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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!

Santa Cruz County Affordable Housing Week

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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.

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Home Seller Seminar Comes to Aptos in January 2019

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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.

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Aptos Summer 2018 Real Estate Wrap-Up

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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.”

What's YOUR Aptos House Value?

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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.

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)

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!
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.

Aptos Village Merchants Announced

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The new Aptos Village takes shape

Swenson Builders, the lead developer on the new Aptos Village project, has announced that five local businesses plan to join New Leaf Community Markets at Aptos Village: The Penny Ice Creamery, Cat & Cloud Coffee, Sereno Group, Sockshop & Shoe Company and a restaurant led by Michelin 3-star chef David Kinch.

“Our team has been working diligently to attract talented local business that appreciate the unique Aptos Village location and have the expertise to create a synergy at the Village that will stand the test of time,” said Mary Gourlay, Development Project Manager at Swenson. “We are thrilled with businesses coming so far and believe they will be a great fit for the community. While we still have considerable work to do, we are quite pleased with the shops underway and look forward to some incredible grand openings in 2019.”

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Since 2010, The Penny Ice Creamery has been a destination in Downtown Santa Cruz, offering an array of uniquely delicious flavors. Using only locally-sourced and sustainably grown ingredients, Penny Ice crafts their ice cream from scratch, mixing artisanal expertise with local flair. The Penny also has a location in Pleasure Point. Learn more: www.thepennyicecreamery.com.

Starting with their artsy, good-vibes café in Pleasure Point, Cat & Cloud expanded into Abbott Square Market in Downtown Santa Cruz 2017. This homegrown café and roastery was founded by Chris Baca and Jared Trudy, two locals who mastered the art of coffeemaking with community in mind. Learn more: www.catandcloud.com.

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.

Sereno Group is a collaboration of the best and brightest, top-producing real estate agents in Santa Cruz, Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. Sereno is proud to offer quality service and top-notch client relations. Learn more: www.serenogroup.com.

An institution of downtown for 30 years, Sockshop & Shoe Company provides a world of fun and quirky footwear in the original spirit of Santa Cruz. Beyond socks, Sockshop offers a selection of stylish shoes, boots and sandals for both men and women. Sockshop also has a location on the wharf in Santa Cruz. Learn more: www.sockshopandshoeco.com.

A new restaurant, to be named and developed by David Kinch and Andrew Burnham, also will open in the Aptos Village. Kinch’s flagship restaurant, Manresa, is a renowned Michelin three-star dining establishment just over the hill in Los Gatos. The group’s other projects include Manresa Bread and The Bywater. Learn more: www.manresarestaurant.com, manresabread.com, thebywaterca.com

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New Leaf Community Markets will open its fifth Santa Cruz County location in the historic Hihn Apple Barn at Aptos Village. Planned features of the new 17,500-square-foot Aptos store include an expansive, fresh-prepared foods department with new, made-to-order options such as a wok and ramen bar, inviting outdoor patio seating plus all of New Leaf’s most popular offerings including freshly made juices and smoothies, local and organic produce, sustainably raised meats, responsibly sourced seafood and a fully stocked wellness department. Learn more: www.newleaf.com.

For questions regarding commercial development in Aptos, please contact Mary Gourlay at SWENSON: 831.475.7100. For information about remaining commercial opportunities in phase one or future space in phase two, please contact our commercial brokers at: http://www.theaptosvillage.com/commercial/

Do you love tacos?

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Dinner’s On Me!

Thinking about selling your home in the next few months? If so, you probably have a lot of questions and would like someone to talk to. Let me take you out to dinner – tacos or otherwise – and let’s discuss how you can get your home sold quickly, easily – and for the highest possible price. OK Sign me Up!

Housing Solutions Initiative Community Meeting in Aptos

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Make Affordable Housing in Santa Cruz County a Reality

It’s no secret that we have a housing crisis in Aptos and in Santa Cruz.  To begin to address the issue, the Santa Cruz Housing Solutions Initiative has been created.  The Housing Solutions Initiative aims to provide affordable housing for local workers and vulnerable populations through a bond measure of up to $250 million, proposed for passage by voters in the fall. On Wednesday, April 11th, 2018 at 5:30 PM there will be a community meeting of the Housing Solutions Initiative at Twin Lakes Church.

The planned bond measure would provide investment in affordable housing through four distinct funds:

  • Affordable Rental Housing Development Fund to create and preserve affordable rental housing by funding land acquisition and development costs.
  • Home Ownership Fund to facilitate first-time home ownership and help vulnerable homeowners keep their homes.
  • Homelessness Fund to support permanent supportive housing, transitional housing and emergency services facilities.
  • Innovation & Opportunity Fund to make it possible to respond quickly to opportunities to preserve and expand affordable rental housing and/or prevent tenant displacement.

