Santa Cruz Mountain Winegrowers Passport Days   This Saturday will mark the 20th year that the Winegrowers of the Santa Cruz Mountains will be having their passport days. Passport days were created in order to celebrate the rich history of the wingrowers, vintners and families that make up the tradition of winegrowing in the Santa Cruz Mountains. These celebrations occur on the third Saturday of January, April, July and November.    On passport days guests are welcome into over 30 different wineries in the Santa Cruz Mountains where each will have their own sampling of wines and gourmet foods and entertainment. Most wineries are closed to the public on passport days so this is a great opportunity to meet the winegrowers in a unique personal setting as each winery has its own theme durin... 07/19/2013

  Keep Santa Cruz weird. That is the tag line for the Santa Cruz Fringe Festival which began this Thursday and will run until the 20th of July. The Fringe Festival is in its second year in Santa Cruz and will feature nearly 200 performances from roughly 40 unique acts. The Santa Cruz Fringe Festival will feature perfomances from a variety of styles and audiences, these performances will range from dance, comedy, theatre, circus acts, musical theatre, puppetry, dance and even kids shows, there is something for everyone at the Santa Cruz Fringe Festival.  Some events will be  avant-garde and out of the box and others will focus on more traditional cultural productions. All performances are short and the ticket prices are inexpensive, making seeing multiple shows or intergrating them into ... 07/12/2013

Here are the Condos that are currently for sale in coastal town of Santa Cruz, CA 95060.  Santa Cruz is a town of about 60,000 people nad is on the coast of the pacific ocean, at the northern end of Monterey Bay.  Known for its surfing, restaurants, Boardwalk and proximity to Silicon Valley, it is a favorite place to own a home or have a second home.  The favorable Mediterranean climate makes it a wonderful place to live.      07/07/2013

   Here are the Condos that are currently for sale in coastal town of Santa Cruz, CA 95062.  Santa Cruz is a town of about 60,000 people nad is on the coast of the pacific ocean, at the northern end of Monterey Bay.  Known for its surfing, restaurants, Boardwalk and proximity to Silicon Valley, it is a favorite place to own a home or have a second home.  The favorable Mediterranean climate makes it a wonderful place to live.    07/07/2013

Here are the homes that are currently for sale in coastal town of Santa Cruz, CA 95062.  Santa Cruz is a town of about 60,000 people nad is on the coast of the pacific ocean, at the northern end of Monterey Bay.  Known for its surfing, restaurants, Boardwalk and proximity to Silicon Valley, it is a favorite place to own a home or have a second home.  The favorable mediterranean climate makes it a wonderful place to live.    07/07/2013

Here are the homes that are currently for sale in coastal town of Santa Cruz, CA 95060.  Santa Cruz is a town of about 60,000 people nad is on the coast of the pacific ocean, at the northern end of Monterey Bay.  Known for its surfing, restaurants, Boardwalk and proximity to Silicon Valley, it is a favorite place to own a home or have a second home.  The favorable mediterranean climate makes it a wonderful place to live.   07/07/2013

First Friday It is another beautiful First Friday in Santa Cruz county fresh off the Fourth of July holiday, here are some events and venues you can attend this weekend.   Santa Cruz Art League: Black and White This First Friday will be the opening of the Santa Cruz Art League's new Black and White exhibit. The new exhibit will combine both 2D and 3D displays of art pieces focusing on the themes of Black and White. The Black and White exhibit will open this Friday July 5th and will run to August 4th. The exhibit will be open on Wednesday to Saturday from 12 to 5 p.m. and from Sundays to 12 to 4 p.m and is located at 526 Broadway, Santa Cruz.  The Santa Cruz Art League was founded in 1919 by eleven artists looking to share their art and motivate one another in their artistic goals. The a... 07/05/2013

