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You are here: Home / Archives for Real Estate

Aptos Real Estate

Aptos Community News provides a monthly Aptos Real Estate Market Update, provided by Real Estate Broker and noted Realtor Sebastian "Seb" Frey. These monthly reports always include a video component, and feature a full set of Aptos real estate sales data for both single family homes and condominiums and townhouses. In addition, we routinely publish articles about real estate developments and topics of interest to both current and prospective Aptos real estate owners. There is no better place on the Internet to find timely, insightful information and opinion on Aptos real estate than AptosCommunityNews.org!

January 2021 Aptos Real Estate Update

January 19, 2021 by Seb Frey

763 Las Olas Drive in Aptos sold for $9,255,000 in December of 2020

If you ask around, you’ll find very few people who are sad to see 2020 in the rearview mirror. In so many respects, it was an absolutely awful year, for our community and the country as a whole. At the time of this writing, the nation records its 400,000th death attributed to COVID – with 113 of those deaths occurring in Santa Cruz County. Ironically, despite all the turmoil and tumult of 2020, the Aptos real estate market turned in a remarkably good year.

Of course, real estate markets the world over have thrived during the pandemic. In the United States at least, this has been driven by large numbers of people now looking for better and larger accommodations, since they are spending so much more time at home. This, coupled with record-low interest rates, have created a market with a voracious appetite for real estate, across the state, across the country – and right here in Aptos, too.

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A Look Back at 2020

The numbers for 2020 bear this story out. All the numbers used in this article are for single-family home sales; multi-family, condominium, and mobile home sales are excluded. These numbers are striking.

To begin: the median single-family home price in Aptos in 2020 was $1,175,000 – a 17.5% jump over all of 2019, when the median Aptos home price was an even $1,000,000. The average price in 2020 was $1,409,351 and in 2019 $1,198,532 – up 17.5% in a year.

The median price however is influenced by the kinds of homes which are selling in any particular time period. It is perhaps more helpful to look at the price per square foot: in 2020, the median price per square foot in Aptos was $630 – compared to $555 in 2019, an increase of over 13% on a per-square-foot basis. Likewise the average price square foot in 2020 was $745, vs. $613 in 2019 – a jump of nearly 22%. The price-per-square-foot is often a better barometer of values than median or single family home price.

No matter how you slice it, home sale prices were up sharply in 2020 compared to 2019. But there are some other numbers which illustrate just how incredible 2020 was in Aptos. For example, 301 homes sold in Aptos in 2020 – vs. 237 in 2019, a jump of 27%. What’s even more telling than this though is the ratio of listings to sales. 337 homes were listed for sale in Aptos in 2020 – which means that 88% of listed homes were sold in 2020. In 2019, that ratio was markedly lower – with 323 listings and only 237 sales, that works out to just 64% of listed homes selling.

There’s one last set of numbers I’ll toss in: homes sold in Aptos in just 28 days on average in 2020, compared to an average of 52 days in 2019, a decrease of 46% in time on market. Not only did homes sell much more quickly in 2020, they also sold much closer to list price. In 2020, homes sold on average for 99.7% of asking price; in 2019, the average was 96.7%, a whopping 3% lower.

505 Los Arboles sold for the median price of $1,175,000 in February of 2020

Looking for a Home in Aptos?


Every home in Aptos is unique, and finding just the right home can be like finding that needle in a haystack. Fortunately, now there's SantaCruz.RealEstate, featuring the best search engine for Aptos homes and real estate available online today!

What to Expect in 2021

Forecasting the future is a risky business, because anything could happen. At this point however it does seem clear that the Trump presidency has ended, and President Biden is seeking to inject extraordinary levels of stimulus into the economy, to ward off a long and deep recession, such as the Obama/Biden administration inherited in 2009 when they took office. This stimulus should help to achieve a high level of GDP growth in 2021; Goldman Sachs is predicting a 6.6% increase in GDP.

As mentioned in the beginning of this article, one factor driving consumer demand for real estate is the record-low mortgage interest rate. The California Association of REALTORS is forecasting that for all of 2021, the mortgage interest rate will average 3.1%, a historically very low number. 30 year fixed are mortgage rates today are around 2.5%, so it can be expected that rates will rise in the coming months, especially if the GDP does in fact grow at anything close to the 6.6% that Goldman Sachs is forecasting.

