Santa Cruz County Home & Community Information

Santa Cruz County Median Home Prices affected by Short Sales and Foreclosures

There were 149 home sales in Santa Cruz in June 2010 - almost half of the sales consisted of REOs or Foreclosures and Short Sales.  Many of these Short Sales and Foreclosures are being purchased by First Time Home Buyers at discount prices.   

Santa Cruz median home prices saw a slight increase this June compared to June of last year however prices are pretty similar.  The Median Home price in June 2010 was $507,500 - in June 2009 it was $483,000.  A new article in the Santa Cruz Sentinel came out today about Median Home Prices in Santa Cruz

The San Lorenzo Valley and Watsonville areas have lower median home prices than other parts of Santa Cruz County and many investors and First Time Buyers are finding homes in these areas at very affordable prices.  One of the lowest priced homes that sold in June 2010 was a 2 bedroom home on Highway 9 in Brookdale that sold for $154,500.

June 2010 STATISTICS Santa Cruz Home Sales Statistics

Santa Cruz Single-family homes
Median price: $507,500 ($483,000 a year ago; $600,000 two years ago)
Listings: 1,116 (1,192 a year ago)
Number of sales: 149 (162 a year ago)
Distressed: Foreclosures, 31, short sales, 34, not applicable/not disclosed, 84
Unsold Inventory Index: 7.5 months (7.4 months a year ago)
Average price: $549,685
($573,029 a year ago)

Santa Cruz County Sales Statistics CONDOS
Median price: $284,000 ($299,000 a year ago; $368,000 two years ago)
Listings: 285 (250 a year ago)
Number of sales: 38 (31 a year ago)
Distressed: Foreclosures, 6; short sales, 11, not applicable/not disclosed, 21
Unsold Inventory Index: 7.5 months (8.1 months a year ago)
Average price: $368,032 ($343,270 a year ago)
SOURCE: Real Options Realty

Santa Cruz Short Sales and Foreclosure homes present an opportunity to buy a home in Santa Cruz at a great price. 

Go here to see Santa Cruz County Home Foreclosures for Sale

Santa Cruz County Condo Foreclosures for Sale

 Capitola Condos Sales Activity 2010 Mid Year Market Report

 Capitola, CA is a great Beach Community located in Santa Cruz County.  There are a variety of home types available from Mulit Million Dollar Ocean View Homes to small beach vacation homes.  For those looking for more affordable homes in Capitola - Condos for sale in the area may be a great option for you. 

The prices of Capitola condos for sale have dropped in the past few years significantly and are now really affordable for First Time Buyers and Vacation Home Buyers.

Here are the Capitola Condo Market Statistics as of the End of June 2010:

# Of Capitola Condos for Sale Currently:  18 - Average List Price:  $575,150

# of Capitola Condos Currently in Escrow:  14 - Average List Price:  $284,061

# of Capitola Condos Sold from 01/01/10 - 06/30/10:  13 - Average Sale Price:  $352,423 *

The Average days on market of the Capitola Condos Sold this year is only 41 days indicating a fairly quickly moving Capitola Condo Real Estate Market.  The Average Condo Sale Price for the first half of 2010 is $352,423 which is up slightly from the 2009 Capitola Condo Average sale price of $339,800.

The Capitola Condo Real Estate Market has been affected by Short Sales and Foreclosures - many of the sold condos were REOs or short sales. 

Currently there are many different types of Captiola Condos for sale  - there are some lovely Ocean View Condos as well as inexpensive Foreclosure Condos.  Go here to see a list of Capitola Condos for Sale

To find out about specific condo complexes in Capitola read my post:  Capitola Condos

*All data from MLSListings.com

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY HOME SALES - REAL ESTATE MARKET UPDATE FOR 2010

The average home sale price in Santa Cruz County for a single family home in April 2010 was $579,000.  The average home sale price in Santa Cruz County is down from the March 2010 price of $634,000 and number of home sales was down just slightly from 122 to 111 closed sales in Santa Cruz County

APRIL 2010 SANTA CRUZ COUNTY HOME SALES STATISTICS 

Current Inventory:  958

Santa Cruz County Closed Sales April:  111

Average Home Price Santa Cruz County:  $579,087

Average Days on Market:  74

Over the past year the inventory (number of homes for sale in Santa Cruz County) has dropped by 24%.

