Santa Cruz Real Estate Market Update: May 2021
Hey, Santa Cruz, are you ready for your Santa Cruz real estate market update?
Hi, I’m Shemeika Fox, Your Santa Cruz real estate expert, and what an absolutely exciting and a little bit crazy time to be in the real estate market.
In all of my 16 years of experience selling Santa Cruz real estate, I have never experienced what we are seeing right now in 2021 in the Santa Cruz real estate market. Homes are literally flying off the shelf. Bidding wars and multiple offers are getting giving sellers more leverage than ever before. Home buyers are doing things like removing all of their contingencies, increasing their deposits, giving insane rent backs to the sellers, not asking for any repairs or concessions. Santa Cruz buyers are doing whatever it takes to get their offer accepted.
According to Freddie Mac, the main driver of the housing shortfall has been the long-term decline in the construction of single family homes. And that decline has been exacerbated by an even larger decrease in the supply of entry level single family homes or starter homes. For years tight housing supply has been the sore spot for an otherwise healthy housing market. Inventory of both new and existing homes for sale, is currently at a historical low.
There are various reasons why housing supply has not been able to keep up with the rising household demand. A few of the most often cited reasons for housing shortages are the lack of available construction labor. 81% of the construction firms surveyed by associated general contractors of America in 2021, cited this issue. Land use regulations, zoning restrictions preventing some supply from picking up in areas which have the most demand, lack of land developers and lack of land to develop. In recent years increasing raw material costs have also been adding to the builder’s woes, especially during the pandemic when lumber prices increased more than 150%, but one of the most important reasons for this shortfall has been the severe under building of entry-level homes where most of the demand exists, especially now given the large cohort of millennials entering the housing market.
The main driver of the housing shortfall has been the long-term decline in the construction of single family homes. That decline has been exacerbated by an even larger decrease in the supply of entry-level single family homes or starter homes. Ultimately, it looks like we need to add more single family homes into the mix here in Santa Cruz.
The median days on market for the county of Santa Cruz is eight days. The national average days on market is 21 days. The median list price for a home in Santa Cruz is 1,265,000 and is selling for 108% of the actual list price. Inventory was up 19% from March and down 22% from April of 2020 with 278 homes available compared to 357 last year. Average days on market decreased by 20 days from 35 to 15 or down 57%. The number of new listings from the month of April increased 25% over March, but is up 86% from April of last year. Closed sales increased 36% from March from 150 to 204 homes sold. This is up 117% from April, 2020.
So as you can see, the Santa Cruz real estate market is on fire and home buyers are in need of properties. If you’re looking to get the most return on your investment and more money in your pocket, and you’re considering selling your home, with minimal hassle, there has never been a better time to sell your your Santa Cruz home. And during this time, Fox Realty Group is offering COMPLIMENTARY cleaning and staging services for anyone who decides to sell their home with us! Our goal is not only to obtain the best offer with the highest price and terms, but to also support our sellers through the entire home selling process. With over 16 years of experience, we excel in preparing properties for market, strategic, individualized, creative marketing plans and successful negotiations. And we would love the opportunity to work for you.
And if you’re considering making a move to be apart of the Santa Cruz Community, I would love to help you find your dream home and strategize with you on how to get an offer accepted. Fox Realty Group has been successful in getting our home buyer’s offers accepted during this crazy market and we would love to help you achieve your Santa Cruz real estate goals as well.
For a complimentary and confidential consultation, please reach out to us.
I’m Shemeika Fox, your Santa Cruz real estate expert. And as always, I’m here to help.
