Santa Cruz County Prices and Sales

Now is a fabulous time to take advantage of today's real estate market and boost your investment portfolio with Santa Cruz short sales. Here are the top ten reasons why investing in short sales might be beneficial for you:

1. Short sales benefit buyers, sellers and investors. You get to help a lender and homeowner out of a tough financial situation.
2. You can make a nice profit because Santa Cruz short sales are priced at or below market.
3. Banks are closing them faster than ever before and, from start to finish, it’s not as painful as it used to be.
4. There is a huge inventory of short sales from which to choose.
5. The competition is low because there aren’t enough investors to gobble them all up.
6. It doesn’t take a ton of time. You’ll spend even less…

In today’s precarious job market, many luxury homeowners are finding they can’t afford their massive, custom-designed properties any longer. As the once rich are having to quickly sell or abandon their Santa Cruz real estate, you might be able to snag a good deal on a distressed luxury home.

There are many horror stories associated with short sales and foreclosures, but if you do your research, are patient and can act quickly, you might be able to purchase the home of your dreams. If you want to take advantage of this sour market, then consider the following guidelines — and happy house hunting!

• Find an agent who has experience with distressed real estate. Interview Santa Cruz real estate agents to find out their history of dealing with foreclosures…

In the recent downturn of the economy, many homes nationwide as well as homes in Santa Cruz have taken a dive in value. As a result, they may not be the nest eggs that potential retirees were hoping for. Now, retirees need to know their options and what to do with their homes in Santa Cruz.

If you find yourself in this predicament and aren’t sure what to do, speak with your financial expert and review the following options for your financial future so that you can retire on time — and enjoy it!

• Wait it out. Most retirees want to try this tactic and are hoping that the housing market will rebound. However, if your property’s upkeep costs, such as taxes, insurance and utilities, continue to rise, you might need to consider other options.

• Pay down the…

Buying a home is a business transaction, but it’s hard to keep emotions completely out of the process. Most sellers in today’s market already know that they need to avoid unnecessarily angering their buyers. And buyers shouldn’t make the mistake of thinking that just because the Santa Cruz real estate market is down they can get away with annoying sellers. Keep your cool this summer and avoid upsetting sellers so that your home purchase goes smoothly and for a fair price.

• Don’t put down their home. By pointing out everything that is wrong with a house, you could force the sellers to take less money, but this strategy hardly ever works. You’re more likely to anger the seller to the point that they won’t continue negotiations. That doesn’t mean you can’t…

The real estate market is flooded with homes for sale.   Interest rates are at an all time low on fixed rate mortgages.  And, terms for acquiring a home loan are still fairly open.  This is expected to change and possibly soon, which means now is prime time to buy Santa Cruz homes for sale.

To help you with this process, here are answers to four of the most popular questions I’ve recently received from home buyers:
 
Q:  Where can I find the best deal on Santa Cruz homes for sale?
A:  The answer is almost anywhere.  Because homes are sitting on the market for a long time, most homeowners are more willing than ever to negotiate.

Q:  What about buying new construction?
A:  The option for new construction is open to more people than ever before.  Builders are…

The Santa Cruz real estate market is still a buyer’s market which means, as a buyer, you can get a good price on a home.  However, if you know what to look for, there are properties on which you can get a great price.
Here are three areas of the Santa Cruz real estate market that generally offer the best prices:

1. Homes that have been on the market for several weeks (or months!) -  Have your real estate agent send you homes that have been on the market for several weeks or months.  These property owners are more motivated to sell than the owners of newly listed homes.  They’re more willing to negotiate for lower prices or even give you extras such as home warranties or paying a portion of your closing costs.

2. Bank owned properties.  Bank owned…

Most, if not all, Santa Cruz real estate buyers begin with an Internet property search. Even buyers who are working with real estate agents start the weed-out process on the Web.

Because real estate has such a strong virtual presence these days, smart internet marketing (including price setting) is an absolute must for selling your home quickly.  Here are a few pricing techniques to maximize the number of potential buyers who find your home when they search for Santa Cruz real estate online:

• The theory of 9s - Most real estate search engines have parameters that filter listings based on $25,000 or $50,000 price blocks. For instance, you can search for houses valued $150,000-$200,000 or $200,000-$250,000. Many sellers don’t seem to take this into…

If your home is sitting on the market month after month, or you’re only receiving ridiculously low offers, then you might be committing one of several common selling slip-ups. Some homes almost sell themselves, but if you don’t have that amazing home in the perfect location, you’ll need to be especially careful that you’re not committing one these four easily-avoidable Santa Cruz real estate mistakes.

1. Your home is priced too high. If no one’s even looking at your house, it may be priced above market value. Check out the competition, and reevaluate how badly you need to sell. If you’re unwilling to drop the price to get buyers through the front door, maybe it’s not a good time for you to sell.

2. Your house isn’t marketed well. Make sure you and your…

Do you think you have a good handle on what a reasonable price would be for your Santa Cruz home for sale? In today’s rollercoaster real estate market, the right price could be the difference between a quick sale and your house sitting for months without a single bite.

REALTORS® are experts when it comes to housing market values. However, if you’re planning on selling your house yourself, do you even know where to begin? Below are four tips the pros use to set a price that gets potential buyers in the door and still allows you to get the most money from the sale of your property.

Four tips to price your Santa Cruz home for sale like a pro:

1. Study your history – Take a look at what properties in your neighborhood sold for when you bought your house…

Frequently, there are news stories that impact our Santa Cruz  real estate market.  Here are two I want to share with you this month:

Rising Interest Rates Could Get Buyers Moving

Rising interest rates may finally push Santa Cruz  real estate buyers off the fence and into the market.

In December, after President Obama agreed to extend tax cuts for two years, the financial markets  indicated this event would most likely push mortgage interest rates higher.

Analysts predict that buyers will move quickly when it looks like rates are going up and are unlikely to come down. "Once people see this might actually be the bottom, they’ll go for it," says Paul Dales, U.S. economist at Capital Economics Ltd.

For an example of interest rate increases, note what…