Supervisor Zach Friend and Capitola Mayor Michael Termini will host this community meeting. Learn more about the proposal, and share your thoughts and experiences.

Remarks will start at 6 p.m.

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Aptos Q1 2018 Real Estate Wrap-Up

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316 Doris (4 BR, 2 BA, 2,137sf) sold for $885,000 after 121 DOM

The Santa Cruz county real estate market continues to show remarkable strength. The median price for Santa Cruz county jumped to a new high of $920,5000 in March. This spike in prices appears to be the result of Silicon Valley workers seeking lower home prices and a better lifestyle in Santa Cruz. So how is the Aptos real estate market doing? Let’s look at the numbers in this Aptos Q1 2018 real estate wrap-up.

Here’s a quick break-down of the single-family home data:

  • 55 sales (-5.2% vs. 58 a year ago)
  • $885,000 median (-13.7% vs. $1,025,000 a year ago)
  • 50 Days on Market average (-19.4% vs. 62 a year ago)
  • $607/sf average (+6.1% vs. $572 a year ago)
  • 88 new listings (+22.2% vs. 72 a year ago)

Now let’s look at the market for condos and townhouses:

  • 23 Sales (+35.3% vs. 17 a year ago)
  • $700,000 median price (+8.4% vs. $646,000 a year ago)
  • 25 Days on Market average (-43.1% vs. 44 a year ago)
  • $535/sf average (+12.9% vs. $474/sf a year ago)
  • 29 new listings (unchanged from a year ago)

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.

A Closer Look

The 13.7% drop in median home price is alarming – but at the same time, the average price per square foot is up 6.1% in the same period. Smaller houses usually have a higher sale price per square foot than larger houses (since so much of the value of the real estate is in the land, rather than in the structure). In fact, the average home sold in Aptos in Q1 2018 had 1,963 square feet on average, vs. 2,350sf on average in Q1 2017.

Overall, the Aptos market does appear to be stable, with prices rising gradually compared to last year.  There’s mixed news for home owners thinking about selling:  homes are selling more quickly this year compared to last, but there’s significantly more competition in the Aptos market, with a lot more inventory this year compared to last.

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Thoughts on the Santa Cruz YIMBY Meeting

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California is for Everyone

On March 28th, the Santa Cruz YIMBYs (“Yes in My Back Yard”) held a public meeting at the Dream Inn in Santa Cruz to discuss the urgent need for more affordable housing in the city and county of Santa Cruz. The meeting featured a discussion on the state of California housing by Linda Wheaton, assistant director for the California Department of Housing and Community Development. A panel discussion followed Wheaton’s presentation, moderated by Robert Singleton of the Santa Cruz County Business Council.

Jondi Gumz of the Santa Cruz Sentinel was there and she did a great write-up on the meeting, so I don’t need to go into too much detail about who said what. I did record audio of the entire proceedings, which you can listen to and download here:

Download the audio….

As the Sentinel did such a good job going over the particulars of the meeting, I’ll just add some of my thoughts on what was discussed.

Although Linda Wheaton went through a fairly exhaustive list of recent and proposed California housing legislation, she made no mention of the most radical bill making its way through the legislature: SB-827, sponsored by Scott Weiner of San Francisco. This was touched on in the panel discussion, but it was disappointing that it was not more of a focus by Wheaton or the panelists.

The Q&A session for the panelists was moderated by Singleton of the Business Council, who asked the panelists questions from a prepared list. There was little time remaining for questions from the audience; just three audience members were called on.

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.

One question from the audience was especially poignant: would not more housing lead to destruction of so much of what makes Santa Cruz such a beautiful, special place to live? I think that many folks feel that way: more housing = less green and open space. After all, who hasn’t heard about all the fruit orchards and farms which used to cover the Santa Clara valley, which were covered over with concrete, asphalt, and tract homes a few short decades ago?

Panelist Sibley Simon was quick to shut that notion down, however. As he pointed out, that’s been settled a long time ago in Santa Cruz. We’re keeping our green, open spaces. More housing does not mean more sprawl, such as we see in Santa Clara county and much of southern California. More housing – and more affordable housing – means denser, infill development (such as would be required with SB-827).

Another concern people have when they hear “more housing” is “more traffic.” As Simon pointed out, the key to reducing traffic is to having housing built closer to where the jobs are. Currently, many of those jobs are in Santa Clara county, but with wise, far-sighted development it is possible to construct live/work developments which will, to a large extent, obviate the need for road-clogging long commutes to distant employers.

