackson St., $775,000

134 Fernside St., $734,000

120 Grandview St., $714,000

County of Santa Cruz

411 Brook Lane, Boulder Creek, $830,000

415 Seventh Ave., Live Oak, $827,000

112 Siesta Court, Aptos, $825,000

4435 Bain Ave., Live Oak, $820,645

9754 Live Oak Ave., Ben Lomond, $820,000

Highest

25300 Quail Ridge Road, Los Gatos, $2,160,000

114 Central Ave., Capitola, $2,100,000

24846 Skyland Road, Los Gatos, $2,005,000

199 Shoreview Drive, Aptos, $1,697,500

828 Pelton Ave., Santa Cruz, $1,600,000

Lowest

7 Landis Ave., Amesti/Green Valley Road, Freedom, $410,000

15475 Big Basin Way, Boulder Creek, $407,000

617 Redwood Road, Felton, $397,500

467 Argos Circle, Watsonville, $302,000

160 Woodland Drive, Ben Lomond, $285,000

Source: Real Options Realty

This entry was posted in Market at a Glance, Real Estate Economic Trends.

Santa Cruz County home owners reduce prices to make deal

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Congratulations to Jondi Gumz on her retirement! Thank you for your years of service to the businesses in Santa Cruz.
Maggie

By Jondi Gumz, Santa Cruz Sentinel

DECEMBER 31, 2018, SANTA CRUZ, CA >>> Single-family home sales in Santa Cruz County dropped in November — from 183 a year ago to 134 — and the median price, the midpoint of what sold, was $911,250, according to Gary Gangnes of Real Options Realty, who tracks the numbers.

Sellers who expected they could tack 5 percent onto their asking price found fewer buyers. Deals were made after sellers lowered the price, sometimes more than once.

This 4,931-square-foot oceanfront designer home at 1443 San Andreas Road in La Selva Beach, a finalist in HGTV’s Ultimate House Hunt, sold in November for $9.4 million. (Contributed)

Asking price was $849,000 in July for a two-bedroom Southview Terrace condo on the Westside; after two price reductions, it sold in November for $745,000. Asking price in May was $4.899 million for a gated oceanfront estate at 1425 San Andreas Road, La Selva Beach; after three price cuts, it sold in November for $3.8 million. The priciest home sold in November, a 4,931-square-foot oceanfront home at 1443 San Andreas Road, was a finalist in the 2017 HGTV “Ultimate House Hunt” and fetched $9.4 million but the seller had listed it for $9.999 million.
This 4,931-square-foot oceanfront designer home at 1443 San Andreas Road in La Selva Beach, a finalist in HGTV’s Ultimate House Hunt, sold in November for $9.4 million. (Contributed)

“I think it’s buyer fatigue,” said Paul Bailey, co-owner of Bailey Properties with 43 years in real estate, citing negative political news, stock market gyrations, the Federal Reserve raising interest rates as reasons for buyers slowing down.

“We’re seeing homes sell if they’re priced correctly,” he said. “It’s not about the color of the carpet, it’s the location and the price.”

Buyers have more to choose from — a big change after years of shrinking listings. As of the first week of December, there were 425 single-family homes for sale, up from 387 a year, and 131 condos and town homes for sale, up from 75 a year ago, according to Gangnes.

A key indicator shows the market is less of a seller’s market. The unsold inventory index, how long it would take to sell available homes at the current sales rate, jumped to 3.2 months from 2.1 months a year ago for single-family homes and to 3.9 months from 2.1 months a year ago for condos. Bailey calculates there are 1.9 homes per buyer, up from .8 per buyer in March, when the median price set a new record of $935,100. He said that means there’s a balance, with neither buyers nor sellers having more leverage.

“We’re not used to this,” he said, recalling the last time the real estate market was this way was in the late 1990s.
This three-bedroom home in Scotts Valley, listed for sale for $999,999 on Oct. 26, has not sold yet as the market has slowed down.