A rebounding economy and cheap money should be exactly the fuel that’s needed to keep buyers writing generous offers on homes for sale in Aptos. The demand for Aptos homes is therefore expected to remain strong; what’s more of a question is the supply of homes for buyers to choose from in 2021.

The short supply of homes has been a considerable factor driving the price increases in 2020. With so few homes available relative to the number of sales, buyers have engaged in merciless bidding wars for homes, driving prices higher. The question for 2021 is: will supply finally open up enough to tip the market balance in favor of buyers?

There are two prominent reasons this might happen. The first is that Biden may not be able to get enough stimulus through congress. GDP may not rise; it could in fact shrink. Likewise, unemployment – already up sharply due to the pandemic – could rise as well. So far, those who have lost their jobs are not primarily in the category of jobs which support home-buying, but if these higher paying jobs are lost, it would have the effect of both driving more homes onto the market while removing buyers from the market at the same time.

Another big wildcard is California Proposition 19, which was passed by voters 2020. This allows homeowners aged 55 or older to move their property tax basis to another county in the state. Many homeowners have been reluctant to sell their homes for fear of losing their low tax basis, trapping owners in homes which no longer meet their needs.

Proposition 19 will come into full effect on April 1, just in time for the spring market. The California Association of REALTORS is projecting that Prop 19 will lead to 10% more real estate sales. The question for the Aptos real estate market is: will Prop 19 mean more people will be leaving, or more will be coming? Or will there be a roughly equal number of those coming and going, resulting in negligible effect on supply, demand, and sale price?

815 Encino Drive sold for $470,000 in June of 2020, the lowest sale price in Aptos in 2020

The Bottom Line

One important thing to keep in mind about real estate markets is that they generally do not change overnight. People plan for months, or even years, to buy or sell a home. Markets maintain a certain momentum, and right now, there is considerable wind in the sails of the Aptos real estate market. Barring any major unforeseen events, the Aptos real estate market should be expected to perform well, at least for the first half of the year.

However, it’s quite likely that the market will remain strong throughout all of 2021. Indeed, Zillow is forecasting that the Aptos real estate market will see price increases of 11.4% in the coming year. If you’re thinking of selling your Aptos home in 2021, it looks as though you couldn’t have lucked upon a better year to do so.

What's YOUR Aptos House Value?

Aptos Home Prices
Find YOUR Home's Value!

Interested to know what your Aptos house is worth in today's real estate market? Then head over to SellForSure.com for an instant, on-line evaluation of your Aptos home's value.

Filed Under: News, Real Estate Tagged With: real estate

Write to the RTC on the Rail Corridor

April 27, 2020 by Seb Frey

The Coastal Rail Trail
Tell the RTC Your Thoughts on the Future of our Rail Corridor

The Regional Transportation Commission will soon decide if the Santa Cruz Rail Corridor will be used for passenger rail, or some kind of bus service. They are working on a Transit Corridor Alternatives Analysis – but they are only looking at two alternatives – fixed rail and bus.

This web site has frequently made the case that the best use of the corridor isn’t for passenger rail. Many (most!) Aptos residents are likely also opposed to any capital-intensive, low-use projects envisioned in the corridor. Please write to the RTC today at transitcorridoraa@sccrtc.org or info@sccrtc.org or via their Contact Us web page.

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The Sold Book
Get My Book Today!

If you have some room on your reading list, I invite you to read my book Get It Sold! Now in its Second Edition! It's an easy read (just 145 pages!) and it tells you everything you need to know about selling your home quickly, easily, and at absolute peak pricing. I'll send it to you for free - no shipping charge either!

OK Send me a Copy!

