October 2022

Guess What This Home Sold For

October 31, 2022Can you guess what this home sold for? Can you guess how high above list this fixer-upper went for? Can you guess what somebody paid for this tiny beach bungalow? Sound familiar? Real estate memes are everywhere these days, generating lots of engagement in the form of clicks and page views. Since we all have heartfelt connections to home, it’s easy to trigger collective dopamine rushes with the latest market updates. Who can resist taking a wild guess at what the house up the street...

- Marika Strauss

Water Activities in Santa Cruz

October 27, 2022Our lives may slow a bit with this new seat of economic conditions! Take advantage of this break by exploring water! Santa Cruz is blessed with the Pacific Ocean at our front door, and copious waterways in our backyard! Springs, creeks and gullies abound. Take a break from the screens in your life and actually live a full minute in the sun and listening to water! You will be amazed at the effect. The Elkhorn Slough is one of the many treasures we are fortunate...

Quantity of Sales or Quality of Service

October 24, 2022A few more thoughts on a recent column I wrote, suggesting it was time to stop giving out silly production awards to Realtors. The ones that flaunt dubious metrics and glorify outmoded stereotypes rather than the industry’s highest standards. In a social media world where half-truths are constantly being curated and sold back to people as clickbait, we should declare a moratorium on self-congratulatory ads paid for by Agents and Brokerages. And all accolades proclaiming anyone BEST / MOST / HIGHEST in anything having to...

- Natasha Mingay

Every Child Deserves Academic, Arts, and Wellness Programs Across All Grades

October 19, 2022Sereno 1% For Good Charitable Foundation Believes Every Child Deserves Academic, Arts, and Wellness Programs Across All Grades. That’s why our Sereno Coastal team is supporting Live Oak Education Foundation with a Community Impact Grant as our 3rd Quarter Recipient. We had the honor of presenting a check to the Live Oak Education Foundation this week! They are over half way to their goal of fundraising for Shoreline Middle School's new gym floor which serves not just the school, but also the community at large...

- Marika Strauss

Taking the Plunge Into Surfing

October 18, 2022Walking along East or West Cliff drive is not only beautiful but gives passerbyers a sense of curiosity. “What would it take for me to plunge into the healing Pacific waters?” Most everyone wishes they had the courage or skill to plunge in. Still thinking about it? There are endless possibilities for learning this magnetic sport no matter what stage of life you find yourself in. Step one: Identify a place to take a lesson. Surf School Santa Cruz is a great place to start...

Your Home Isn’t Your Life

October 17, 2022The traditional paradigm of real estate teaches young Realtors how to sell homes. But the longer I do this work, the more I realize it’s never just about selling homes. That’s really the smallest part of the job. And thanks to an astonishing market these days, also the easiest. Real estate is really more about the profound life transitions that lie behind each sale. The all important “whys” that shape someone’s pivotal decision to move. No one sells their home for fun. Or decides to...

Dax Nollenberger

- Dax Nollenberger

Dax’s Data: Down Payment, The Great Mortgage Rate Equalizer

October 14, 2022Interest rates have had a substantial impact on the overall affordability of a home. With mortgage rates on the continual rise, it’s time to think creatively about how we can minimize our long-term costs and make our homes more affordable in the short term. Did you know that a 1% interest increase adds a little over $600 a month in cost on a $1M loan? From a lender's perspective, there are a variety of ways to lower the impact of mortgage rates like rate buydown...

DOM or Days on Market

October 10, 2022If location, location, location are the three most important words in real estate, then the three most important letters must be DOM or Days on Market. Over the last ten years, DOMs has evolved into a symbolic shorthand for market value for just about every new listing that comes on. Here’s a day-to-day look at how the average listing unfolds: Day 1: Thursday - house hits the MLS. Buyers’ Search Engines click into gear. Seller is expecting multiple-offers very quickly. Buyers do their virtual...

When the Unthinkable Happens

October 3, 2022Today’s question? In a market where everything sells quickly and for more money....how does the unthinkable happen? As in: Why are there still places that don’t sell quickly? Ones that languish on the market for a long time before reducing their price? I’m thinking about an Eastside listing that came on recently. The kind of place that checked all the boxes: four bedrooms, single level, large yard. Plenty of buyers were lined-up for the first open house. Pre-approval letters clutched in their hands. Warm and...