PLEASURE POINT SANTA CRUZ - HOMES FOR SALE You can't beat Pleasure Point in Santa Cruz for an ideal beach neighborhood with a small community feel.  In Pleasure Point you are steps to world class surfing for both beginners and advanced surfers, great restaurants, coffee, ice cream, surf shops - you have it all!  Pleasure Point is located between Capitola and the Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor, starting at 41st Ave and going north.  Living in Pleasure Point - Santa Cruz you can walk to almost anything and really get to know your neighbors.  Pleasure Point homes for sale have everything from gorgeous ocean view homes to funky but charming beach cottages.  There really is something for everyone in Pleasure Point.    Prices of homes for sale in Pleasure Point can vary widely.  So far this year (20... 06/25/2013

  This Saturday June 22nd will mark the first annual Pleasure Point Business Association Street Fair, the first event of its kind in Pleasure Point. The fair will bring together the various elements of our diverse and beautiful Pleasure Point community. At the fair there will be live music from bands such as The Mermen, The Spell and The Shapes there will also be food from a variety of great vendors from Pleasure Point, art displays as well as a skate contest. The event will take place on Portola Drive between 38th and 41st avenue, these streets will be closed off between 8 am and 8 pm with the event itself taking place between 11 am and 5 pm. If you would like more information about other events and life in Pleasure Point, check out the Pleasure Point Guide website.    Proceeds from t... 06/20/2013

  Father's Day is this weekend, so make sure to do something great for him this weekend. While you might think about buying him another tie, why not take advantage of some of the great events that are taking place here in the Central Coast. Here are a few ideas of some of the fun events you can take Dad out to this weekend.      If dad is a wine lover make sure to take him out the Alfaro winery. This Sunday is the start of their new summer hours for their tasting rooms which will run Saturdays and Sundays from 12 to 5 pm through September 1st. The Alfaro Vineyard was started by Richard Alfaro and his wife Mary Kay in 1997 and have recently had 8 acres of their vineyard certified California Organic.    If you and Dad are more inclined towards beer, there is the Monterey Beer Festival th... 06/14/2013

PASATIEMPO - LUXURY HOME GATED COMMUNITY IN SANTA CRUZ Pasatiempo is a luxury gated home community in Santa Cruz located right on a world class golf course.  The Pasatiempo gated community is located just off Highway 17 between Scotts Valley and  Santa Cruz.  If you are looking for a luxury home in a gorgeous setting - Pasatiempo Santa Cruz gated community homes may be the place for you.  You don't have to be an avid golfer to appreciate living in Pasatiempo.  Many Pasatiempo homes for sale have ocean views and views of the Santa Cruz mountains.     Driving through the Pasatiempo gated home community you will see that there are various homes styles - everything from expansive Mediterranean homes, modern style homes to classic 1960's ranch homes.  There are beautiful oak trees, eucalyptu... 06/10/2013

Santa Cruz Longboard Union Memorial Day Invitational The weather is looking sunny this Memorial weekend, which will be perfect for the Santa Cruz Longboard Union Memorial Day Invitational! Spend the day at Steamer Lane and watch the longest-running longboard contest in existence. From May 25-26th, over 100 contestants will compete and the proceeds from the event benefit Jacob’s Heart Children’s Cancer Support Services and Ride-a-Wave Foundation, Inc. There will also be a Mega-Surfboard Raffle! A $2 raffle ticket might win you one of 8 handcrafted surfboards by local shapers. A $1 raffle ticket could win a new Go-Pro or many other prizes. The surfers won’t be the only winners at this event! In past years, the raffle raised over $3,000 for Jacob’s Heart and Ride-a-Wave.   The Santa Cruz L... 05/23/2013

HOMES FOR SALE IN SEABRIGHT SANTA CRUZ - MARKET UPDATE Seabright is a neighborhood in Santa Cruz located between Downtown Santa Cruz and the Yacht Harbor.  Seabright is filled with great homes - Craftsman style, Victorians and ocean view homes.  Many people want to live in Seabright because of the proximity to the beach, restaurants, Highway 1 and the great community.   Let's take a look at what has been going on with homes for sale in Seabright so far this year. The highest home sale in Seabright so far in 2013 was on Ocean View Avenue - it sold for $1,600,000 The lowest priced home for sale in Seabright was a fixer on Pine Street that sold for $400,000 in February 2013. The median home sale price in Seabright from January to May 2013 was about $853,000 We are seeing many Seabright hom... 05/15/2013

