Things are happening out in the world, and there is a lot of general reporting on the real estate market, but here I will talk about what I know which is the Santa Cruz County market. Currently, we are seeing very low inventory levels. Only 170 listings county wide and prices range from $10,000 million to $399,000 as you can imagine that equates to very few listings that fit the location and budget of the average buyer.

I had a conversation with a seller recently and I said, “you know what? We talked about your home going on in May, and I still stand by that right now.” It is still pouring rain. It's still snowing in some parts of our county, and it is slowing the market down or basically stopping it even more than Covid did. Sellers are holding back…

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Why You Need a Trust!  I interviewed a trust attorney to explain why estate planning is so important. Watch the video and read this guest blog issue.

When it comes to putting off or refusing to create an estate plan, your mind can concoct all sorts of rationalizations: “I won’t care because I’ll be dead,” “I’m too young,” “That won’t happen to me,” or “My family will know what to do.”

But these thoughts all come from a lack of real education about estate planning and the consequences to your family. Once you understand exactly what planning is designed to prevent and support, you’ll realize there really is no acceptable excuse for not having a plan, provided you are able to plan and truly care about your family’s experience after you die or if you…

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This Real Estate Market for the new year, I am going to tell you a little bit about where we've been, where we're going and a little bit about where we are. Happy New Year! For Santa Cruz County in 2022, we had about 1480 sales. The average sale price was $1.47 million, appreciation was 10.2% for 2022. For people who were worried about buying and paying too much because prices were going down last year, you have absolutely no worries. And I think overall you really shouldn't worry. I think your property is going to appreciate just fine. 43 year average appreciation is 8%. Taking record of this, started in 1979, do you know the average sales price in Santa Cruz County was $74,998!  Video below and podcast is bottom right hand corner.

Can you even…

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Are you thinking of buying a house in Santa Cruz County in 2023 I'm here to prepare you and get you ready first, get your running shoes. I'm only kidding. Well, maybe not so much. I saw property online last night. I emailed my buyers and I said,  “Hey, we should check this one out.” It hasn't even been on maybe eight, 10 hours. My client said they want to see it. And I was informed there was already an offer on it. I think this is how the early part of 2023 is how it's going to be. So how do you prepare? First, get your pre-qualification letter or your pre-approval letter from your favorite lender. Make sure you understand what the interest rates are doing, if possible.


Talk with the lender to see about having the seller can give you credit…

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Four fun facts about Santa Cruz. If you're local you may already know these facts and if you're not and you're just thinking about Santa Cruz or like Santa Cruz, this should be pretty fun.

#1 Did you know we have tsunamis here? Our earthquake, the Loma Prieta Earthquake of 1989 is super famous. It is a big deal. We had a few deaths unfortunately, and we had some buildings fall and we also lost some very iconic buildings.


We've had fires. We have even had a mudslide, that was a result I believe of the earthquake in Ben Lomond, Love Creek. We've also had mudslides on Highway 17 that have closed the road. And we've had tsunamis and I thought that was kind of interesting because when you think of all the things that go on in the world, so many…

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What happens to homeowners when the market crashes? Well, that's an interesting idea and it's certainly a question that's being asked because it was a very popular topic being asked for on Google. So what do, what do people think? Do they think that when the interest rates go up, that people are going to be having their homes foreclosed on because the interest rates are up? It's an interesting quandary that people would think that because interest rates are going up, that people are going to start losing their homes. Let's go back in time and understand in the last couple years, the interest rates have been so good that so many homeowners refinanced their loans, I know I did. I refinanced my house and my rental. I would certainly be okay because of the…

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Have you ever wondered if you should tent your house for termites? They are a thing here in California. Why? Well, we took lead out of our paint and turns out that the termites didn't like the lead either. So we started painting all our houses with unleaded paint and the termites went, Hey, guess what guys? Party is on. We get to eat all this free wood and it's everywhere.

So what are the differences between the termites? Because you're going to hear about termites whatever stage you're in. If you've already purchased or you're purchasing or you own, you're going to hear a couple things. There are wood termites, and they fly around a couple times a year. You will notice a couple times a year there will be a big exodus of them and they're all blowing…

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Where else can you come home to views of the sea, stroll to the beach, enjoy dinner downtown or stay in and enjoy the comfort of a luxurious home? This Single level townhome is sumptuous and large and sits atop iconic Beach Hill! Here you can nestle up to the custom fireplace in the living room or take in the views and ocean breeze from the dining room or kitchen. Each window looks out onto the Monterey Bay, Cowell's Beach, the Santa Cruz Wharf and the hills. The Kitchen has a timeless art deco design with breakfast nook, or office space and pantry area. Two En-suite bedrooms and one extra space that could be an office, guest area or project space. The primary bedroom has a full walk-in closet with custom shower and bath. Full laundry inside and lots of…

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Market update for August 2022 Santa Cruz edition

Do you think the real estate market is cratering? Interest rates going up and the buyers are going to be able to get a screaming deal and sellers missed out and it's terrible! Now as a buyer you can just do whatever you want. Like the wild west, you could just go make low offers and sellers have to take your offer, right? Well, I am here to set this notion straight. Currently I have a few listings and I have buyers. It is good to have both buyer and seller because you really get the perspective of what's truly going on in the market, not just from being a listing agent but being an agent representing buyers too.

I have four examples of where a buyer wrote an offer on my listing and thought that the…

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A true Santa Cruz home! This home is in a class by itself. Here you can enjoy the aesthetic of Santa Cruz outside and the artful interior inside. Large picture windows draw the outside in, nature being the ultimate back drop to your home life. Large single level home has four bedrooms, with two large custom baths, all with gorgeous view windows. More about living in Santa Cruz here too 

Pros and Cons of Santa Cruz




New kitchen with creamy blue cabinets and appliance, custom tiles and light fixtures. Large living room, with entertainment nook, dining room in kitchen space for casual and formal dining. Newer roof, gutters, windows, doors, appliances, and hot…

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