Santa Cruz suffered along with the rest of the United States during the recession that began in the year 2008, although thankfully for the real estate market in the region, that downturn was not especially harmful to the local economy. Santa Cruz is usually analyzed by the National Association of Realtors and similar bodies as a part of the Central California Coast region, of which Santa Cruz and San Jose real estate are the primary metropolitan Markets. The Central Coast region in general and Santa Cruz in particular are in a midst of a moderately paced upswing - a positive sign that may indicate the arrival of the promised relief from the federal stimulus. The middle class portion of Santa Cruz real estate is being boosted especially strongly, thanks to an eight thousand dollar federal tax credit being given to first time home buyers nationwide.
The number of homes on the market because of foreclosures has increased since June of 2008, although the figure increased only by a negligible 0.4%.At the same time, the number of homes for sale without the influence of foreclosures increased by more than 7%, with the median price steadily increasing. Mortgage rates in Santa Cruz, as calculated by Informa, are hovering around the 5% range - with a 15 year mortgage at about 4.95% and a 30 year mortgage running in the vicinity of 5.41%. In May of 2009, the median price of a home in Santa Cruz was approximately $425,000, although the amount of houses being foreclosed was still dangerously high, according to Mercury News.
The same source, which specializes in providing news to the Central Coast of California, reported a month later that the median home price rose to about $483,000, a significant increase since May. Real Opinions Realty noted that “Sales have exceeded last year's for 12 straight months and listings have decreased compared to last year's for seven straight months.” Santa Cruz Real Estate hit a low point towards the end of 2008, but has been on a steady upswing ever since. Simply put, the Santa Cruz Real Estate Market is facing a mixed bag of predictions - while some indicators suggest an increased rate of growth, others seem to point towards a flat or even decreasing market.
This Santa Cruz real estate market update was provided by Coastal Bay real estate and their team.