Tom Brezsny

From Foxholes to Tract Homes

December 4, 2023Continuing the conversation … tracking the history of homeownership and how it has evolved since national housing records were first kept in 1890. And looking for historical perspective that might offer some insight on the current housing crisis. Last week, we reached the post-war period of the late 1940s just as 15 million GIs were returning home from the War, right in the middle of a severe housing shortage and a looming recession. They had grown up in the Depression and come of age while...

Growing Homeownership

November 28, 2023Mr. Peabody has the Wayback Machine warmed up for another short and hopefully not-too-fractured history lesson about homeownership. Last week we surveyed 50 years, starting in 1890 (when national housing records were first kept) and ending in1940 when the U.S. found itself simultaneously recovering from the Depression and preparing for World War 2. Suffice to say, homeownership didn’t occupy the same place in the American psyche in those earlier years when sweeping changes were transforming the Country through massive industrial growth, widespread technological change (autos,...

The Fed’s Grand Experiment

November 20, 2023Picking up the thread… talking about homeownership and its evolution since WW2 when the Fed began its 75 yr experiment to grow the ranks of homeownership and make it an indelible part of the American Dream. Prior to 1945, homeownership had a different role in the culture than it does today. It wasn’t the same central life goal for the average person or coveted benchmark for their socio-economic success. The American Dream had more to do with achieving prosperity through hard work rather than acquiring...

108 Grove Lane & The Luxury of Blue Mind Space

November 15, 2023Welcome, to 108 Grove Lane, Capitola and the luxury of a true Blue Mind space, nestled along a stunning stretch of coastal bluff that runs from the friendly confines of Capitola Village to the wide sandy beaches of Rio Del Mar. This surprisingly secluded oceanfront home occupies a unique vantage point above Monterey Bay. Perched near the top of a tall coastal palisade, that seems to hover just above the calm, emerald waters of Soquel Cove - a renowned locale on the Bay where soft...

Home vs. Investment

November 13, 2023A quick query…. Should a house be a home or should it be an investment? It’s a simple question most people just answer by saying “both”. But what if we phrase it differently?… Should a house be MORE of a home than an investment? Or MORE of an investment than a home? That’s a bit trickier, especially when you live in a place with some of the highest real estate prices on the planet. We all recognize the warm and fuzzy qualities of life...

The Luxury of Blue Mind Space

November 7, 2023What does luxury mean in an era when the mega-rich seemingly have access to every conceivable item of value that’s out there to be had. For those who are mindful, the answer is easy, luxury hasn’t disappeared or lost its appeal, it has just changed its meaning to reflect the desirability of something so priceless that even money can’t buy it. After a lifetime of overstimulation derived from opulence and extravagance, high net worth individuals are finding themselves competing in a scarce open market for...

Is Home Where the Heart Is

November 6, 2023Continuing the conversation….. weaving a number of current themes together, like the crazy new normal of the marketplace with its record high prices and historic low inventory. And the market’s impact on affordability and availability issues that are at the heart of the housing crisis (after 40 years of slow growth). And how our rapidly aging demographic has morphed into a perfect storm that exacerbates housing challenges in ways no one ever really anticipated. Here in 2023, all the underlying factors that drive the market...

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...