Forrest Cambell of Monterey Bay Mortgage in Soquel said he’s seen sellers more willing to make repairs or give credits to buyers “whereas previously the buyers had less opportunity to negotiate.” The housing market has shifted from one side to the other, with sellers having the edge as prices advanced during the housing bubble, buyers having the edge as prices plummeted in the housing collapse, then sellers regaining the edge again due to limited inventory.

Bailey said the up-and-down of the stock market may help buyers if worried investors shift their funds out of stocks and into investments such as bonds, Treasury bills and mortgage-backed securities. “That liquifies our type of interest rates,” he said, adding that rates on a 30-year fixed mortgage rates, currently about 5 percent, could drop to 4.5 percent, an incentive for buyers.
Tax changes

Seb Frey of Realty World Virtuoso in Capitola contends 2018 was the peak year for local real estate, with the market stalling because buyers can’t afford to pay more for a home. He expects a drag on the 2019 market when taxpayers see the full impact of the reductions in state and local taxes and mortgage interest tax deductions. “For most would be buyers in the greater Bay Area, owning a home won’t pencil out favorably on a month-to-month basis,” he said.

Amba DesJardins, an agent with Coldwell Banker in Santa Cruz, noted that “record levels of sustained low employment have often been an indicator of a forthcoming recession.” DesJardins noted the abundance of jobs in Silicon Valley, and that if Google were to set up shop in Scotts Valley — nothing official on this — that would benefit the local real estate market.

Bailey sees UC Santa Cruz, Silicon Valley and millennials driving future demand. A three-bedroom home can house six students paying $800 each, that’s $4,800 a month. Millennials like the uniqueness of Santa Cruz, riding bikes on West Cliff Drive, walking to coffee shops, and home prices, while sky-high here, are higher in Silicon Valley. Bailey’s conclusion: “San Jose is coming, so hang on — the merry-go-round is not stopping.”

November 2018 statistics

 

Single-family homes

Median price: $911,250 ($865,000 a year ago; $800,750 in 2016)

Listings: 425 (387 a year ago; 389 in 2016)

Sales volume: 134 (183 a year ago; 144 in 2016)

Distressed: 2 bank-owned, 0 short sales

Unsold Inventory Index: 3.2 months (2.1 months a year ago)

Average price: $1,042,905 ($985,702 a year ago)

 

Condos

Median price: $637,000 ($590,000 a year ago; $479,000 in 2016)

Listings: 131 (75 a year ago; 93 in 2016)

Sales volume: 34 (35 a year ago; 47 in 2016)

Distressed: 0 bank-owned, 0 short sales

Unsold Inventory Index: 3.9 months (2.1 months a year ago)

Average price: $636,100 ($611,224 a year ago)

 

CLOSE TO THE MEDIAN

 

City of Santa Cruz

118 Wanda Court, $915,000

151 Carol Ave., $950,000

314 Pacheco Ave., $965,000

104 Flower St., $969,000

216 Fair Ave., $1M

 

Santa Cruz County

3868 Glen Haven Road, Soquel, $907,500

1731 Grey Seal Road, Live Oak, $920,000

332 Loyola Drive, Rio Del Mar, $925,000

27600 Havenhill Lane, Los Gatos, $928,000

455 Deer Run Road, Felton, $940,000

 

Lowest

418 Hillside Drive, Boulder Creek, $363,000

707 Primavera Road, Boulder Creek, $375,000

618 Ester Way, Watsonville, $375,000

229 Madrona Road, Boulder Creek, $415,000

4 7th St., Watsonville,$425,000

 

Highest

170 Corday Lane, Scotts Valley, $2.025M

401 Eagle Ridge, Corralitos, $2.3M

320 Bridlewood Court, Santa Cruz, $2.73M

1425 San Andreas Road, La Selva Beach, $3.8M

1443 San Andreas Road, La Selva Beach, $9.4M

Source: Real Options Realty

This entry was posted in Market at a Glance, Real Estate Economic Trends and tagged .

Santa Cruz County median home price dips, as area is among hardest hit by tax law changes

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By Jondi Gumz, Santa Cruz Sentinel
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/business/20180309/santa-cruz-county-median-home-price-dips-as-area-is-among-hardest-hit-by-tax-law-changes

MARCH 9, 2018, SANTA CRUZ >> Andy Manzi is looking to buy a bigger home, one with space for his 4-year-old daughter’s toys and room for the grandparents to visit — ideally in Boulder Creek, where his family lives now.

