Sales slowed significantly in November as interest rates remained high and the holiday season brought its predictable cold market. Although Santa Cruz County real estate agents expected that slowdown, they say the past year has been an interesting one in the local housing market. Buyers had to come to terms with high rates, and a cooler market put more power into buyers’ hands.
Housing & Development
Posted inHousing & Development
Santa Cruz plans high-rise living as a fix for sky-high housing costs — and meets opposition
The high-rise push has spawned a backlash, exposing sharp divisions over growth and underscoring the complexities, even in a city known for its progressive politics, of trying to keep desirable communities affordable for the teachers, waiters, firefighters and store clerks who provide the bulk of services.
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Major downtown Santa Cruz rental housing projects near completion
As the year comes to an end, three housing projects in downtown Santa Cruz are nearly finished. The Cedar Street Family Apartments, an affordable housing complex, is set to welcome residents in February, while the market-rate Anton Pacific apartments aim for move-ins by the end of that month. The developers of Pacific Station South, also intended as affordable housing, expect the project to open in May or June.
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Santa Cruz County’s state-mandated housing plan opens new doors to development
Last year, Santa Cruz County learned it would need to permit more than 4,600 new, state-mandated housing units by 2031 — an unprecedented boost in housing supply. Last week, the county approved its plan to make room for that new housing.
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Housing market picks up slightly in October after slow start to fall season
Santa Cruz County’s housing market picked up slightly in October despite a slow start to the often-busy fall season, but very high interest rates remain the driving force of low inventory and slow sales. Real estate agents still believe rates will fall within the next year or so, but there’s no certainty about when that might be.
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‘Midtown’ vs. ‘Eastside’: Local readers have their say
After Wallace Baine went looking for whether the part of Santa Cruz east of downtown should be called “Midtown” or “Eastside,” we polled Lookout readers for their opinions. Many weighed in, and though one option was the clear favorite, it definitely wasn’t a debate-ending landslide.
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Santa Cruz County housing market slows amid skyrocketing mortgage rates
Mortgage rates reached a new high in early October, leading to a slow start for the housing market’s typically busy fall season. Some buyers have pulled back, while others are paying below asking price, opening the door for some who have been beaten out by cash buyers in recent years.
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Inside Santa Cruz’s ambitious downtown expansion plans: 12-story towers and a new multipurpose Warriors arena
A new arena for the Santa Cruz Warriors. Lots of new housing in tall buildings. Street reconfiguration. These factors are all in play as Santa Cruz officials prepare to update the public on where things stand with the neighborhood south of Laurel Street downtown — and a ballot measure governing building heights and affordability could yet change the calculus.
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What will the new Santa Cruz look like? Readers sound off
Wallace Baine asked what Lookout readers thought Santa Cruz’s vibe was and how public art should communicate that as the city undergoes its big makeover. From murals to a riverside sculpture garden to hanging art in alleyways, the response showed that there is no dearth of interest, ideas and energy when it comes to bringing a sense of personality and identification to a new downtown.
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Can’t afford California? Try living in a tiny sleeping pod. All 4 feet of it
Two young entrepreneurs who themselves struggled to remain housed now run a company that aims to create affordable dwellings in California’s biggest cities.