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        <title>Santa Cruz Real Estate News &amp; Information</title>
        <link>https://www.mysantacruzrealestate.com/blog/2019-06/</link>
        <description>Lifestyle, community, day trips, restaurants, real estate, home improvements, and more. Discover what makes Santa Cruz County such a great place to live. Presented by My Santa Cruz Real Estate.</description>
<item>
    <guid>https://www.mysantacruzrealestate.com/blog/preparing-your-santa-cruz-home-to-sell-in-summer.html</guid>
    <link>https://www.mysantacruzrealestate.com/blog/preparing-your-santa-cruz-home-to-sell-in-summer.html</link>
        <author>lauren@laurenspencer.com (Lauren Spencer)</author>
        <title>Preparing Your Santa Cruz Home to Sell in Summer</title>
    <description> <![CDATA[ 



Santa Cruz is irresistible during the summertime with its dreamy beaches and world-renowned surfing waves.


People from across the nation relocate to Santa Cruz during this time, hoping to make the city’s vacation lifestyle their reality.


The influx of buyers during the summer makes this the perfect time to sell your home


But it also makes the summer the most competitive time to sell a home. You’ll want to make sure your home stands out of the crowd so you can get the best offer possible and fast.


Here are five home selling tips to prepare your Santa Cruz home for the market this summer season:


1. Use the Weather to Your Advantage


Santa Cruz is beautiful all year round, but especially during the summer when the greenery is lush and the flowers are blooming. The summer setting will naturally make your home dazzle. So use it to your advantage


Santa Cruz’s blue sky and golden sun make for perfect photo shoot opportunities. Take listing photos during this time so your home is highlighted by the weather.


Your house is located in one of the top beach towns in the nation. When your listing photos have phenomenal weather in the background, not only are you selling your home, but your city as well.


2. Make Your Interiors Sparkle


One of the most important aspects of selling your home is making it desirable to potential buyers. And there’s nothing nicer than walking into a sparkling clean home.


Selling your home in the summer means you have the whole of spring to get cleaning


You’ll want to scrub anything that might be able to sparkle. This means washing your windows and wiping your countertops. You’ll even want to dust that top shelf you can never seem to reach.


Cleaning up your home also involves clearing out extra goods that you’ve accumulated over the time you’ve lived there. It’s a good idea to box up anything that’s piling up or cluttering your space. You’ll be moving soon, so you might as well start packing some things early


3. Stage Your Home for Summertime


Marketing your home to its greatest potential is crucial for selling in a competitive market. So, you’ll want to stage your home to highlight its best features.


You can easily do this by moving furniture around your space and decorating nooks and crannies. Open up your drapes to let natural light flood into your living spaces.


Decorate your home for the summer season with colorful accents and accessories. If you want to go the extra mile, add small details like flowers and houseplants to bring your living room to life.


Make your home the only place a potential buyer will want to spend their summertime


4. Manicure Your Lawn


The exterior of your home is the first thing potential homebuyers see, so make a good impression You can do this by landscaping.


Spruce up your curb appeal by mowing your lawn and watering your flowers.


It’s important to clean up any dead leaves and debris that has accumulated over the springtime.


You don’t want to have your home hidden, so trim back any low-hanging branches and overgrown greenery. This way the beauty of your home will be highlighted by your landscaping.


Cleaning up your front and back yards make all the difference when your selling your home in the summer. The small details accumulate to make a big difference.


5. Get the Right Real Estate Agent for You


Selling a home on your own is hard work, especially in a competitive market like Santa Cruz. So, get a real estate agent


You want an agent who knows the Santa Cruz area and how to make your home stand out in a competitive market.