GRAPH OF # OF HOMES FOR SALE IN SANTA CRUZ COUNTY APRIL 2009-APRIL 2010

The Santa Cruz County Median Home Price compared year to year has increased about 36% from April 2009 to April 2010.  In April 2010 the Santa Cruz County median home price was $560,000, in April 2009 it was $412,000.

GRAPH OF MEDIAN HOME PRICE APRIL 2009-APRIL 2010 SANTA CRUZ COUNTY

The real estate market in Santa Cruz County and nationwide remains in flux but these statistics are indicating a stronger home sales market for Santa Cruz County.  I personally have seen a lot of buyer activity and multiple offers on properties, especially bank owned or foreclosure homes.  There are some wonderful opportunities in Santa Cruz to buy a home at a lower price right now as well as lock in a low interest rate.  For those thinking about buying a home in Santa Cruz County I suggest speaking to a lender about what you are qualified to buy, you may be surprised about what type of home you can now afford to own in Santa Cruz County.

I recently helped a young couple with 4 children buy a home in Santa Cruz County.  They are both teachers in Santa Cruz County and were pre-qualified to buy a home with an FHA loan - 3.5% downpayment.  We searched for a home for them for about 3 months are wrote many offers.  They were out bid sometimes or an all cash offer would come in and we would not win the home.  With persistence and patience we finally got into an escrow on a lovely 3 bedroom home on 1/2 acre.  Amazingly their mortgage is less than what they were paying in rent for a much smaller townhome they had been living in previously.  Read more about their story in my post :  Helping First Time Buyers and FHA loan Buyers Purchase a Home in Santa Cruz County

BOULDER CREEK HOMES - HOME PRICES IN BOULDER CREEK, CA

Boulder Creek, Ca is a small town in North Santa Cruz County located in the San Lorenzo Valley area off Highway 9.  Boulder Creek has a quaint downtown with a few fun places to eat like Scopazzi's and a great local market, New Leaf. Boulder Creek is situated in a beautiful area in the Santa Cruz Mountains with State Parks nearby like Big Basin where you can see old growth redwoods. 

Prices of Boulder Creek homes are lower on average that home prices in Santa Cruz making it a great place for people to buy that want to be near the beach and beautiful mountains for less.  In 2009 the median price of a Boulder Creek home was about $320,000.  That is down from 2008 when the median home price in Boulder Creek was $428,000.

Graph of Median Prices of Boulder Creek Homes

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The number of Boulder Creek Homes sold has increased a lot over the past year of 2009 due to the decrease in home prices.  There have been many low priced foreclosures and short sales for sale in the Boulder Creek area attracting first time buyers and investors.  In 2008, 76 Boulder Creek Homes were sold and in 2009 the number of Boulder Creek homes sold increased to 104!

Boulder Creek offers some great opportunities for buyers and investors.  For those that like small town living but want to be close to beaches and metropolitan areas like San Jose, Silicon Valley and San Francisco, Boulder Creek is an area worth exploring.  For more information about buying a home or selling your Boulder Creek home please contact me at (831) 419-9345 or cjess4homes@yahoo.com

WATSONVILLE CONDOS - CONDO VALUES IN WATSONVILLE, CA

Watsonville, CA is located in the southern part of Santa Cruz County between Aptos and Moss Landing.  There are many different condo and townhome complexes in the Watsonville area.  For first time buyers or investors looking to get into the Real Esatate market at a low price, a Watsonville Condo many be a good option for you.  In this post we will take a look at the prices of Watsonville Condos over the past year of 2009.

The median price of a Watsonville Condo is 2009 was just under $200,000.  This is way down from 2 years ago when the median price of a Watsonville Condo was $438,000! 

To the right you can see a graph of median prices of Watsonville Condos over the year of 2009.  Watsonville Condo prices are down about 15% over the year.