Suggested Talking Points for a Message to the RTC

I’m writing to let you know that I OPPOSE the rail transit options and the bus option on the rail corridor. The rail options however are far worse than bus, because…

  • Rail transit will not move more people faster nor for less money than bus transit.
  • Rail transit is more NOT accessible, less comfortable, and louder for riders and neighbors. It also does not go where people need to go.
  • Rail transit will operate in a corridor creating additional traffic congestion in residential neighborhoods, so provides the least reliable service: NEVER on time any time.
  • Rail transit CANNOT be implemented sooner than bus transit, it will have NO IMPACT to be able to travel car-free, it WILL NOT lower our emissions, it WILL NOT fight global warming, and will have NO IMPACT to escape traffic congestion sooner.
  • Rail banking WORKS and absolutely protects 100% of the existing 32 mile rail corridor from easement threats. The Great Redwood Trail in Northern California is using rail banking for a distance 10 times longer than the Santa Cruz Corridor with not easement threats. The only threat here is from the extremists at the Friend of the Rail Trail.

Choosing rail transit means construction of the Coastal Rail Trail is ALREADY delayed and WILL NOT be completed within 10 years. Plans for the rail trail are shoddy and ridiculously expensive.

Bus Rapid Transit/Bus on Shoulder along Highway 1 offers South County riders the same access to improved public transportation as North County riders, RAIL transit does not. It would also clearly show single occupant vehicle drivers that there isa faster way to Santa Cruz.

Rail transit WILL NEVER double the use of public transportation county-wide. Please use SMART as an excellent example of Rail Transit Failure. You cannot get an entire county to accept the burden of financing public tranportation for 2% of the population.

Rail transit is THE MOST expensive to operate and maintain so, over time, rail transit will BANKRUPT SANTA CRUZ METRO.

Funding to implement passenger rail service is NOT REALISTICALLY identified in the State Rail Plan. With COVID-19, we will also be taking a massive hit to revenue in the county, making paying for such capital intensive projects even less feasible.

Tearing up the existing tracks to replace them with a road for buses or commuter rail would create environmental trauma such as TOXIC CLEANUP FROM DECADES OF PESTICIDES, GREASES and OTHER WASTER along with demolition waste, grading, miles of new pavement, and digging for storm drainage systems. This is minimized by replacing the tracks with an active transportation trail and keeping mass transit on the Highway 1 corridor where it belongs.

Rail provides the LEAST easiest access and minimal amount of bike storage per vehicle (rail 20 or more, most buses can only carry around 3). WE DON’T WANT A PLACE TO STORE OUR BIKES, WE WANT A PLACE TO SAFELY RIDE OUR BIKES!

It doesn’t matter if rail provides the access for wheelchairs if it is difficult to get to the locations to ride the train and to get to a final destination as the centuries old rail line does not pass through any current day employment area, government center or higher learning campus. Rail on a signle track cannot accommodate more people with personal mobility devices.

STOP WASTING OUR TIME WITH THESE STUDIES! STOP THE MADNESS OF RAIL AND THEIR SPECIAL INTERESTS AND BUILD A TRAIL ON THE CORRIDOR NOW!

What's YOUR Aptos House Value?

Aptos Home Prices
Find YOUR Home's Value!

Interested to know what your Aptos house is worth in today's real estate market? Then head over to SellForSure.com for an instant, on-line evaluation of your Aptos home's value.

Filed Under: Lifestyle, News, Parks, Parks and Recreation, Real Estate, Sports/Fitness Tagged With: Rail Trail

Ultra-Premium Affordable Home Debuts in Aptos

January 29, 2020 by Seb Frey

Affordable New Home in Aptos Pines

The future of affordable housing is here, and it’s at the Aptos Pines Mobile Home Park. Local company Joy Line Homes is offering the home for sale, and it’s unlike anything you’ve likely ever seen in a mobile home park, anywhere. The home consists of 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1,640 square feet and is currently listed at $639,000.

$639,000 might not sound very affordable, but for a brand new home of this size in Aptos, it would be almost impossible to imagine something like this selling for anything less than $900,000. Of course, Aptos Pines Mobile Home Park isn’t in a prime bay bluff neighborhood like, say, Rio del Mar – but it is a park where the you own the land, too. That keeps the HOA fee low (about $165/month) and provides significant appreciation in value over time.

Looking for a Home in Aptos?


Every home in Aptos is unique, and finding just the right home can be like finding that needle in a haystack. Fortunately, now there's SantaCruz.RealEstate, featuring the best search engine for Aptos homes and real estate available online today!

