In a challenging year for home sales, the latest report from the National Association of Realtors revealed that pending home sales in the United States remained at a 20-year low in November. After a significant drop in October, November showed a stabilization, but the pending home sales index still reflected a 5.2% decrease compared to the previous year.
Hi, I’m Shemeika Fox, your Santa Cruz Real Estate Expert and personalized Real Estate Concierge.
Lawrence Yun, the NAR chief economist, noted that despite the lack of formal contracts, there’s a noticeable surge in interest, evident from increased lockbox openings. Yun remains optimistic, predicting a potential improvement in home sales for 2024, especially with mortgage rates falling further in December, potentially resulting in savings of around $300 per month compared to the recent rate peak.
Mortgage rates have been on a downward trajectory, currently sitting at 6.67% for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage as of December 21. This rate marks a decline from previous weeks but remains higher than last year. Concurrently, the housing inventory remains constrained.
Stay informed for more updates on the housing market trends and how these shifts might influence buying and selling patterns in the foreseeable future.
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Right here in Santa Cruz there are some magical wonders to explore in the month of January.. If you are looking for something special to do and or see in Santa Cruz, I have a few favorite recommendations.
Check out California Gray Whale Migration. Don’t miss the approximately 20,000 gray whales as they pass by Santa Cruz on their annual migration between the Bering Sea in Alaska and Baja California.
Or see if you can spot the Monarchs as they migrate:
Monarch Butterflies can be seen at Natural Bridges Natural Bridges Park’s Monarch Grove provides a temporary home for up to 100,000 Monarchs each winter.
And truly a spectacle not to be believed, the Elephant Seals at Ano Nuevo. So named because of their large size and long pendulous noses on the males. These large animals spend most of their lives at sea, coming ashore only to molt, give birth, and mate.
If you are lucky, you may even see two of the males fight.. Their enormous bodies shake the ground as they pursue a match. Truly a sight to be seen!
Now lets take a look at the local Santa Cruz, CA housing market.
For single family homes in Santa Cruz County, the sales-price-to-list-price ratio decreased slightly from 99.3% in November to 97.6% in December… which has increased from 98.3% a year ago in December of 2022.
The average days on market for single family homes for the month of December was 44 days, which is a somewhat significant increase from 28 days on the market in November… and a slight increase from 37 days on the market a year ago, December of 2022.
The number of active listings for the month of December for single family homes came in at 201 homes, and the number of single family homes that sold in Santa Cruz County came in at 79, with the median sales price decreasing from $1,280,000 million in November to $1,050,000 in December 2023… The median sales price is down from December of 2022 which was $1,149,000
Common interest properties in Santa Cruz County, sales-price-to-list-price ratio is down from the previous month of November 2023 at 98.8% to 97.5% in December 2023. This is down from last December 2022 when the list to sales price ratio was at 100.3%.
The average days on market for condos and townhomes for the month of December came in at 31 days on the market, which is up by only 1 day in November 2023, with the average days on market for November 2023 coming in at 30 days on market. The average days on market has increased by only one day from 30 days on market in December of 2022.
The median sales price for condos and townhomes was $$782,500 for the month of December, which has increased from $712,500 in the month of November 2023… This median sales price is down from $813,500 a year ago, in December of 2022.
The number of active listings was 54 in December 2023, and the number of sales for condos/townhomes increased from 22 closed in November to 24 closed homes in December 2023. Which is up from 22 units that closed last year, in December of 2022.
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Thanks for tuning in! I’m Shemeika Fox, your Santa Cruz Real Estate expert and personalized real estate concierge. Call me today to schedule a confidential, complimentary consultation.