The number of sales of Watsonville Condos have really increased over the year of 2009.  In 2008, 84 Watsonville Condos were sold compared to 2009 when 114 Watsonville Condos sold.  The drop in condo prices in Watsonville has enticed investors and homebuyers back into the market so we are seeing more sales now. 

In Watsonville there are some very nice affordable condos for sale now.  Please feel free to contact me for a list of Watsonville Condos for sale.

* All Stats and Graphs from Clarus Market Metrics and MLSListings.com

CORRALITOS HOMES - HOME PRICES IN CORRALITOS, CA

Corralitos is a small area in Santa Cruz County of about 9 square miles between Aptos & Watsonville.  Much of Corralitos lies in the Santa Cruz Mountains and land nearby.  There are several great wineries in Corralitos including Alfaro Vineyards and Windy Oaks Winery.  Also there are the world famous Corralitos sausages found at the Corraltios market - make sure to try these!  Agricultural crops are grown in Corralitos as well including many types of berries and apples.

Corralitos is a beautiful, tranquil part of Santa Cruz County.  Corralitos homes can range from Mountain estates with vineyards to old farmhouses and everything in between.  Most Corralitos homes do come with a bit of land so for those looking for more peace and quiet this is a good part of Santa Cruz County for you.

Prices of Corralitos Homes have dropped in the past few years.  In 2007 the median price of a Corralitos Home was $830,000, in 2008 the median home price was $596,500 and in 2009 the median price of Corralitos Homes dropped to $475,000.  The drop in home prices has a lot to do with the amount of low priced foreclosures selling and less of the large estate homes with acerage selling that go for over 1 million.

GRAPH OF MEDIAN PRICE OF CORRALITOS HOMES 2008-2009

Because Corralitos has a pretty small population the # of Corralitos Homes sold annually is not a lot.  In 2009, 21 Corralitos homes were sold and in 2008, 26 homes in Corralitos were sold.

Recently the # of Corralitos homes for sale on the market has dropped slightly so there is less inventory.  If this lack of good inventory persists perhaps we will start to see the median price of Corralitos homes start to stabilize.  Also the average # of days on market has dropped from 204 DOM in 2008 to 135 days on market in 2009.

Graph of # of Corralitos Homes for Sale by month 2008 -2009

For advice about selling your Corralitos Home please feel free to contact me directly at (831) 419-9345.

For those interested in Buying a Corraltios Home there are many types of beautiful properties in the Corralitos area in various price ranges.  Contact me for more information and start here to Search for your Corraltios Home !

HOME PRICES IN WATSONVILLE, CA - REAL ESTATE MARKET REPORT

Watsonville is city located on the southern end of Santa Cruz County between Aptos and Moss Landing.  Watsonville produces much of Santa Cruz County's and California's agriculture and it has long been known as an AG town with some of the main crops being strawberries, peppers, artichokes, apples.  Watsonville has grown a lot over the past few decades with new housing developments sprouting up and big box stores coming to town.   Home prices in Watsonville have taken the biggest hit in all of Santa Cruz County in the past few years.

Home Prices in Watsonville and its immediate surroundings have dropped dramatically from the height of the market in 2005 when the average home price was $709,000.  Last year in 2009 the average home price in Watsonville and it's outskirts was $291,000!    You can see the trajectory of home prices in Watsonville in the past 2 years in the graph below.

Graph of Median Home Prices in Watsonville & Outskirts 2008-2009

When the real estate market started to go down home prices in Watsonville were severely affected.  Inventory grew and # of sales shrunk.  As a result home prices plummeted in Watsonville leading to many foreclosures and short sales.  This past year in 2009 the # of sales has started to increase.  In 2009, 432 homes were sold in Watsonville compared to 2008 when 331 homes were sold.

Monthly supply of inventory is the amount of months it would take to sell all the homes currently on the market at the current rate of sale.  It is a good indicator of where a real estate market is at and where home prices might be headed.  Between 4-6 months indicates a 'normal market', less than 4 months supply indicates a seller's market and over 8 months you are looking at a buyer's market.  The months supply of inventory in Watsonville has really dropped in the past 2 years.  In December 2007 there was a 35 month supply of homes on the market!  At the end of 2009 there was only a 1-2 month supply!