Even at the asking price, many people prospective Aptos home buyers would consider it to be at least a relatively affordable home – but it is nothing like any affordable home most people have ever seen. It has a stunning design and feels almost like a luxury home – more so than all but some of the finest in Aptos.

The home boasts:

  • 3,250sf deeded lot
  • Clean lines, high ceilings, open floor plan, and custom features throughout
  • Chef’s dream kitchen with quartz-slab waterfall countertops, expansive island with sink and eat-in bar, built-in gas cooktop, stainless steel appliances
  •  Courtyard-style front deck
  • Generously sized master suite with a glass-walled bathroom, walk-in shower, and large walk-in closet
  • Office/Den/3rd bedroom with distinctive glass partition wall! 

Catch Episode 50 of the Bay to Bay Podcast with special guest Ben West, founder of Joy Line Homes! Click here to have a listen

While $639,000 is obviously out of reach for many buyers, the price is due in large part to the cost of the land. Ben West, the home’s designer and founder of Joy Line Homes, says most homes he delivers end up costing around $150 per square foot, delivered, installed, and finished on-site. This is a dramatically lower cost than for “stick-built” homes, which often end up costing $350-$450 per square foot (excluding land, permitting, and other soft costs).

Santa Cruz County has recently relaxed restrictions on the construction of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), and in fact they have waived permit fees for accessory dwelling units. Many Aptos and Santa Cruz home owners are considering constructing a “granny flat” in the back yard. At $150 per square foot, a 640sf ADU should be able to be built for just over $100,000.

The way we build housing in California is changing, and it is exciting to see that a local company is out in the forefront, bringing innovative solutions to our address our acute housing crisis.

Click the Image Below to see the Listing Details

21 Eugenia Avenue, Aptos, CA 95003

Joy Line Homes – The Pines Video Tour

Read a good book lately?

The Sold Book
Get My Book Today!

If you have some room on your reading list, I invite you to read my book Get It Sold! Now in its Second Edition! It's an easy read (just 145 pages!) and it tells you everything you need to know about selling your home quickly, easily, and at absolute peak pricing. I'll send it to you for free - no shipping charge either!

OK Send me a Copy!

21 Eugenia Ave – Photo Slideshow Gallery

Filed Under: News, Real Estate Tagged With: affordable housing, real estate

Initiative Requiring Voter Approval for Santa Cruz Passenger Rail

November 18, 2019 by Seb Frey

Ballot Initiative to give the people the power to best spend transportation dollars

Ever since the Santa Cruz Regional Transportation Commission (SCCRTC, or just RTC) acquired the Santa Cruz Branch Line Rail Corridor, there’s been a lot of debate surrounding just what the future of the corridor would be.  The RTC is championing an extravagant vision of an active rail line built alongside a pedestrian and bicycle path, which a number of “feeder” trails leading into and out of different areas along the 32 mile length of the corridor.  This plan is known as the Monterey Bay Scenic Sanctuary Trail (MBSST), and it’s won accolades and plaudits from many corners.

As much as the MBSST plan has been praised, it has likewise been heavily criticized by a large contingent of the public who feels that passenger rail service is not economically viable for a relatively small population base.  There’s been a spirited debate online for a number of years between those seeking some kind of active rail transportation in the corridor, and those who prefer a “trail only” or “greenway”  – which would be essentially a linear park with a wide multi-modal trail that would accommodate walkers, runners, cyclists, skateboards, and other personal transportation devices which may not yet have been invented.

As the RTC continues to advocate and plan for a “rail and trail” dual use in the corridor, opponents of the rail are organizing an initiative to be put before Santa Cruz county voters on the November 2020 ballot.  The initiative will be titled “A MEASURE REQUIRING AN ELECTION TO APPROVE ANY CONTINUED OR FUTURE WORK FOR THE RAIL + TRAIL PROJECT.”  Notice of this initiative was recently published in the Santa Cruz Sentinel, a formal requirement to begin the official process for getting the measure on the ballot.