Manzi, 52, a hardware engineer, said $750,000 is realistically what he expects to pay but so far, nothing meets the family’s criteria.

“Definitely the market’s a little thin,” he said Friday.

The 936-square-foot home at 237 Union St. in downtown Santa Cruz sold for $700,000, one of the sales closest to the January median price of $787,000. (Dan Coyro — Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Check MLSlistings.com in the $600,000 to $800,000 range for Boulder Creek and only 10 homes are available.

Real estate information company Trulia calls it “homebuyer gridlock,” a nationwide phenomenon resulting from higher prices squeezing out move-up buyers, first-time buyers seeing nothing in their price range and cash buyers holding onto lucrative rental properties.

 

 

The number of homes for sale in Santa Cruz County is historically low.

As of the first week in February, there were 247 single-family homes listed for sale, the fewest for that month in 22 years, according to Gary Gangnes of Real Options Realty in Aptos, who tracks the numbers.

The median price for January, the midpoint of 114 sales, was $787,000 — dipping below $800,000 for the first time in 15 months.

The percentage of sales for homes more than $1 million was 28 percent, the lowest since April, and the percentage of sales in San Lorenzo Valley and Watsonville was 34 percent, the second highest in 14 months, according to Gangnes.

 

CONDO RECORD

The median price for condos jumped to $634,500, an all-time high, on 33 sales in January, and just 58 condos were listed for sale the first week of February, the fewest for that months in 22 years.

Living in the mountains, Manzi knows some roads are better than others. Some roads are awaiting repair after Boulder Creek was hard hit by winter storms a year ago. Manzi also noticed some homes have square footage not listed in the ads, which can be due to unpermitted additions.

Santa Cruz County is among the counties in the nation hardest hit by the tax law change approved in December to limit mortgage interest deductions to the $750,000 in home loans, down from $1 million, according to Apartment List, an online company listing rentals nationwide.

TAX LAW CHANGES

Apartment List projected the median cut in deductions to be $4,300 a year for Santa Cruz County, adding up to $129,000 over a 30-year mortgage, San Francisco-Oakland, losing $5,400 a year in deductions and San Jose-Santa Clara-Sunnyvale losing $5,400, while the impact in Houston, Phoenix and Las Vegas was expected to be $0.

Seb Frey of Realty World Virtuoso in Capitola sees an impact locally,

“It is definitely giving buyers pause, especially those looking at higher-end properties at $750,000 or over,” he said. “I find people are more skittish this year than they were a year ago.”

He added, “It’s not just the tax consequences but mortgage rates are also higher. I feel there is more pullback from buyers and less of a feeling they should be super-aggressive when it comes to how much they’ll offer.”

‘A HUGE HIT’

Santa Cruz attorney Nicole Adkison, who has a graduate degree in taxation, sees major disincentives for homeowners to sell.

If you bought your house 10 to 20 years ago, you are locked into property taxes based on the purchase price plus a two percent increase because of Proposition 13, she pointed out, adding, “Your real estate taxes will go up when you buy a new place because it gets reassessed.”

So instead of paying $5,000 in property taxes, you could be paying $15,000, and one of the tax law changes capped the deduction for state and local taxes at $10,000.

“That is a huge hit,” she said.

INTEREST RATES

Manzi said he will try to save more money so he can make a bigger down payment, which could downsize monthly payments to compensate for higher interest rates.

He could sell his current home to put toward the new one, but he’s thinking of using it as a rental.

“That would be the preferred strategy,” he said.

