Andy Salamone, Santa Cruz Buyers' Brokerage

We have a new site for the Monterey Buyers' Brokerage.

As always, comments are highly encouraged!

A few notes:

We get quite a few great comments about our Santa Cruz Buyers' Brokerage website, so we are hesitant to change it, but some of the new technolgies and the more SEO-optimized features of the Monterey site make a re-vamp of the old site a tempting endeavor. Not to mention the fact that the SCBB site still has a few glitches that we just haven't had time to address.

One of the great things about the new site is the integration of the killer pieces from Yourhead Sofware, located at the top of the bay in Santa Cruz. It's the first time we've used the new menu systems, so improvements will be ongoing and hopefully frequent.

Also, it won't be too long until the blog makes it's reappearance. With luck, our weekly market updates, commentary, and cool graphs will be back on-line soon.

Thanks,

Andy

http://montereybuyers.com

http://santacruzbuyers.com

Typically, I have looked to the activity in the high-end to get a feeling for where the entire market is headed, but in this case, I think we're in such a fundamentally different situation that the typical seems to no longer apply, at least not for the moment.

Just today the National Association of Realtors announced a 5% increase in existing home sales for last month, and such a jump has not been seen for 6 years. Also, the day-to-day activity on the street has ramped up considerably. In the less lofty section of the market, we're still seeing multiple-offer situations constantly, open houses seem packed, and buyers are definitely coming out of the wood-work...but not in the high-end, at least not yet.

Does the lull in the high-end mean that the rush at the low-end is temporary or isolated activity?

How long will this luxury vacation last? I am watching very closely.

What do you think is going on out there? I'd love to hear it.

Andy Salamone

Broker/Owner

Santa Cruz Buyers' Brokerage

http://www.santacruzbuyers.com

abodes@me.com

(831) 295-1093

The Luxury Home market in Santa Cruz is highly chilled right now. Although there are 62 of them on the market at the moment, so far this year, not one single-family home in the county priced above $2,000,000 has gone into escrow. In the 9 months previous, we sold about 2 per month, for a total of 18, but 2009 has found the luxury market largely on vacation.

As is to be expected in such a situation there are some high-end properties out there with amazingly reduced prices, and there are a few incredible gems very patiently awaiting the right buyers, but don't rush out and buy them without talking to me, no matter how intensely that cash is burning a hole in your pocket. If you're interested, call me first.

My company, the Santa Cruz Buyers' Brokerage, is headquartered in NextSpace, the innovative co-working space in the heart of downtown Santa Cruz at the corner of Pacific and Cooper Streets. NextSpace is full of amazing geniuses of all kinds, and, to me, it exemplifies the blend of resourcefulness, intelligence, and true innovation that is such a huge part of our community's excellence and promise.

While the economic news at large is a swirling drivel of doom and gloom, NextSpace is a self-luminous nexus of inspiration, a happening place where things are really happening, clients coming in and out, people collaborating on all kinds of projects, new ideas being born and nurtured. NextSpace itself is a great idea at the perfect time, and it harbors many more of the same.

Each day I'm at my office I'm surrounded by people who are finding new solutions, inventing, designing, coding, creating, and all with a spirit of making things better for everyone. There is a remarkable vibrancy in NextSpace, and it's a pleasure to be a part of.

A few days ago, our local Evangelist of Transformational Technologies, Sean Tario, posted the following on Santa Cruz Geeks. I thought it was a great expression of the spirit of our incredible community, and a must-read for those thinking about investing themselves in Santa Cruz in any way. I'm re-posting it with his permission.

Enjoy,

Andy

---

Having dove head first into this very conversation for the past few years
with many folks here in town, my 2 cents is that Santa Cruz is unlike almost
all other city's trying to "recreate" the Silicon Valley experience and
trying to build a friendly ecosystem for startups because:

-We're a 30 minute drive from Silicon Valley and 45 minute drive from Sand
Hill / Page Mill Road where most startups end up for Series A Funding. which
is exactly how long it would take someone to get there from the East Bay,
Oakland or San Francisco.