If approved by voters, the initiative would:

  1. Require a majority of voters (at least 51%) to approve the continuation of any work related to a “Rail + Trail” Project in a regular election;
  2. Prohibit the RTC from taking any action that would authorize or permit the construction, studies, and/or continuation of a “Rail + Trail” project, or incurring any related debt or bonds, unless such election is held;
  3. Suspend any work currently in progress or associated with the “Rail and Trail” project until such election is held;
  4. Permit a “Trail Only” or “Greenway” project to proceed without any additional voter approval;
  5. Supersede and override any and all other requirements under which the RTC is governed; and
  6. Apply retroactively from the date the measure was found to have qualified for placement on the ballot.

A copy of the initiative can be downloaded using this link.

Those interested in helping gather signatures for the initiative are encouraged to contact Bill Smallman, who can be found hanging out on the Facebook group Rail AND/OR Trail Vote Group which he created for the purpose of facilitating this effort.

Looking for a Home in Aptos?


Every home in Aptos is unique, and finding just the right home can be like finding that needle in a haystack. Fortunately, now there's SantaCruz.RealEstate, featuring the best search engine for Aptos homes and real estate available online today!

Related Posts On AptosCommunityNews

  • Write to the RTC on the Rail Corridor (April 27, 2020)
  • Unified Corridor Investment Study Released, Workshops Planned (September 29, 2018)
  • Audio and Video from Aptos Greenway Presentation (February 24, 2018)
  • Santa Cruz Greenway Aptos Presentation (February 19, 2018)
  • TrailNow Presentation Video (March 5, 2016)
  • Rail Trail Debate Rages on (November 16, 2015)
  • Passenger Rail Opponents Meet on Thursday (September 15, 2015)
  • Ellen Pirie Talks Aptos Village, Rail Corridor (May 8, 2015)
  • Alternatives to Passenger Rail Service in Santa Cruz (July 24, 2014)
  • The Trouble with Santa Cruz Passenger Rail (July 19, 2014)
  • RTC Passenger Rail Study Workshop July 17 (July 15, 2014)
  • Rail Trail Faces June 4 Deadline (May 30, 2014)

Filed Under: Developments, News, Real Estate Tagged With: passenger rail, rail corridor, rail-trail, rtc

Hosted Taco Bar Sunday 10/6 in Aptos

October 3, 2019 by Seb Frey

Taco Bar and Open House 10/6/19 in Aptos

I’ve hosted a number of taco bars over the years – often for housewarming parties and the like. But this is my first public taco bar open house. I wanted to open it up to anyone and everyone, to show my appreciation for my community (while also, hopefully, getting some good exposure for my listing).

Do you love tacos? Who doesn’t? That’s why I’m hosting a free taco bar this coming Sunday, October 6th @ 4 PM at my new listing in Rio del Mar, at 175 Tamarack Drive (just a few blocks from Rio del Mar Elementary). This is the first open house I’m holding for the property – it’s a beautiful home, right along the 14th fairway of the Seascape Golf Course. I figured a beautiful home like this really deserves a fun and festive first open house – so what could be better than a taco bar?

As I often do at open houses, I’m encouraging people to register to win a $100 Amazon gift card. To register, you need to tell me how much you think the final sale price of the home will be – and whoever guesses closest wins a $100 Amazon gift card at close of escrow. After all, everyone who loves tacos also loves Amazon.com, right? Chocolate and peanut butter!

Please come to 175 Tamarack Drive on Sunday, October 6th at 4 PM. The tacos are free, and all-you-can-eat while the tacos last! It would be lovely to meet more members of our Aptos Community. I hope to see you there!

Looking for a Home in Aptos?


Every home in Aptos is unique, and finding just the right home can be like finding that needle in a haystack. Fortunately, now there's SantaCruz.RealEstate, featuring the best search engine for Aptos homes and real estate available online today!

Filed Under: Events, Lifestyle, News, Real Estate

Poll Predicts Higher Aptos Real Estate Prices in 2019

January 27, 2019 by Seb Frey

A poll was recently conducted on the neighborhood web site NextDoor, asking Aptos residents what they thought would happen to Aptos home prices in 2019. After a month, 42 responses to the survey were recorded. The results might surprise you: the NextDoor poll predicts higher real estate prices.

