Santa Cruz County Home & Community Information

SOQUEL HOME SALES - REAL ESTATE MARKET MID YEAR REPORT

Soquel, CA is located in Santa Cruz County right next to Capitola.  Many of the homes for sale in Soquel are located in the foothills of Santa Cruz and have a rural character.  Soquel Village is a filled with Antique Shops and has historical buildings.  Let's take a look at Soquel home sales from the first part of 2011.

There have been 27 Soquel homes sales so far this year (January 1st to June 1st 2011)

The average price of a Soquel home sale in this period was $612,000.  This is higher than Santa Cruz County as a whole where the median home sale price in April 2011 was $455,000.

The highest priced Soquel home sale was a 6000 square foot home set on 10 acres on Rodeo Gulch, it sold for $2,200,000!

The lowest priced Soquel home sale 2 bedroom short sale that sold all cash for $240,000.

Currently (as of June 1st, 2011) there are 35 active homes for sale in Soquel ranging in price from 2.8 million dollars to $300,000.  Contact me for a current list of Soquel homes for sale and more information about Soquel neighborhoods and Soquel Real Estate Market conditions.

SYMPHONY HOME TOUR SANTA CRUZ

The Symphony League of Santa Cruz is hosting a Symphony Home Tour on December 3rd & 4th.  The Santa Cruz Symphony League is a group of volunteers that organizes fundraisers to support the Santa Cruz County Symphony.  Proceeds of the Santa Cruz Symphony Home Tour will benefit the Santa Cruz Symphony.

One of the homes featured on the Symphony Home Tour will be a lovely Historic estate built in 1860 located in Watsonville.

Participants in the Symphony Home Tour will be able to view many lovely homes including this historic Watsonville home.  It is a private oasis in central Watsonville set on 1 acre filled with lush, manicured gardens, walking paths, sitting areas, gazebo and pool. 

Inside this historic home is vintage 1860 for the most part.  Original oak floors throughout the home compliment the fine mouldings and trim handcarved decades ago.  The living area with paneled ceiling is like walking into the past with the high bookshelves and old pictures on the wall.

This is just one of the homes you can see on the Santa Cruz Symphony Home Tour.  Visit here for more information about the Symphony League of Santa Cruz.

SANTA CRUZ HOMES FOR SALE UNDER $300,000 - INEXPENSIVE REAL ESTATE (For Santa Cruz!)

Time was a few years ago if a someone called me and said they wanted to find a Santa Cruz home for sale under $300,000 I would not have been able to help them - there simply were no single family homes priced under $300,000.

With the adjustment in the Real Estate market, there are now homes for sale in Santa Cruz under $300,000.  For many people this is a much more affordable and realistic price to spend on a home without feeling stressed or overextending yourself.  Go here to see a current list of Santa Cruz homes for sale under $300,000

Currently (as of 11/18/11) there are 83 homes for sale in Santa Cruz County priced under $300,000.  By far the majority of these homes for sale under $300,000 are located in the Watsonville or San Lorenzo Valley areas.  If you are looking to be in more central areas of Santa Cruz, Capitola, Aptos, Soquel then finding a home priced under $300,000 is going to be tough.  Santa Cruz Condos and Capitola Condos however are very affordable now and many are priced under $300,000. 

For those wanting to buy a home under $300,000 in Santa Cruz County, the San Lorenzo Valley and Watsonville areas are going to be your best bet.  You can find a nice 3 bedroom, 2 bath home in these areas at a great price.

Of the 83 homes for sale priced under $300,000 many are REOs or Foreclosures and Short Sales.  I have a lot of experience helping clients buy short sales and foreclosures, the process can be a lot easier with an experienced Realtor helping you along.  Read my related article: Buying a Bank Owned home in Santa Cruz

Go here for a current list of SANTA CRUZ HOMES FOR SALE UNDER $300,000.

If you are a first time home buyer, read my article about Santa Cruz First Time Home Buyer Assistance Programs

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