Housing slump keeps people in Santa Cruz – Santa Cruz Sentinel
Fewer people are fleeing the once prohibitively expensive coastal reaches of Northern California, according to U.S. Census Bureau numbers released Thursday.

Santa Cruz County was among a number of greater San Francisco Bay Area counties that saw more U.S. residents staying put last year than any time since 2001.

For an explanation, observers say look no further than slumping home sales and slipping economic opportunity.

“For people to leave the most desirable areas, there has to be motivation to go, like jobs and housing,” said Jim Chubb, a loan broker at Pacific Inland Finance in Soquel. “With the economy shrinking, that hasn’t happened.”

<snip>

In Santa Cruz County, the number of U.S. residents moving out between July 2006 and July 2007 is still greater than the number moving in, by 1,977, according to the census report. But that’s just two thirds of how many left the year before and half of how many left the year before that.

 

Congrats! Santa Cruz is saved! Because people can’t leave as fast anymore! Hah! It’s probably the Mystery Spot that keeps pulling them back in!

More good news!

Median home price rebounds to $682,500

The median sales price for a single-family home in Santa Cruz County rebounded to $682,500 in February, up from $599,000 in January.

The median is the mid-spending point of what sold, and in February, typically a slow month, 70 homes sold. That’s the fewest number of February sales in 11 years, according to Gary Gangnes of Real Options Realty, who attributes the uptick from January to the change in the mix of sales.

Properties under $500,000 accounted for 19 percent of sales in February, down from 33 percent in January while the high end of the market sprang back into action.

Properties selling for more than $1 million accounted for 24 percent of the sales in February, up from 14 percent in January.

Three oceanview homes in Aptos were the most expensive homes sold: 940 Via Malibu, $2.6 million, 278 Beach Drive, $2.6 million, and 313 Kingsbury Drive, $2.4 million.

And if those homes sold for those prices, just imagine how much the house you buy in Santa Cruz will sell for tomorrow. It’s called leverage and OPM (Other People’s Money). A $500k loan could be worth $2.4 million tomorrow

Is missing out on this opportunity something you can afford?

Didn’t think so! Now’s the perfect time to buy, as usual!

(Thanks to Burbed reader Scott!)

SantaCruzSentinel.com – Top Stories
Santa Cruz County is expected to bypass the statewide housing trends in 2008.

Alan Nevin, economist for the California Building Industry Association, said his statewide prediction for smaller homes and lower prices might come true in San Luis Obispo but not in Santa Cruz.

“The problem in Santa Cruz is supply,” said Jeff Becker of DMB Associates in Hollister and association chairman. “You’re not going to see smaller homes there at lower prices. Builders can build larger and always have a buyer.”

Thanks to Burbed reader Scott for sending this in.

Personally, there was never a doubt in my mind that Santa Cruz would buck the housing woes trend. After all, it’s got the Mystery Spot and the world famous beaches – foreigners of all stripes with their powerful currencies are flocking here to buy up second homes and villas to retire to.

Congrats Santa Cruz on these great prognostications from those in the RE business!

Burbed Reader Scott sent me this note today:

Thought you might like this latest piece of illogic from Santa Cruz, that it’s in the interest of the buyer for prices to remain high (see midway through the article):

Let’s take a look at the article…

Median home price up to $747,000 – By JONDI GUMZ – Sentinel staff writer – April 13, 2007
Why don’t sellers simply lower the price? Because that doesn’t help the buyer as much financially.

Here’s why.

Say a buyer wants a condo priced at $500,000 and plans to put 10 percent down. That’s $50,000 out of pocket. The closing costs, which include loan fees, interest, taxes, title insurance, appraisal and recording fees, may run another $7,000.

If the seller dropped the price by $7,000 to $493,000, the buyer would save only $700, having to come up with a down payment of $49,300. Plus $7,000 in closing costs.

“It’s a way to help buyers get in when they’re short of cash,” Gangnes said.

Well that does seem a little fishy… Scott explains why:

No mention about property tax or the mortgage amount for that matter.  We’re also taught that months of supply is the only factor determining price. I’ve told this Jondi Gumz reporter to stop using Realtor Gary Gangnes as her “authoritative” source of info, but it’s ovbioujsly to no avail.

So I guess it’s a great time to buy in Santa Cruz, with prices at a record high then it’s really, really good for the buyer!

Oh come on Scott- don’t you know? It’s always a good time to buy or sell real estate!

As We See It: No housing collapse here – - – February 19, 2007
Some who aren’t in the housing market are waiting patiently for prices to come down to an affordable price. Of course, people’s idea of “affordable” can have a big range.

But so far, we don’t see a collapse in prices coming. And without that, we also feel confident that businesses connected to real estate will continue without major problems.

Nationwide, and even statewide, the story might be different. But when you’re talking about the coast of California, don’t expect real estate prices to bottom out.

Thanks to Burbed Reader Scott for sending this one in.