If you’re wanting to sell your home this summer, contact Lauren Spenser to make sure all of your home seller’s questions are answered
 ]]> </description>
    <pubDate>Wed, 26 Jun 2019 10:52:00 -0700</pubDate>
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    <guid>https://www.mysantacruzrealestate.com/blog/community-spotlight-scotts-valley.html</guid>
    <link>https://www.mysantacruzrealestate.com/blog/community-spotlight-scotts-valley.html</link>
        <author>lauren@laurenspencer.com (Lauren Spencer)</author>
        <title>Community Spotlight: Scotts Valley</title>
    <description> <![CDATA[ 




Nestled in the Santa Cruz mountains, Scotts Valley is the gateway to the coastal redwood forests and some of California’s most incredible state parks. Scotts Valley is the place to be for those who love nature. With massive forested areas and streaming creeks found around the city, there are seemingly endless opportunities to get outdoors.


Scotts Valley's Diverse Real Estate


Homes for sale in Scotts Valley range in size and price, making this community welcoming to all types of buyers. You can find anything from new construction homes to mature properties to luxury estates. Additionally, the area is also home to California beach properties and mid-century modern builds. These homes are found on massive lots that are shaded by mature trees. Scotts Valley homes for sale often have large decks, perfect for outdoor entertaining.



Homes in neighborhoods like Glenwood Estates and Manana Woods have particularly large properties, which are rare finds in the Santa Cruz area. Monte Fiore is a gated community in Scotts Valley where you’ll find some of the most lavish, custom homes on the market. These homes oftentimes have luxury amenities, like swimming pools and media rooms. No matter what you choose to buy in Scotts Valley, you’ll forever be impressed by the city’s laidback lifestyle.


Living the Scotts Valley Lifestyle


Scotts Valley’s easy-going lifestyle is enviable, attracting people to this city from across the nation. Residents of gorgeous Scotts Valley get the peace and quiet of living in a suburb, with all the amenities and excitement of Santa Cruz. The world-renowned beaches of Santa Cruz are only a 15 minute drive away, so you can surf or swim whenever your heart desires.



You don’t have to leave Scotts Valley to experience the wonderful California outdoors. The city is teaming with walking trails and parks right at your doorstep. Scotts Valley is known for its redwood cedars and bodies of water that make for incredible hiking and walking excursions. Some of the most popular locations to get outdoors are Lodato Park, Eagle’s Landing, and Henry Cowell Redwood State Park. Bean Creek, Carbonera Creek, Mackenzie Creek, and San Lorenzo River all run through the city, giving the area tons of walking trails along natural waterways.



Scotts Valley has great activities for the whole family. Kings Village Shopping Center is a great destination to pick up your basics or go to the beauty salon. The valley has a local movie theater for a fun night out. Valley Garden Golf Course has a 9-hole golf course where you can play a round with friends at tee-time.



Other terrific places to visit in the city include Camp Evers Fishing Park, where you can fish, picnic, and barbecue. Check out Siltanen Park where there are sports fields, public swimming pools, and barbecue pits. There are tons of great things to do in Scotts Valley, making this one of the best communities in the Santa Cruz area.


Scotts Valley's Vibrant Community


Scotts Valley is located 5 miles inland from Santa Cruz, giving it a warmer climate. One of the best things about this city is its proximity to all of the amazing amenities Santa Cruz has to offer, including its fantastic beaches, top-rated restaurants, and high-end shopping centers.



Scotts Valley is also a short 30-minute drive from San Jose’s Silicon Valley, so commuting is easy for those who work in the big city. Young professionals and families alike have been relocating to Santa Cruz for its broadening tech industry. With America’s technology hub so close by, Scotts Valley is breaking into the industry by welcoming influential tech companies like Looker and Fullpower Technologies.



Scotts Valley has a ton of top-quality restaurants that offer a broad range of international cuisine. This city is also known to have some of the best nightlife in the area. With plenty of bars and nightclubs, there’s always something to do on a Friday night.



Families are attracted to this area for its family-oriented neighborhoods that have parks and playgrounds nearby. Scotts Valley also has the top-rated public schools in the Santa Cruz area, so your children can get the best education possible.



You may find that moving to Scotts Valley is one of the best decisions you’ve ever made. The amazing neighborhoods in the city welcome those from all walks of life, offering tons of amenities and activities for everyone.