The truth is, unless we build denser, more-affordable housing, we are going to end up with a Santa Cruz stuffed full of older, wealthier elites and mostly-empty weekend and summer houses owned by them. There’s simply just too much money chasing too few homes in a very beautiful, coastal area with a mild climate close to the most epic wealth-generating machine (Silicon Valley) the country has ever known.

Simply put:  if we want a Santa Cruz that is accessible and affordable to people with a wide variety of incomes, we must build housing for them, because it presently does not exist.

I know it’s tempting to just stick our heads in the sand and hope the problem goes away. It did abate with the housing crash of 2007-2010, when many people lost their jobs and left the area. But with a strong economy and growing employment comes more demand for housing – we can’t have it both ways.  Short of a Zombie Apocalypse, the only realistic and economically sound solution for our housing woes is the creation of more dense, affordable housing.

What are we waiting for?

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Update April 3, 2018:  the slides from the presentation can be downloaded here.   Also, a video of the presentation has been posted to YouTube by the Santa Cruz Sentinel:

County Taking Applications for Affordable Aptos Village Homes

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Aptos Village Rendering

Work on the Aptos Village project is proceeding apace, and the county of Santa Cruz is now accepting applications from buyers for ten (10) affordable Aptos Village homes.  These homes are deed-restricted Measure J units, the buyers for which must meet strict program criteria.  These ten homes will be sold in two phases, with Phase 1 releasing four (4) 1-bedroom units and one (1) 2-bedroom unit.  Phase 2 will have one 1-bedroom, two 2-bedroom, and two 3-bedroom units.

To qualify to buy these affordable Aptos village homes, you must be a first-time buyer and must have household income at or below 120% of the area median income.  Applications are due May 18th 2018, with a lottery drawing to be held on June 1st of this year.  Prices for these ten affordable Aptos Village homes have not been finalized, but preliminary reports indicate pricing will be in this range:

  • 1-bedroom:  $256,000-$280,000
  • 2-bedroom:  $296,000-$322,000
  • 3-bedroom:  $338,000-$363,000

Median income varies by household size, and Santa Cruz county is using these figures to determine yearly maximum income for qualification:

  • 1 Person Household:  $73,100
  • 2 Person Household. $83,500
  • 3 Person Household:  $93,950
  • 4 Person Household:  $104,400
  • 5 Person Household:  $112,750
  • 6 Person Household:  $121,100
  • 7 Person Household:  $129,450

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!

The county will be holding a workshop for those interested in throwing their hat in the ring for one of these coveted units.  The workshop will be held on Saturday, March 24th 2018, in the conference room of the Rio Sands Hotel.  There will be two sessions:  one in English from 1:00 to 2:00 pm and on in Spanish from 2:30 to 3:30 pm.

For more information on the process of purchasing these homes, please download this document from the Santa Cruz County Planning Department’s web site.

Barry Swenson, the developer of the Aptos Village, has indicated that sales of non-Measure J units should begin in Spring of 2018, at the time that the first units are ready for occupancy.  Pricing for these units has not been announced.

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Aptos Median Home Price, February 2017: $1,050,000

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Spring is in the air! Like all of you, I’m thankful for the copious amounts of rain we’ve had this winter – but enough’s enough! I’m loving the sunshine, and I’m looking forward to the weather heating up. But the Aptos real estate market has galloped ahead of mother nature: it’s plenty hot already! Would you believe this: the Aptos median home price, February 2017: $1,050,000!

Everyone thinks that the spring heralds the start of the traditional real estate sales season. Truth be told, we don’t have much seasonality in the Aptos real estate market. While the market may take a bit of a slow down around the holidays, it’s usually roaring right along half way through January. And that’s borne out this year, because many of those February 2017 closings were initially listed for sale in January.

Compared to last year, it’s been a busy start to the real estate year: 15 single-family homes sold in Aptos in February 2017. You’re thinking that’s not a lot – but it’s 36% more than a year ago, when only 11 sold in February 2016.

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.

Those 15 homes sold in an average of 52 days – about the same as last year at this time, when they sold in 51 days on average. Sellers received 98% of full asking price in February 2017 – a smidgen better than the 97.6% they received a year prior.

The #1 favorite topic among the water coolers in the local real estate brokerages is real estate listings – where is the inventory?! 25 new single-family home listings hit the Aptos market this past February. A year ago? 26. But wait, we’re a week into March already, so how are we looking now? Just 4 new listings in the first 7 days in March 2017 – a year ago, we had 7 new listings by now.

