About Santa Cruz County, CA

This is just a quick update on where we are with Notice of Defaults in the greater Santa Cruz area. As you can see by the graph below, Notice of Defaults have been bouncing between 150 and 200 month since the beginning of the year. Thus we have not seen a real improvement in the market. In the meantime, the shadow inventory that the banks are holding is continuing to grow. So we are going to continue to see the impact of distressed properties on the market for some time to come. Hopefully we will see a downward trend in the Notice of Defaults next year and some momentum to a normal market by the end of 2010. But for now, a great time for Buyers with historically low interest rates and falling house prices.

Located at the top of the neighborhood this home is very private. There is a circular driveway that leads to the front lawn and walkway. The Front door has custom moldings and opens to the elegant entry with an oak stairway. The formal living room has high ceilings, is surrounded by windows, white carpet, granite tiled gas log or wood burning fireplace & built in bookcases. The living room opens to the formal dining room, with French doors to back yard and patio. The kitchen is a gourmet’s delight, with molded granite slab counters, Viking “professional” stove with grill and fan, GE convection oven and microwave, trash compactor, Granite work island with pull out drawers, huge stainless sink, breakfast bar, recessed lighting, and a desk area w/oak cabinets. There is an informal eating area that overlooks the backyard. The kitchen opens to the family room, that has a brick gas wood burning fireplace and built in cabinets. There is also a Media center w/built in speakers, recessed lighting & sitting area. There are hardwood floors through the Great room area that includes the kitchen, informal dining and family room, and French doors that open to the back yard. There is a large bedroom w/built in bookcases and full bath downstairs. Upstairs there is a bedroom w/window seat & lots of closet space. There is a bath with tub/shower, tiled floors, dual sinks & oak cabinets. The 3rd bedroom overlooks pool. The master bedroom is oversized with vaulted ceilings, a sitting area, fireplace gas log fireplace w/marble hearth, large walk in closet with dual doors, & a Roy Johnson light fixture. It has a French door that opens to the deck that has views of the valley, the ocean & gorgeous sunsets. The luxurious bath has a shower, Jacuzzi tub that overlooks the backyard and ocean views, tiled floors & counters. The private backyard has ocean views, an apple tree, & fire road access the backyard and to Ranchitos Del Sol, concrete patio/entertainment area, a lawn, storage sheds & pool. There are stamped concrete walkways leading to the private Pebble Tech swimming pool with automatic pool cover, stamped concrete & brick deck & storage shed with pool equipment. The house has an indoor laundry room with sink and storage area. Other amenities include underground utilities, fully fenced backyard and storage sheds, dog run, Air conditioning system w/ 2 units upstairs & down & Central vacuum system. There is an attached 3 car garage w/ 2 doors & a new slurry coated driveway. The exterior is stucco w/ a concrete tiled roof. There is a Home Warranty that covers the air conditioning, pool, appliances & central vacuum. This is a private home in a coveted community that offers a country setting but still is close to town. To directly access this property, use this shortcut: http://www.fizber.com/california-buy-single-family-home-11648864.html

This custom contemporary home is located just 3 blocks from West Cliff Drive. A private courtyard surrounds the front yard, with dry stream landscaping and a stamped concrete walkway to the front door. Walk into the Italian-tiled entry, and to the sunny and light living room with a Bay window overlooking the courtyard entry, a gas log fireplace, and a wall of windows overlooking the backyard. The Italian tile continues through the dining room and kitchen. The dining room has two sections of glass windows with a French style door in between, and built-in glass shelving at either end. The gourmet kitchen has a Granite tile counter and work island. The Granite is detailed with hand made Annie Glass starfish. There are Maple cabinets, a built-in pantry, 2 ovens, Jen Air dishwasher, double ceramic sink, microwave and a gas cooktop. There is a laundry closet with room for full sized washer and dryer (plumbed for both gas and electric). Just off the kitchen, there is a generous hallway with a window seat and walls of windows overlooking the backyard. The side French door leads to the patio – perfect for BBQ area and the private back yard. The generous guest bath has a shell pedestal sink and wainscoting. The master suite is on the ground level, with a Birds Eye Maple ceiling fan, high ceilings with skylight and a wall of sliding glass doors that opens to the backyard and patio. It has a walk-in closet and custom built-in California Shelving System & track lights. The bath has an oversized spa tub w/jets, a large walk-in marble tile shower, dual sinks and mirrored wall. The Maple & carpet staircase leads upstairs to the Family room with arched windows and 3 French doors to the outside view deck with peaks of the ocean. The family room has high ceilings, two skylights, built-in Cherry wood stereo case and bookcases that line the walls. The guest bathroom has a skylight, tiled floors and custom tiled shower/tub and maple cabinet w/custom tiles.The 2nd bedroom has a large walk-in closet and sliding glass doors to a sitting balcony overlooking the backyard, with views of the Santa Cruz Mountains.The 3rd bedroom has a large walk-in closet with storage area and windows overlooking the backyard.The home has many additional custom amenities, such as Honeywell alarm system for fire & police – fire sprinklers & recessed lighting throughout. The Utility closet upstairs has the furnace and water heater.The oversized private back yard has a generous lawn area, with rose gardens, lemon tree & is surrounded by flowers. The ultimate in indoor/outdoor living, with the house built to incorporate the outside into the living areas.To directly access this property, use this shortcut: http://www.fizber.com/california-buy-single-family-home-11648862.html

I have just finished setting up a new website at www.ShortSalesInSantaCruz.com . It is also listed as a link on the bottom, right-hand-side of this webiste. The purpose of this website is to give home owners who are dealing with some kind of hardship or distress information on all of their options in lieu of Foreclosure.

Some of the possible options may include:

• Loan Modification
• Refinancing Home Loan
• Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure
• Short Sale

The stats show that 7 out of 10 homeowners, who go through foreclosure, never contacted their lender. There is help out there. If you know anyone who is experiencing difficulties in making their mortgage payments please refer them to my website for information and let me know so I can contact them, and offer my assistance.

Santa Cruz Home Bubble Prices

October 2009

As we move to the end of 2009, many home Sellers and Buyers are wondering what direction home values are going ? As I have mentioned on previous blogs, we are still seeing a constant stream of foreclosures with unemployment and negative equity the driving reasons. So until we see unemployment improved and home prices stabilize, there will not be much improvement.

So where are we now ? As you can see in the graft below, homes in the Watsonville area have taken the biggest equity hit with median home prices off 57% from the peak of the market in 2005. In fact, Watsonville home prices are now below 2001 prices. In contrast, the median home price in the areas closer to the ocean like Rio Del Mar, Santa Cruz and Capitola are seeing median home prices off around 27% from the peak of the market. Home prices in these areas are about where they were in 2003.

If you are a buyer or seller in this market, this a good overall gauge of where property values are currently. However you do have to take into account that homes that right on the beach or have great beach access have been hit less. The market for these high-end beach homes have dropped off, but when they do sell its usually at prices less than 20% off the peak of the market.

Can we expect the home prices to keep dropping ? In the short term the answer is yes. This is due to the fact that banks are still releasing homes from their foreclosure inventory and we are also entering our seasonal slowest part of the year when prices normally are at there lowest. So with mortgage interest rates near record lows, home prices going lower, talk of another buyer incentive program by the government, it is a great time for buyers.

Steve Johnson

Monterey Bay Properties

(831) 588 0254