Graph of Month Supply of Inventory Watsonville, CA 2008-2009

The dramatic drop in home prices in Watsonville has enticed investors and home buyers back into the market here.  Most of the homes being sold are foreclosures and short sales now and most are receiving multiple offers.  I believe we will start to see a slow upswing in home prices here over the next year 2010.  For more detailed information about an area or price range in Watsonville or Santa Cruz County/Monterey County please feel free to contact me.

Start here to Search for your Watsonville Home

HOME PRICES IN FELTON, CA - REAL ESTATE MARKET REPORT

Felton, CA is an area in Santa Cruz County in the mountains off Highway 9.  Felton has a small downtown area that has a great grocery store, New Leaf Market, a fun music & dining venue Don Quixote's and several shops and eateries.  The Felton area has great mountain biking, hiking and fishing destinations and you are not far from the beaches of Santa Cruz.  Start here to Search for your Felton Home.

Home Prices in Felton, CA are lower on average than in Santa Cruz and the areas near the beach making it a great alternative place to buy a home for those wanting to be in Santa Cruz County and close to the beach but can't quite afford the higher home prices there.  The median home price in Felton & Lompico Zayante areas in 2009 was $325,000 which is down from 2008 when the median home price was about $400,000.

Graph of Median Home Prices in Felton, CA 2008-2009

The graph above shows the trend in home prices in Felton.  Home prices are down from 2008 but have started to increase since the beginning of 2009.  There have been many low priced foreclosures selling in the Felton, Lompico/Zayante areas attracting investors and first time home buyers.  As a result, the number of sales has started to increase.  There were 95 sales in Felton in 2009 which is a big increase from 2008 when there were 64 sales.

Graph of # of homes sold in Felton, CA

For a more detailed look at home prices in Felton or Santa Cruz County Real Estate Market, please feel free to contact me anytime!

HOME PRICES IN APTOS, CA - REAL ESTATE MARKET REPORT

Aptos, CA is located in Santa Cruz County between Capitola and La Selva Beach & Watsonville.  This 95003 area code consists of Aptos and the smaller communities within it:  Rio del Mar, Seascape, Seacliff. 

Home prices in Aptos have a wide range because Aptos has ocean front multi-million dollar beach homes, small beach cabins, mountain estates, horse property, vineyards, really something for everyone.  Aptos is on the Southern end of Santa Cruz County, closer to Monterey and is a bit reminiscent of Carmel as a sleepy beach town with lovely properties.  People from places like Modesto, Stockton, Sacramento love to escape the heat in the summer months in their areas and flock to the beaches of Aptos and Nature's Air Condition: the fog.

Let's take a look at Home Prices in Aptos, CA over the past 2 years:

Graph of Median Home Prices in Aptos, Rio Del Mar/Seascape, Seacliff, CA 2008-2009

As you can see in the graph above home prices in Aptos have gone down fairly consistently from the beginning of 2008 and about bottomed out in January of 2009 and since then have started to increase monthly.  The median home price for Aptos, Seacliff, Seascape/Rio Del Mar the entire year of 2009 was $659,167.  For 2008 the median home price for these areas was $723,833.

Graph of # of homes sold in Aptos, Rio del Mar/Seascape/Seacliff 2008-2009

The graph above illustrates the increase in the number of homes sold in Aptos since the beginning of 2009.  The drop in median home prices has resulted in more people being able to afford homes in the Aptos area and more homes selling.  In 2008 there were 188 homes sold in Aptos and in 2009, 201 homes were sold.  Demand for homes has begun to increase in Aptos leading to a likely gradual rise in median home prices here.

For more detailed information about home prices in a specific area or price range in Santa Cruz County contact me.  Here are some other posts I have written about home prices in other parts of Santa Cruz County:

Santa Cruz County Home Prices

Soquel Home Prices

Capitola Home Prices

Live Oak Home Prices

* All information and graphs from Clarus Market Metrics and ProMLSListings