-We're ALREADY known around the world for being a hub of innovation and big
ideas.

-We've got a University that is not perfect (which one is?) but finally
starting to make some strides toward helping bright and motivated students
and professors with big ideas and game changing technologies to actually
start doing something with those ideas and technologies.

-We've got a City/County that is not perfect (again, which one is?) but
finally starting to make some strides toward helping bright and motivated
CITIZENS with big ideas and game changing technologies to actually start
doing something with those ideas and technologies.

-We already live in one of the wealthiest regions in the country.

-People go out of their way and take huge risks already to try and earn a
living here.

-Our entrepreneurial minded citizens have learned that waiting around for
government to do anything in terms of economic development locally is a
total waste of time due to policies and politics over the past few decades,
and thus they've stopped waiting for hand outs and started creating the
infrastructure on their own.

-Spend all of 30 minutes walking around the likes of NextSpace or a Geek
Dinner and you'll realize the entrepreneurs and intellectual capital is
already here, alive, and thriving.

-Spend all of 30 minutes walking around the likes of NextSpace or a Geek
Dinner and you'll realize the INFRASTRUCTURE and COMMUNITY needed to help
support and nurture those thinking about and actually building companies are
already here, alive and thriving.

Thus, I don't feel Santa Cruz needs to "recreate" jack squat. "Recreate"
simply isn't the terminology or conversation that needs to be had. The
conversation is around how we best leverage the ALREADY EXISTING RESOURCES
in a far more effective and productive way than we have been in years past.

IMHO, these past few years have been focused on tilling the soul, making
sure it has all the nutrients it needs for the short and long term and
planting the seeds. We each play a different role in this process and,
again, IMHO, have been doing a phenomenal job taking care of our garden/farm
to this extent. As we have the sun in abundance here in Santa Cruz, the one
piece now missing is the capital to help water the fertile soul and planted
seeds. and mark my words, by summer, we'll see some rain coming. possibly a
monsoon ;)

Sean

PS - If you want to experience firsthand why I believe now is the time for
Santa Cruz, please check out
www.santacruzsummit.com and attend this event. We have some great speakers
coming, but it will be so very much more than your typical keynote/panel
event. In fact, I GUARANTEE it will be an evening that will go down in the
history books for this City/County and an ongoing EXPERIENCE unlike any
other you've had.

I am thrilled to welcome Anandi Heinrich to the Santa Cruz Buyers' Brokerage.

Anandi is a Santa Cruz native and a long-time personal friend of mine. We are very lucky to have her with us.

Formerly with Thunderbird Real Estate in Capitola, Anandi brings an unparalleled wealth of Santa Cruz experience, both from the ground and from the air. She is an excellent pilot, and has shown me parts of our area that you just can't appreciate any other way than from up there. She also knows the nooks and crannies down here, short cuts, secret spots, and all kinds of details that only a lifetime of living in and exploring the area can get you.

Besides being amazinly knowledgable about the whole coast from Big Sur up to San Fransisco, Anandi is gracing us with her extrmeme professionalism, organizational mastery, attention to detail, and creativity, plus, she always has her finger on the pulse of the Santa Cruz community. We are all fortunate that she has chosen to share these resources with us. Anandi will be performing a wide range of services for the company, so, whether you're a client or an agent, you may have the good fortune to interact with her in various capacities during your dealings with the Santa Cruz Buyers' Brokerage.

2009 is going to be our first full year of operation as the Santa Cruz Buyers' Brokerage, and I can't think of any better way to start it off than by welcoming Anandi to our company and to the world of Exclusive Buyer Representation.

Soon we'll get Anandi's contact information and her bio up on the website, but for now, you can reach her through the office, at (831) 706-4246.

Andy Salamone
Broker/Owner
Santa Cruz Buyers' Brokerage
www.santacruzbuyers.com