Of course, in no way should this poll be considered to be scientific. Online polls are notorious, in fact, for being unreliable. But given the fact that there appears to have been no
“poll-stuffing” with this particular poll, it may be a good barometer of sentiment among the Aptos community for home prices in 2019.

The Poll, open to all NextDoor users in zip code 95003, asked this question:

While California as a whole is expected to see lower home prices in 2019 compared to 2018, how do you think home prices in Aptos will change?

The #1 answer given, by 35% of respondents, was that Aptos real estate prices were expected to rise 2-5%. The second most popular response, given by 16% of survey participants, was that home prices would be lower by 2-5%.

The full survey responses are here:

  • Flat – No Change in Home Prices: 14%
  • Down 0-1%: 0%
  • Down 2-5%: 16%
  • Down 5-10%: 9%
  • Down more than 10%: 4%
  • Up 0-1%: 4%
  • Up 2-5%: 35%
  • Up 5-10%: 9%
  • Up more than 10%: 4%

Overall it seems that the Aptos community feels confident that the real estate market will remain stable with gradual appreciation for the rest of 2019, with only 29% of respondents predicting that Aptos real estate and home prices will decrease  even a small amount.

Read a good book lately?

The Sold Book
Get My Book Today!

If you have some room on your reading list, I invite you to read my book Get It Sold! Now in its Second Edition! It's an easy read (just 145 pages!) and it tells you everything you need to know about selling your home quickly, easily, and at absolute peak pricing. I'll send it to you for free - no shipping charge either!

OK Send me a Copy!

Filed Under: News, Real Estate Tagged With: home prices, real estate

Aptos Village December 2018 Update

December 27, 2018 by Seb Frey

Aptos Village is Shaping Up!

The folks behind the Aptos Village have sent out an end-of-year announcement of progress of the development.  Here’s the news they want to share, sent via email on December 26th 2018:

We’ve come to the end of a productive year, and Phase One of Aptos Village is closer than ever to completion.

TOWNHOMES & CONDOS 
Townhome sales on Granite Way are ramping up, while the Building 11 cluster homes are taking shape inside and out. Each cluster home’s stylish modern kitchen is under construction now and, with the addition of smaller finishes throughout, Building 11 will be ready in no time.

The Building 3 condos overlooking the Village Green are on track for a February completion date, and the Building 7 condos at the corner of Aptos Village Way and Parade Street are virtually complete.

Read a good book lately?

The Sold Book
Get My Book Today!

If you have some room on your reading list, I invite you to read my book Get It Sold! Now in its Second Edition! It's an easy read (just 145 pages!) and it tells you everything you need to know about selling your home quickly, easily, and at absolute peak pricing. I'll send it to you for free - no shipping charge either!

OK Send me a Copy!

RETAIL INTERIORS
As for retail, interior improvements in every building are moving right along, with the Village’s hotly anticipated stores, eateries and other businesses projected to open in Spring 2019. Building 3 storefronts at the Village Green should be finished in early January. Work continues inside Building 7’s space, with Buildings 6A and 6B not far behind. And although there is still a ways to go inside the Apple Barn, it won’t be long before the equipment goes out and the groceries go in.

The Aptos Village team wishes everyone a safe and happy holiday season!

Looking for a Home in Aptos?


Every home in Aptos is unique, and finding just the right home can be like finding that needle in a haystack. Fortunately, now there's SantaCruz.RealEstate, featuring the best search engine for Aptos homes and real estate available online today!

TheAptosVillage.com is the place to go for the latest on the project, as well as how to contact the Residential and Commercial Sales and Leasing teams. Commercial inquiries can be directed to Joe Appenrodt at 831-234-8554 or joe@appenrodtcommercial.com. Learn more about coming home to Aptos Village here.

General project information, newsletters, FAQ sheets and updates can be accessed through the “Project News” tab located at the upper right.

Click here for Aptos Village area homes for sale.