Check Out the Latest Listings:





View Scotts Valley Real Estate Listings


 


If you’re interested in buying a home in Scotts Valley, contact one of our agents today We’re always happy to help you with all your real estate needs.
 ]]> </description>
    <pubDate>Wed, 19 Jun 2019 08:43:00 -0700</pubDate>
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<item>
    <guid>https://www.mysantacruzrealestate.com/blog/green-home-trends-for-2019.html</guid>
    <link>https://www.mysantacruzrealestate.com/blog/green-home-trends-for-2019.html</link>
        <author>lauren@laurenspencer.com (Lauren Spencer)</author>
        <title>Green Home Trends for 2019</title>
    <description> <![CDATA[ 



&quot;Going green&quot; has been big news in real estate for some time now. The benefits are undeniable: less waste, more savings, and the growing appeal to an ever expanding market of environmentally conscious home buyers.


Going green isn't just about recycling your trash, turning the lights off, or the ol' brick-in-the-cistern trick. And we're also some ways past the era of simply putting a solar panel and some extra insulation on a home and calling it &quot;green&quot;.


So, where are we in the race towards sustainability? Well 2019 is set to be great for exciting new innovations, as well as some interesting variations on older ideas.


Read on to find out more...


Green Home Construction


More and more, the drive towards greener homes is taking into consideration the entire lifespan of the home, and that starts with construction and materials.


While the focus of this post is changes that you can make going forward, one interesting development on the construction front is the rise of prefabricated homes. Building a home in a factory and then shipping the parts to be re-constructed elsewhere involves less waste, better engineering, quicker construction, and easier transportation.


Similarly, &quot;upcycling&quot; shipping containers has been popular for some time now, and this trend is set to continue as architects and homebuilders find ever more uses for these versatile building blocks.


But rather than upcycling or recycling, new trends in green materials are emphasizing some new (or unconventional) materials altogether. From swapping out hardwood flooring for bamboo, or bamboo for concrete, homes are becoming cheaper to build, and easier to maintain.


For example, new composite technology in window production is providing the opportunity for larger windows, with less temperature exchange. Overall the move is towards materials that are more sustainable, easier to source, longer lasting, and more energy efficient for the home.


Which brings us to the next big trend for 2019...


Energy Efficiency


Day-to-day efficiency is of huge importance for those looking to go green. Not only that, but a more efficient home is also a cheaper home. You stand to make some real savings by going green.


For a start, the concern for ever bigger properties is starting to wane. Instead, more and more buyers are looking for sensible, modern condos, or homes a bit on the smaller size. As these buyers have discovered, smaller properties have a range of benefits, from larger relative yard space, to easier cleaning and maintenance, to energy efficiency.


Next on the list is the growing number of adaptive or dynamic home systems on the market. Here specifically, systems that integrate data to better regulate a home's heating and lighting are really taking off. These systems typically use information like weather, and usage patterns to manage cycles of light and heat in the home for maximum efficiency.


A new wave of these systems are moving towards integration with existing devices, like phones or tablets, allowing for remote control, using GPS information, and communication with a range of smart devices.


The smart devices, in turn, come with a range of new enhancements, including the the ability to stop drawing power when batteries are full - something which few people think off, but it really makes a difference


Greener Gardens


A home isn't just a house - if you have a yard, then it includes your beautiful garden as well. And given the recent dry spells we've been having, more gardeners in Santa Cruz are becoming conscious of both the impact their yard is having, and how to minimize the impact on their yard. After all, no one wants a brown lawn half the year.


To begin with, installing rain barrels is becoming more popular as a way to smooth out water supply through the drier days.


Also, home owners are increasingly moving towards more drought-resistant gardens through landscaping and opting for more native plants. There are many great resources to help you grow your resource-efficient garden, so it's never been easier to get started. As an added bonus, native plants are more likely to attract some beautiful bugs and birds to your garden.


So, moving into 2019, my advice is to keep a look out for new home-integrated technologies entering the market. These may look like expensive and overly fancy contrivances at first, but the long-term savings are real and significant, as well as the reduction on your home's environmental impact.
 ]]> </description>
    <pubDate>Wed, 12 Jun 2019 09:33:00 -0700</pubDate>
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