 

JANUARY 2018 STATISTICS

CLOSE TO THE MEDIAN

City of Santa Cruz:

237 Union St., $700,000

211 Stanford Ave., $780,000

136 Wendell St., $790,000

Santa Cruz County:

1900 Kinsley St., Live Oak, $780,000

1121 Lost Acre Drive, Felton, $784,000

150 Siesta Drive, Aptos, $805,000

Highest:

105 Manor Place, Santa Cruz, $2.3M

596 Henry Cowell Drive, Santa Cruz, $2.295M

161 St. Andrews Drive, Rio del Mar, $1.796M

Lowest:

710 Primavera Road, Boulder Creek, $265,000

560 River Drive, Boulder Creek, $306,000

113 California, Watsonville, $318,000

Source: Real Options Realty

 

Single-family homes:

Median price: $787,000 ($810,000 a year ago; $694,500 in 2016)

Listings: 247 (263 a year ago; 250 in 2016)

Sales volume: 114 (115 a year ago; 96 in 2016)

Distressed: 1 bank-owned; 2 short sale

Average price: $858,940 ($861,675 a year ago)

Condos:

Median price: $637,500 ($486,000 a year ago; $529,000 in 2016)

Listings: 58 (68 a year ago; 73 in 2016)

Sales volume: 33 (38 a year ago; 25 in 2016)

Distressed: 0 bank-owned; 0 short sales

Average price: $650,410* ($529,513 a year ago)

Source: Real Options Realty

CLOSE TO THE MEDIAN

City of Santa Cruz:

237 Union St., $700,000

211 Stanford Ave., $780,000

136 Wendell St., $790,000

Santa Cruz County:

1900 Kinsley St., Live Oak, $780,000

1121 Lost Acre Drive, Felton, $784,000

150 Siesta Drive, Aptos, $805,000

Highest:

105 Manor Place, Santa Cruz, $2.3M

596 Henry Cowell Drive, Santa Cruz, $2.295M

161 St. Andrews Drive, Rio del Mar, $1.796M

Lowest:

710 Primavera Road, Boulder Creek, $265,000

560 River Drive, Boulder Creek, $306,000

113 California, Watsonville, $318,000

Source: Real Options Realty

This entry was posted in Market at a Glance and tagged , , , , .

Santa Cruz County homes for sale fewest in 22 years

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By Jondi Gumz, Santa Cruz Sentinel
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/article/NE/20180108/NEWS/180109754

JANUARY 8, 2018, SANTA CRUZ >> For months, the number of single-family homes for sale in Santa Cruz County has been steadily shrinking, and a stunning statistic emerged the first week of January: Listings for the month are the lowest in 22 years. That’s the word from Gary Gangnes of Real Options Realty, who tracks the numbers.

Listings typically drop in January due to the holidays, but the trend still stands out. In January 2014, there were 390

A 1,017 square-foot home with two bedrooms and one bathroom at 1229 Laurel St. on the upper Santa Cruz Westside, sold in November for $865,000, about $874 per square foot. The median price for the month was $865,000. (Dan Coyro — Santa Cruz Sentinel)

homes for sale; this month, 255. Compare those to January listings in 1997, a boom year, 1,009, or 2008, the year the market crashed, 1,026, or 2005, when listings were down to 390.

The priciest home: An iconic 2,825 square-foot oceanview home at 4200 Opal Cliff Drive sold for $5,212,500.

That’s not all. A few very expensive sales pushed the average price to a record high of $985,702, according to Gangnes.

A 1,416-square foot home at 2914 Pleasure Point Drive — a prime spot for surfers — sold for $3.1 million, and two homes in Pleasure Point and a third in Pasatiempo each sold $2.6 million or more.

The new data come on the heels of the November median price, $865,000, the midpoint of what sold in the month. The median price backed away from the record high of $880,000 in October but jumped from $800,750 in November 2016.

The condo median price jumped to $590,000 from $479,000 a year ago, pushed by rising single-family home prices, with only 35 condos and town homes sold due to scarcity of listings.

“Barring some wholesale meltdown of Silicon Valley, I don’t think prices will go down,” said Tom Brezsny of Sereno Group, a longtime agent and blogger in Santa Cruz. “Demand is high and supply is low. People are still matriculating over the hill. Prices are even higher not too far away.”

That is different from the late 1990s, when plenty of locals were buying bigger and more expensive homes.

Now longtime homeowners are staying put, unwilling to pay more for a home that’s smaller and see their property tax bill double.

“If inventory were not so low, we’d have move down buyers,” said Breszny. “There’s where the logjam comes in.”