A lot of folks are going to see the $1,050,000 February 2017 median sale price and say, “Wow! That’s really high!” And it is – but the median home price in January 2017 was even higher – $1,145,000. And in February 2016, the median home price was $1,059,000.  These prices aren’t an anomaly – upper-end homes in Aptos are selling, comprising about half the market.

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!

It may look like even at $1,050,000 the median sale price in February 2017 came in a little weak – but I put that down to the low sales volume. 15 sales does not represent a huge pool from which to draw meaningful conclusions, but it does indicate a market that is at least holding is own, at least for the time being. Interestingly, Zillow now rates zip code 95003 as only a 6.1 out of 10 on its “market health” score.

The “health metrics” I monitor most closely are median sale price, days on market, sales to list price ratio, and absorption rate. Right now, there are 49 single-family homes listed for sale on the Aptos MLS, but only 26 of them are available for purchase (the rest are already under contract). The way I figure it, we’re looking at around a 51 day supply of homes for sale in Aptos – and that means we are still in a very low-inventory hot seller’s market.

The $6,400,000 question is: but for how much longer?

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Low, Median, and Highest Sales – Single Family Homes

210 Treasure Island Drive:
3/2 1436sf sold $669,150 in 9 DOM
2001 Sparrow Valley Road: 4/2.5 3,000sf sold $1,050,000 in 158 DOM
618 Beach Drive: 4/3 2,192sf sold $5,700,000 in 76 DOM

Low, Median, and Highest Sales – Condos/Townhouses

226 Seascape Resort Drive: 1/1 608sf sold $390K in 32 DOM
277 Perch Way: 2/2.5 1514sf sold $656K in 7 DOM
428 SEASCAPE RESORT A & D Drive: 2/2 1288sf sold $735K in 122 DOM

New Accessory Dwelling Unit Rules for Santa Cruz County

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New Rules for Accessory Dwelling Units in California

In September 2016 Governor Brown signed into law Senate Bill 1069, which introduced a series of changes that limit the requirements local jurisdictions can place on the construction of Accessory Dwelling Units, otherwise known as “Granny units”. The intention behind the law was to make it easier to build ADUs, which tend to be a more affordable type of housing, and are seen by many housing and business advocacy groups as low hanging fruit in the fight to develop greater housing supply.

ADUs make use of existing land, are cheaper to develop than other types of housing (such as single family homes or multi-unit apartments), and are easier to approve because they are not subject to many of the same approval processes that other housing developments are. Furthermore, many local jurisdictions already have ordinances in place outlining ADU construction.

The main barriers to building more ADUs, like most housing products, are that local jurisdictions tend to over regulate their construction, oftentimes resulting in high compliance costs that can prove to be too cost prohibitive to the average homeowner; and entrenched neighborhood resistance to increased density. SB 1069 aims to address both this issues by limiting the type of regulations local jurisdictions can impose upon homeowners, streamlining local approval processes, and in some cases outright removing local control mechanisms.

Santa Cruz County was in the midst of updating its ADU ordinance when SB1069 was passed, and thus was able to reorient its approach to become one of the first local jurisdictions to react to the state mandate. A summary of the key changes is provided below.

  • All permit applications for new ADUs are now approved by a ministerial process, rather than a public hearing process. This means that a homeowner interested in building an ADU, who has met all of the County requirements and submitted site plans, should have a reasonable expectation of certainty that their application will be approved.
    SB1069 also mandates that any application submitted must be approved or denied within 120 days
  • The County can no longer deny an ADU permit based upon a lack of available parking, and cannot require additional parking as a condition of approval.
  • New ADUs do not require a sprinkler system if the main dwelling does not have a sprinkler system.
  • Special districts (such as water or fire districts) can no longer require that homeowners purchase a second water meter to build an ADU. Though this change is being challenged in court.
  • ADUs can now be built on any lot that allows for a single family home, regardless of size or zoning.
  • ADUs built on top of existing structures, such as a garage, do not require a public hearing and are now are subject to the same ministerial approval process.
  • Rear setbacks have been reduced to a maximum of 5 feet for ADUs built on top of existing structures.
  • Additional sewer system requirements cannot be imposed on rural parcels of less than one acre that already have a single family home, unless a County Health Officer rules that it would have significant impacts on local water quality.

The County is currently conducting a survey on the new ADU changes, and is hoping to collect responses before March 14th. You can take the survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SantaCruzCountyADU

This article has been provided courtesy of Robert Singleton, Policy Analyst with the Santa Cruz County Business Council.

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!