Filed Under: Developments, News, Real Estate Tagged With: Aptos Village

Santa Cruz County Affordable Housing Week

October 3, 2018 by Seb Frey

Monterey Bay Economic Partnership

Be a part of the 2nd Annual Santa Cruz County Affordable Housing Week!  Join the folks with the Monterey Bay Economic Partnership and many guests and community members for a meeting and discussion which will focus on housing education and awareness. Learn about the pros and cons of the Measure M (the city of Santa Cruz Rent Control Initiative), Measure H: Santa Cruz County Affordable Housing Solutions Bond, as well as State Propositions 1, 2, 5, and 10. Attendees will also be able to meet the candidates running for City Council and the County Board of Supervisors, who will be sharing their housing agendas.

Event Details

When:  Monday, October 15, 2018 from 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Where:  Hotel Paradox (611 Ocean St., Santa Cruz)

Appetizers and non-alcoholic beverages will be provided with a no-host bar. Self-parking at the Hotel Paradox is complementary, and valet parking will be available for an extra charge. Additional metered parking is available on the nearby side streets.

Tickets are available at no cost, but you must RSVP using this EventBrite link. Please don’t reserve a seat unless you are sure you can attend because space is limited and they need an accurate head count.

Why You Should Go

We have a critical housing shortage in Santa Cruz county – especially affordable housing. Housing affordability is rated at just 12% of households being able to afford to purchase a median priced home, which is the worst in the entire state of California. Attend this event to learn what’s being done, and what more could be done, to address the urgent structural problems with housing in our area.

Read a good book lately?

The Sold Book
Get My Book Today!

If you have some room on your reading list, I invite you to read my book Get It Sold! Now in its Second Edition! It's an easy read (just 145 pages!) and it tells you everything you need to know about selling your home quickly, easily, and at absolute peak pricing. I'll send it to you for free - no shipping charge either!

OK Send me a Copy!

Filed Under: News, Real Estate Tagged With: affordable housing, mbep

Home Seller Seminar Comes to Aptos in January 2019

September 21, 2018 by Seb Frey

This coming January 24th, 2019 local author and real estate broker Sebastian “Seb” Frey will be putting on a “Savvy Seller Seminar” for home owners thinking about selling their homes in 2019. This novel home seller seminar will be held from 6:30 to 8:00 PM at the Best Western Seacliff Inn (home to Severino’s Bar and Grill) on Old Dominion Court, just off Highway 1 / State Park Drive, across from the Rancho Del Mar Shopping Center.

The seminar will be fun, fast-paced and very informative. The goal of the seminar is to teach attendees how to achieve four simple objectives for a successful home sale:

  1. Maximize the Sale Price
  2. Minimize the Costs of Sale
  3. Speed the Sale Process
  4. Mitigate Risk

The presentation will be given by a number of speakers with years of experience in their respective fields. Topics that will be explored include:

  • Current Market Statistics
  • Ninja Marketing and advertising tactics
  • Staging Your Home to Sell Quickly at Peak Pricing
  • Disclosure Requirements
  • Key Features of the Listing Agreement
  • Key Features of the Purchase Agreement
  • What to know about the Appraisal Process
  • Buyer’s Contingencies and Inspections Purchase
  • What Makes Deals Fail

Ticketing Information

Tickets are available at no charge on EventBrite – but hurry, seats are limited and are expected to fill quickly. Limit two tickets per person, and include snacks, drinks, end eligibility to win any of several door prizes.

Read a good book lately?

The Sold Book
Get My Book Today!

If you have some room on your reading list, I invite you to read my book Get It Sold! Now in its Second Edition! It's an easy read (just 145 pages!) and it tells you everything you need to know about selling your home quickly, easily, and at absolute peak pricing. I'll send it to you for free - no shipping charge either!

OK Send me a Copy!

Filed Under: Events, News, Real Estate Tagged With: real estate

Aptos Summer 2018 Real Estate Wrap-Up

August 29, 2018 by Seb Frey

I know I’m not imagining it – the family cat is choosing to spend more nights indoors lately, so I know the nights are getting cooler.  It’s proof that the fall season is just around the corner, making this the perfect time to give you the Aptos Summer 2018 Real Estate Wrap-Up.