The GOP-led tax reform in December trimmed the interest deduction on a new mortgage for a first home to loans up to $750,000, down from $1 million, but Breszny pointed out that could boost home sales locally.

He said a young couple wanting to buy a house in Los Gatos for $1.5 million might instead buy a home for less in Santa Cruz, making the most of the deduction.

 

HIGH-END SALES

“I get it — I’m from Palo Alto, I bought a house here as an investment,” said Dale Friday of Friday Realty in Pleasure Point. “I love it. It’s a different lifestyle.”

He recalls Matt Wall, his real estate teacher at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, telling him: Spend more on where you live. If you like where you live, you won’t go out every night trying to escape.

Friday was busy at the end of the year, representing sellers of 330 36th Ave. and sellers of four lots on 34th Avenue. and buyers of the Pasatiempo home. The couple who bought on 36th Avenue were looking for a second home, Friday said, with the husband recalling how he slept in his car next to wetsuit icon Jack O’Neill’s house so he could surf.

When sellers walk in his office, Friday said he asks them to sleep on it.  “I’m worried about where you’re going to end up,” he said. “It’s got to work for you.”

As for the impact of some people losing tax deductions, he said, “For some people, it doesn’t matter. If you’re paying a couple million for a house and a second home, it doesn’t matter. If it does lower prices, that’s not a bad thing. There’s not enough product.”

 

BALLOT MEASURE

Asked what could break the logjam, Breszny said a statewide ballot initiative by the California Association of Realtors “would have the ability to affect the market.” That group wants homeowners 55 and older to get a once-in-a-lifetime chance to sell their home and transfer their property tax assessment to a home of equal or lesser value.

Proposition 90 in 1988 gave counties the option of accepting those lower tax assessments; 11 of the state’s 58 counties do so but Santa Cruz County is not among them. The realtors association launched a drive after Thanksgiving to collect 585,407 signatures by March 26 to get on the November ballot.

That push came after Assembly Bill 1322, introduced by then-Assembly member Raul Bocanegra, D-San Fernando, essentially the same proposal as the ballot initiative, was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee in May. Bocanegra resigned in November amid multiple allegations of sexual misconduct.

The California League of Cities and the California Association of Counties objected to the bill, citing a loss of tax revenue to local governments.

State Assemblywoman Anna Caballero, D-Salinas, supports the concept, according to a staffer. State Assemblyman Mark Stone, D-Scotts Valley, has no position, his staff said.

———————————————————————————————-

NOVEMBER 2017 STATISTICS

HIGHEST AND LOWEST

Highest:

4200 Opal Cliff Drive, Live Oak, $5.2M

2914 Pleasure Point Drive, Live Oak, $3.1M

423 37th Ave., Live Oak, $2.9M

 

Lowest:

891 San Lorenzo Ave., Felton, $205,750

605 Carroll Ave., Lompico, $230,000

10277 Lomita Ave., Lompico, $288,888

 

CLOSE TO THE MEDIAN

City of Santa Cruz:

127 Cayuga St., $860,000

1229 Laurel St., $865,000

924 Seaside St. $875,000

 

County:

23640 Old Santa Cruz Highway, Los Gatos, $875,000

20741 Bear Creek Road, Los Gatos, $875,000

1761-B 17th Ave., Live Oak, $877,000

Source: Real Options Realty

 

Single-family homes:

Median price: $865,000 ($800,750 a year ago; $700,000 in 2015)

Listings: 387 (389 a year ago; 420 in 2015)

Sales volume: 183 sales (144 a year ago; 123 in 2015)

Distressed: 2 bank-owned, 3 short sales

Average price: $985,702 ($867,293 a year ago)

 

Condos:

Median price: $590,000 ($479,000 a year ago; $499,500 in 2015)

Listings: 75 (93 a year ago; 76 in 2015)

Sales volume: 35 (47 a year ago; 30 in 2015)

Distressed: 0 bank-owned, 0 short sales

Average price: $611,224 ($585,386 a year ago)

 

Source: Real Options Realty

 

HIGHEST AND LOWEST

Highest:

4200 Opal Cliff Drive, Live Oak, $5,212,500

2914 Pleasure Point Drive, Live Oak, $3.1M

423 37th Ave., Live Oak, $2.965M

 

Lowest:

891 San Lorenzo Ave., Felton, $205,750

605 Carroll Ave., Lompico, $230,000

10277 Lomita Ave., Lompico, $288,888

 

CLOSE TO THE MEDIAN

City of Santa Cruz:

127 Cayuga St., $860,000

1229 Laurel St., $865,000

924 Seaside St. $875,000

 

County:

23640 Old Santa Cruz Highway, Los Gatos, $875,000

20741 Bear Creek Road, Los Gatos, $875,000

1761-B 17th Ave., Live Oak, $877,000

 

Source: Real Options Realty

This entry was posted in Government & Regulations, Market at a Glance and tagged , , , .

Santa Cruz County median home price reaches record $875,000 in May

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As Santa Cruz County home values escalate, sales volume retreats; a fixer for $574,000

by Jondi Gumz, The Santa Cruz Sentinel
Published June 26, 2017

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/lifestyle/20170626/santa-cruz-county-median-home-price-reaches-record-875000-in-may

6/26/17, Santa Cruz, CA – Prices of single-family homes in Santa Cruz County soared to new records in May as the number of sales shrank. The median price, the midpoint of what sold during the month, was $875,000, topping the previous high of $830,000 in April, according to Gary Gangnes of Real Options Realty, who tracks the numbers. The average price, which tends to be higher than the median because of expensive oceanfront homes, reached a record $982,670.

A three-bedroom home at 246 Chico Avenue, on the first block off West Cliff Drive near Natural Bridges State Beach, just came on the market listed at $1.15 million. (Dan Coyro — Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Just 126 homes sold, down 23 percent from a year ago, repeating a pattern from March and April. Sales are nearly down to post-crash levels of 2011. Listings are down by half compared to 2011 when many distressed properties were for sale. Of May’s active listings, 51 percent are asking more than $1 million. “A jump of $45,000 in one month seems to indicate a spike,” Gangnes said, but he also noted the “unsold inventory index,” which shows how long it would take to deplete the inventory of homes for sale at the current sales rate has been below normal for more than five years, pressuring values upward.

Paul Bailey, co-owner of Bailey Properties, who’s spent more than 40 years in real estate, said he would not be surprised if the median price reaches $1 million in three years. There aren’t enough homes for sale to meet demand. That’s partly due to lack of construction but also due to baby boomer homeowners reluctant to sell and downsize to a smaller nest. For a couple whose home is worth over $500,000 more than when they bought it — a realistic scenario locally — selling brings financial disadvantages. That includes paying capital gains tax and giving up a low mortgage interest rate, Bailey noted.

Then there’s the problem of buying a replacement home. Say you’re 70, your mortgage is paid, and the home you bought for $300,000 is now worth $1.5 million. “You want to buy under $950,000, that’s where everyone wants to buy,” said Tom Brezsny, an agent with Sereno Group. “There’s a stuckness and no easy solution.” Starter homes are nearly extinct, and the “low end” is more expensive than it was. Buying a $600,000 home means laying $2,924 per month for a 30-year mortgage at 3.81 percent, property taxes and insurance.

Checking MLSListings.com Monday for homes for under $600,000 turned up:

  • A tiny 464-square-foot home at 116 Walk Circle, Santa Cruz, built in 1930, listed at $550,000.
  • A 735-square foot cabin at 750 Encino Drive, Aptos, listed at $545,000 plus monthly road fees.
  • A red-tagged property with two cabins at 2472 Fanning Grade in Ben Lomond, asking $574,000.

“People are afraid they won’t have a place to go,” said Sue Seeger, an agent with David Lyng Real Estate. As prices have risen, Brezsny has seen sellers confident they will get their asking price and buyers being more selective. “Buyers are pushing back,” he said. Bailey said Highway 1 traffic is keeping prices in Aptos 10-15 percent below those on the Santa Cruz Westside or Scotts Valley for people commuting on Highway 17 to Silicon Valley. The drive to Aptos is shorter, he added, for software developers recruited by Amazon’s Santa Cruz office and doctors recruited by Kaiser Permanente.“We need workforce housing,” Bailey said. “We’re pushing our workforce south.”

