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!

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!

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?

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Aptos Village December 2018 Update

December 27, 2018 by Seb Frey

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?

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?

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.

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?

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:

Maximize the Sale Price
Minimize the Costs of Sale
Speed the Sale Process
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?

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.

Read a good book lately?

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?

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.

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?

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

August 21, 2018 by Seb Frey

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.”

Read a good book lately?

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?

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

Search for a Home in Aptos

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?

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

April 7, 2018 by Seb Frey

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.

Read a good book lately?

Aptos Q1 2018 Real Estate Wrap-Up

April 3, 2018 by Seb Frey

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?

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.

Read a good book lately?

Thoughts on the Santa Cruz YIMBY Meeting

March 29, 2018 by Seb Frey

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?

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: