September 2023

Aging Full Circle

September 25, 2023Santa Cruz has aged full circle in recent years, coming back to its roots as one of the oldest Counties in the State. What a long, strange trip it’s been, going from that sleepy little beach town in the 1960s to today’s version which is officially THE oldest county in California and one that shows up on everyone’s list of top ten most expensive places to live on the planet! Santa Cruz has a well-earned reputation for lots of things but who could have imagined...

Age is Changing the Calculus

September 19, 2023Continuing the conversation… about the 40+ years of slow growth that have shaped the landscape of Santa Cruz and how, starting in 2013, our local housing crisis went from bad to worse with ten straight years of record low inventory and record high prices Back in the 1970s, Santa Cruz was building more new homes than ever before (or since). Among those coming to the Coast, were lots of 20 somethings drawn to an expanding UCSC campus (not to mention the beautiful natural surroundings, world...

Dax Nollenberger

- Dax Nollenberger

Dax’s Data: Is Airbnb Still a Worthy Investment in Santa Cruz County?

September 14, 2023You may have heard the phrase “Airbnbust” circulating through social media. The exciting luster of an affordable hotel alternative took the world by storm and only accelerated as we began to escape the lockdowns of COVID-19. Since then, the drawbacks in fees and rules had many pushing back, creating a roar of discontent amongst outspoken social media participants. While I realize that short-term rentals (STRs) are a touchy subject for many concerned about housing affordability (trust me… I get it!). Those concerned will be happy...

We’re Out of Excuses For Low Inventory

September 12, 2023We’re still talking about the extreme shortage of listings that’s haunting the market and driving prices up. This year, we’ll set another all-time low for the fewest new listings and the last ten years have been the lowest ten years for supply on record! We’ve had lots of time to figure out how we got here but so far the whole laundry list we’ve come up with to explain the market’s great vanishing act, has fallen short. When the market took off in 2013, we...

How Aging Impacts the Market

September 6, 2023Continuing the conversation… talking about low inventory and its impact on the availability and affordability issues that are at the heart of Santa Cruz County’s worsening housing crisis. For 30+ years now, our market has cycled through periods of relatively low inventory, due in part to deeply-entrenched slow growth policies. But in 2013, just as we were coming out of the depths of the Great Recession, the supply of homes took a precipitous plunge into all-time, record low territory, where it has remained ever since. ...