In May, the local home fetching the highest price — $3.675 million — was 3000 Pleasure Point Drive. It was on the market for more than a year, and the seller initially asked $4.385 million. In contrast, the seller of a four-bedroom home at 917 King St. on Westside Santa Cruz asked $849,000 and got $880,000. Seeger, who represented the seller, said, “There are multiple offers if the house is priced right.” She said June has been slow, which she attributes to graduations and vacations.

 

MAY 2017 STATISTICS

Single-family homes

Median price: $875,000 ($805,000 a year ago; $700,000 in 2015; $675,000 in 2014; $625,000 in 2013; $497,500 in 2012; $435,000 in 2011)

Listings: 484 (514 a year ago; 529 in 2015; 662 in 2014; 633 in 2013; 823 in 2012; 990 in 2011)

Number of sales: 126 (163 a year ago; 183 in 2015; 171 in 2014; 221 in 2013; 212 in 2012, 138 in 2011)

Distressed: Bank-owned, 2; short sales, 1

Unsold Inventory Index: 3.8 months (3.2 months a year ago)

Average price: $982,670 ($896,452 a year ago)

Condos

Median price: $570,000 ($532,500 a year ago; $470,000 in 2015; $404,250 in 2014; $343,750 in 2013; $265,000 in 2012; $292,500 in 2011)

Listings: 108 (102 a year ago; 123 in 2015; 141 in 2014; 171 in 2013; 244 in 2012; 296 in 2011)

Number of sales: 48 (44 a year ago; 52 in 2015; 44 in 2014; 56 in 2013; 53 in 2012; 30 in 2011)

Distressed: Bank-owned, 0; short sales, 0

Unsold Inventory Index: 2.3 months (2.3 months a year ago)

Average price: $579,740 ($548,707 a year ago)

Source: Real Options Realty

 

CLOSE TO THE MEDIAN

City of Santa Cruz

201 Beachview Ave., $870,000

107 Robinson Lane, $875,000

917 King St., $880,000

204 Center St., $880,000

220 Kenneth St., $885,000

 

Santa Cruz County

4465 Portola Drive, Live Oak, $865,000

1459 30th Ave., Live Oak, $865,000

17390 Tressel Pass Road, Boulder Creek, $875,000

1825 Early Drive, Felton, $890,000

875 Calabasas Road, Watsonville, $895,000

 

Highest

986 Via Tornasol, Rio Del Mar, $2.495M

505 Aptos Creek Road, Aptos, $2.525M

200 16th Ave., Live Oak, $2.625M

1016 West Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz, $3.15M

3000 Pleasure Point Drive, Pleasure Point, $3.675M

 

Lowest

9571 E. Zayante Road, Lompico, $180,000

234 Acorn Drive, Boulder Creek, $295,000

671 Bronte Ave., Watsonville, $295,000

411A Madison St., Watsonville, $355,000

407 Spruce Circle, Watsonville, $380,000

Source: Real Options Realty

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Housing Inventory Snapshot – September 2015

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Boulder Creek Real Estate Market Update from Maggie Barr

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Housing Inventory Snapshot – Aug 2015

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real estate market update santa cruz maggie barr August 2015

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Housing Inventory Snapshot – July 2015

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Housing Inventory Snapshot from Maggie Barr July 2015

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March Housing Inventory Snapshot 2015

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Below is the March 28th snapshot of the local Real Estate inventory from PropertyMinder.com, for Santa Cruz County and the surrounding areas. The table represents aggregated values based on MLS data for the specified date.

March Housing Snapshot for Santa Cruz County and surrounding areas
March Housing Snapshot for Santa Cruz County and surrounding areas

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October Housing Inventory Snapshot 2014

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Here’s the PropertyMinder housing inventory snapshop report for October 28, 2014, for the South Bay, Santa Cruz, and Monterey Bay areas.

 

Housing Inventory Snapshop - 2014 Nov

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