Dax Nollenberger

- Dax Nollenberger

Dax’s Data: The Monetary Benefit of Homeownership

September 2, 2022Searching the internet for whether homeownership is actually valuable will leave your head in a daze. Major players in the real estate investing space will argue that you shouldn’t own a primary home, others will argue that you shouldn’t take on any debt, and many more will encourage you to accumulate as much real estate as possible. So many varied opinions pulling in every conceivable direction only adds to an already overwhelming decision and leads to the inevitable buyer thinking “am I making the right...

- Dax Nollenberger

Dax’s Data: How Recessions Impact Real Estate

August 4, 2022The dreaded big R. No, R doesn’t stand for Real Estate, it stands for Recession and as you’ll read below, one doesn’t always impact the other. The big R-word has been thrown around quite frequently of late and it’s got people spooked. Spooked that this real estate market is going to take a turn for the worse. Some buyers have even used the term “crash”. While people are rightfully cautious because of our last significant recession, recency bias is playing a major role in how...

- Dax Nollenberger

Dax’s Data: 2022 First Half Review

July 14, 2022From all-time real estate highs to a significant regression and fears of a recession, what a wild year 2022 has been. The uncertainty and ever-changing landscape of national and local real estate create unfamiliar fears on both the buyer and seller side. Fears that create inaction for buyers and panic for sellers. The market has certainly changed in the last 6 months. The days of ever-increasing prices and almost guaranteed over-asking bids are, temporarily, over. Replaced by a landscape of increased buyer leverage and more...

- Dax Nollenberger

Rating Santa Cruz Schools- High School

July 11, 2022How are the schools? As a Realtor, this is a question I get almost daily. Frankly, the answer isn’t all that clear. You could ask 100 different students at the school and get 100 different answers because our opinions are shaped by our own experiences. Asking Realtors would produce similar results. So how do we rate schools? It’s a subjective question that is very difficult to quantify. The state of California as well as many internet startups have been trying to answer this question for...

- Dax Nollenberger

Dax’s Data: Yes, The Market Is Changing!

June 2, 2022You may have heard; the real estate market is changing. The feds interest rate hikes have had their intended effect of slowing the market. Rising interest rates mean less buying power and fewer interested buyers. It may also mean that buyers have an opportunity that hasn’t been present in two-plus years; increased leverage.  While more inventory feels like a sign of change, an increase in inventory exclusively doesn’t necessarily mean a change in the market. It is normal in our seasonal real estate market to...

- Dax Nollenberger

Dax’s Data: SC Still a Bargain in the Silicon Valley Orbit

May 11, 2022Historically, Santa Cruz County trails both San Mateo and Santa Clara County in nearly every major real estate metric. Silicon Valley drives local real estate. San Mateo and Santa Clara County have been in a league of their own when it comes to appreciation and sale price. The “over the hill” market, driven by high-paying jobs, trickled into our quiet little beach community but didn’t make such an impact that more “affordable housing” became the resounding dinner topic when breaking bread with friends and family....

- Dax Nollenberger

What about a Short Term Rental?

April 19, 2022An excellent way to offset the rising housing cost is to rent out all or a portion of your new home for a specified period of time throughout the year.  A question I get frequently as a real estate agent in Santa Cruz County is, can I Airbnb this property? Unfortunately for me, the answer isn’t a clear yes or a clear no. As with any government-regulated industry, there are extensive rules and regulations.  The short answer, of course, is maybe. With an ever-increasing housing...

- Dax Nollenberger

Dax’s Data: How Areas in Santa Cruz City Compare

March 9, 2022Last month we dove into how each township in Santa Cruz County compares. This month I wanted to zoom in and get hyper-focused on one area in particular, the city of Santa Cruz. Our deep dive into the county showed us just how strong of a market Santa Cruz is, ranking in the top half of every major real estate category since 2010. What neighborhoods are driving the strong numbers and what neighborhoods benefit from their excelling neighbors? If you didn’t get an opportunity to...

- Dax Nollenberger

Dax’s Data: How Areas in Santa Cruz County Compare

February 7, 2022What we know from previous analysis is that the Santa Cruz County real estate market has been on a tear since 2012 when the recovery from the ’08 housing crash solidified itself. What I intend to show is that not all areas in Santa Cruz have experienced the same level of appreciation and growth. Some areas have pulled averages upward while others dragged averages down. I focused specifically on townships within Santa Cruz County with enough of a yearly sample size in homes sold to...