October 2023

The Next Inflection

October 30, 2023Are we at an inflection point in Santa Cruz? It’s an interesting question and a timely one, given some of the fundamental forces that are hard at work reshaping the future.. Front and center in the housing debate these days, is the Downtown Plan Expansion. It’s a work in progress advocating for what seems to some, like radical new building heights and crazy numbers of new housing units, the likes of which Santa Cruz has never seen. We’re getting a preview of coming attractions...

One Degree of Separation

October 24, 2023Continuing the conversation… about our record low supply & record high prices over the last decade. And how in June, SC County was named both the #2 Most Expensive Place to Buy AND the #1 Most Expensive Place to Rent in the Country. For somewhere as small as Santa Cruz, those are significant distinctions (not in a good way) and a serious measure of our current housing crisis. Housing problems impact every person in Santa Cruz on a daily basis in ways both big and...

Terry Brezsny Ballantyne

- Terry Brezsny Ballantyne

But I’m Hip!!

October 20, 2023Paper Boarding Pass or Digital? This is a decision fraught with implication! Let’s fly into it! Paper: Paper means you are insecure and old fashioned Paper means you check your pocket 50 times before the flight Paper feels secure Paper gets you on the plane if your phone dies Digital: Digital confers a hipness, you are master of technology Digital can’t be damaged Digital is always with you because your phone is an extension of your nervous system! Digital implies you can navgate apps, check...

Dax Nollenberger

- Dax Nollenberger

Dax’s Data: Santa Cruz Real Estate Review Through Q3 – A Year Unlike Any Other

October 18, 2023In the world of Santa Cruz real estate, 2023 has been nothing short of unprecedented. From a historically sluggish beginning to mortgage rates soaring to heights not seen in two decades, and a shockingly low supply of available properties, this year has presented challenges and opportunities that have left buyers, sellers, lenders, and Realtors alike in truly uncharted territory. In this Dax’s Data, we'll take a deep dive into the remarkable journey of Santa Cruz's real estate market throughout the first three quarters of 2023....

Housing Crisis is the Status Quo

October 16, 2023Continuing the conversation… It’s no secret. In fact, in a world that’s increasingly more polarized, it’s one of the few things everyone seems to agree on - there’s a housing crisis. And there are a thousand ways, big and small, that housing problems impact our quality of life and very few of us remain unscathed whether we’re conscious of them or not. Whenever one of those annual polls is conducted to determine people’s biggest concerns, housing is always at or near the top. And sadly,...

Boomers v. Millennials

October 10, 2023Picking up the thread… talking about the new slow growth problem that our old slow growth problem has: More homeowners who are slowly growing older and unintentionally impacting the availability and affordability issues that are at the heart of our local housing crisis. For those who haven’t been paying attention, the demographic shift we’re experiencing looks more like the steadily rising waters of a massive sea change than the oft-invoked rush of a Silver Tsunami. By 2030, 1 in 3 people in Santa Cruz will...

House Rich and Cash Poor

October 3, 2023Continuing the Conversation…about low inventory, our rapidly aging population (by 2030, 1 in 3 Santa Cruzans will be 65) and how a growing number of older homeowners staying in their homes longer are unintentionally making the housing crisis worse. It’s amazing how little data exists about the impacts of aging on the real estate market and the housing crisis. My recent digging points to a correlation between the last ten years of record low supply (and record high prices) and the huge swathe of aging...