affordable housing

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.

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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.