Indeed, Santa Cruz is pretty special – perhaps if you spend enough time at the Mystery Spot, this opinion piece and its lack of economic backing will make sense.

MLSlistings Property Detail for MLS number 666967
481 6TH AV
Santa Cruz, CA 95062
$585,000

This Single Family Residence has the following features:
MLS#: 666967 Approx Age: 66 Years Approx Sq Ft: 686
Detached Single Family 1 Story Cottage/Bungalow
2 Bedrooms 1 Bathroom 1 Shower over Tub

What? It doesn’t say that this is perfect for a First Time Buyer? I’m shocked! Shocked I tell you!

Here are some more photos:

Ok… I give up. What happened to this house? I thought it was fire damage, but that doesn’t really look like it either. What’s your theory?
(Thanks to Burbed Reader Lynda for this one!)

Woot! Over $1000 per square foot!

REALTOR.com: Find a Home – Listing Detail
70 7TH AV
Santa Cruz, CA 95062
MLS ID#: 607340
$889,000
2 Bed, 1 Bath
779 Sq. Ft.
Estimated payment:
$4,495 Per Month*

Single Family Property, County: Santa Cruz, Age: 68 year(s) old, Ocean view, View, Waterview, Single story
This listing is brokered by: American Dream Realty
Office: (831)429-5700
Property Features

* Single Family Property
* County: Santa Cruz
* Age: 68 year(s) old
* 2 total bedroom(s)
* 1 total bath(s)
* Approximately 779 sq. ft.

* Single story
* Style: Cottage, Detached
* Interior features: Clothes dryer, Clothes washer, Disposal, Microwave, Range/oven
* View
* Ocean view
* Waterview

That ocean view had better be darn good!

Thanks for the find, Tiffany D!

Apparently, this is the cheapest house in Silicon Valley*

MLSlistings Property Detail for MLS number 634105
23975 GLENWOOD DR
Los Gatos, CA 95033

$350,000
CONTRACTORS SPECIAL
Nice home with a view, bright and sunny 14 minutes to downtown Los Gatos, 17 minutes to Santa Cruz, (GoogleMap) Home appears to be intact and in good condition. Landslide on lower part of property. Large retaining walls needed. Good opportunity for contractor or investor that has experience with retaining walls and Santa Cruz county. The extent of the slide needs to be determined. Sellers want to move on with their lives and are willing to take a loss. Before landslide, home was valued at $750K. Lenders will not lend on this property now. Best cash offer gets it. No contingencies, close escrow in 10 days or less. Offers reviewed on June 26 at 5PM. Home is vacant. Come out and take a look but be careful. Enter property at your own risk. Realtor’s keysafe is at property to enter the home. Listing agent can show. DIRECTIONS TO THE PROPERTY From downtown Los Gatos take Hwy 17 south. Go approx 1.5 mile past Summit Rd and exit Hwy 17 at Glenwood Dr. home is abut 3/4 mile, the third h

This Single Family Residence has the following features:
MLS#: 634105 Approx Age: 31 Years Approx Sq Ft: 1661
Detached Single Family 2 Stories 3 Bedrooms

You can’t get a loan for this, you can’t go there without getting killed… but it is the cheapest house in Silicon Valley. Buy it today!

*My Silicon Valley = Santa Clara less Morgan Hill and Gilroy.

The Least Affordable Place to Live? Try Salinas – New York Times
IN 2005, the least-affordable place in the country to live, measured by the percentage of income devoted to mortgage payments, was Salinas, Calif.

The second was the Santa Cruz-Watsonville area of California.

The third? Santa Rosa-Petaluma, Calif.

In fact, California has the distinction of having the 11 least-affordable metropolitan areas in the country. One would need to go all the way down to 12th place — and across the country to the New York region’s northern suburbs — to find a non-California metropolitan area on the least-affordable list of 2005.

Congratulations! And why is California so unaffordable? Is it because it’s the most special place on earth?

Another quintessentially California issue is Proposition 13, the 1978 measure that slashed property taxes by more than 50 percent and ignited a national property tax revolution.

The measure, which was supposed to facilitate home buying, has backfired to some extent; local governments prefer that land be used for retailing rather than housing because they collect more from sales taxes than from property taxes.

“Proposition 13 is a big stop sign saying ‘no housing needed,’ ” said Peter Dreier, professor of public policy at Occidental College in Los Angeles and an author of “Place Matters: Metropolitics for the 21st Century” (University Press of Kansas, 2001). “Every municipality is engaged in a bidding war for retail — they’re battling for Wal-Mart, to keep the libraries open.”

It is unlikely that will change, Professor Dreier and others say, calling Proposition 13 “the third rail of government — it’s untouchable.”

Maybe they can build dual purpose Best Buy’s – stores during the day, houses at night. Then, instead of having a Best Buy every 5 miles (East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Sunnyvale) – we could have one every block. Everyone wins!