It’s been a while since I’ve done an Aptos real estate market update – way back in April, in fact.  Back then, I reported that the median price for single family homes in Santa Cruz county had hit a nose-bleeding height of $920,500 in March.  However, at that time I reported there’d been 132 closed sales – looking at the data now, there were 133 closed sales for March 2018 in Santa Cruz county, and the median price dropped to $897,500.  Amazing what adding a single sale to the statistics will do!

You may have heard the vicious rumor going around that the real estate market has been cooling.  Indeed, the median single family home price for Santa Cruz county did drop down to $896,500 – a decrease of 0.12% from the initially record-breaking number set in March, which is hardly what I would call a market in free-fall.

Lately though I’ve been taking to looking at the average price per square foot as perhaps a more useful indicator of what home prices are doing.  And here, we do see something that’s maybe a little alarming for home owners thinking of selling their house:  the average sized home to sell in July had 1,733 square feet with an average price-per-square-foot of $593 – but it was $645/sf in March with an average home size of 1,803sf.

That’s interesting because, generally speaking, the larger the home, the lower the price per square foot (because the land is worth such a high percentage of total value)…but comparing March 2018 to July 2018, we see a decrease in both average square footage and price per square foot. A fluke? Probably. But worth noting, especially for all of those waiting for the bottom to fall out of the market.

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Aptos by the Numbers

I know, I know  – you came here expecting to hear what’s up with the Aptos real estate market, not the overall Santa Cruz market.  Here’s the single family Aptos home sale data for the past few months:

July 2018

Median Price:  $1,124,500 (+25% vs. $899,000 year-ago)
# of Sales:  22 (vs. 23 year-ago)
Average Days on Market:  27 (vs. 41 year-ago)
Average $/sf:  $591 (+15.7% vs. year-ago $511/sf)
New Listings:  41 (vs. 35 year-ago)

June 2018

Median Price:  $1,127,500 (+10% vs. $1,025,000 year-ago)
# of Sales:  27 (vs. 34 year-ago)
Average Days on Market:  23 (vs. 25 year-ago)
Average $/sf:  $607 (+5.2% vs. year-ago $577/sf)
New Listings:  33 (vs. 53 year-ago)

May 2018

Median Price:  $1,100,000 (+5.4% vs. $1,043,808 year-ago)
# of Sales:  31 (vs. 18 year-ago)
Average Days on Market:  32 (vs. 43 year-ago)
Average $/sf:  $673 (+18.9% vs. year-ago $566/sf)
New Listings:  38 (vs. 40 year-ago)

When I look at these three months, I don’t see a market that looks like it’s cooling too much.  The data say that the median price is up, the average price per square foot is up, the total number of sales in the time period is up, and the days on market is down.

I know, it could have all gone to hell in a hand basket in the month of August which is almost over, but I’ve got a feeling based on the fact that there’s fewer new listings hitting the market and more sales in these three months that August data will show a pretty healthy market.  In fact, our good friends at Zillow give the Aptos real estate market an 8.1/10 – calling it “very healthy.”

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Aptos Village Homes for Sale

So there’s no news in the Aptos real estate market sales data – it’s more of the same good news for sellers, and a hard row to hoe for buyers.  The only legit real estate news in Aptos is that at long last, new homes are for sale in the new Aptos village.

Swenson Builders, the primary developer of the Aptos Village, has a two townhouses listed on the MLS.  442 Granite Way (3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, 1,657sf) was initially listed on July 10 at $975,000 but was reduced to $895,000 on August 28th.  516 Granite Way (also 3/2.5 but 1,278sf) was listed on August 28, for the princely sum of $795,000.

It should be noted that these are not the only two units for sale.  As the MLS says, “A distinct collection of 69 homes, with plans ranging from 1-3 bedrooms, this vibrant community has a design for every modern family. Other units are available.” (emphasis added)

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Every home in Aptos is unique, and finding just the right home can be like finding that needle in a haystack. Fortunately, now there's SantaCruz.RealEstate, featuring the best search engine for Aptos homes and real estate available online today!

103 Carlino Lane in Aptos (4,486sf, 5beds, 3 full baths, 2 half baths, 3/4 acre lot) sold on August 2, 2018 for $2,140,000 after 36 DOM.

Filed Under: News, Real Estate Tagged With: Aptos Village, real estate

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