Getting Involved In the Community: Friends of the Santa Cruz Public Libraries Spring Book Sale Whether you have just moved into Santa Cruz or are a long time resident, getting involved in the community will build your personal network and contribute to the growth of local organizations. A non-profit that I truly admire is the Friends of the Santa Cruz Public Libraries. The Friends believe that our libraries are now more important that ever and are dedicated to supporting the Santa Cruz Public Libraries. They work to advocate for our libraries and support our libraries’ children’s literacy programs, book and media purchases, concerts, author talks, community reading programs, technical and facilities upgrades and more.    Being a non-profit, you can’t deny the importance of the volunteer... 05/14/2013

HOMES FOR SALE ON THE WESTSIDE OF SANTA CRUZ - ARE PRICES GOING UP? Are prices going up for homes for sale on the Westside of Santa Cruz?  Yes, home prices are trending up on the Westside.  With the low number of homes for sale in Santa Cruz and many people wanting to buy in our beautiful Santa Cruz area, prices are starting to climb. GRAPH OF WESTSIDE SANTA CRUZ MEDIAN HOME SALE PRICES JUNE 2012- MAY 2013   Looking at the graph above you can see that home prices of Westside Santa Cruz homes started to trend upwards beginning in 2013 but we were already seeing many homes with multiple offers last year.  The Westside of Santa Cruz is a highly desirable area due to the geographically stunning location, proximity to shopping, restaurants, beaches and UCSC.  We have many 2nd home buyers, ca... 05/05/2013

The SANTA CRUZ FIRECRACKER 10K, 5K and Kids Run   As a newer member of the Sunrise Rotary Club, I am proud to share and be a part of this event. It's going to be a great day full of fun. Check out the information below and view the video highlights from last years run. For extended details and past photos visit the website HERE. We also have created a Facebook Fan page and ticket outlet through Eventbrite. It's that time of year again! Registration is open for this year's race (Thursday, July 4, 2013). But don’t wait, the price goes up on June 4th, 2013, and we anticipate a sell-out this year. Yes, that’s right, we may not have any spots left on Race Day, so SIGN UP EARLY! Mail entries must be received by June 4th, to get the early bird pricing, so SIGN UP EARLY! As you know this race i... 04/18/2013

Spent many a weekend in Santa Cruz in my teen years. Lots of fun memories there including going there the day after graduation from high school.  Got an FHA 203k project near the Boardwalk in Santa Cruz. The client picked up a duplex that needed considerable work and now we're well underway. The contractor is Elite Construction and though this is the first project we have going together he's already on another project with me in San Jose and I believe he is bidding on another one for one of my crew. When we find a good contractor sometimes we show our appreciation by giving them too much work. I'm sure Eric doesn't think we're giving them too much work at the moment, but Eric, sit back and watch us grow together. I've only seen a small amount of his work so far but what I've seen is ver... 04/13/2013

 Walk Score on West Cliff Drive in Santa Cruz   What is walk score? It a number from zero to infiniti I presume because after all we have walked on the moon. The higher the score the better your walk ability is. I have lived in Santa Cruz California since 1976. Of course one of the reason I live here is for the beach and ocean. I enjoy a walk on any beach, by a river, and in the mountains so how do you rate it. Walk Score, started in July of 2007, helps people determine the “walkability” of an individual home with an algorithm that awards points based on the distance to the closest amenities.  What does this mean for you? For the buyers, it means that you can now get a general feel for how walker friendly a particular home is in a neighborhood. For home owners it adds value to your home... 04/12/2013

Santa Cruz Home Prices: Fell Last 2 Months, Overall Trends are Up,  Here is Why   Find homes for sale in Santa Cruz    Property prices fell, month-over-month, in February for the second month in a row. Interestingly, the median price was down year-over-year last month for the first time since last June.   Yes, that means for seven months in a row, the median price for single-family, re-sale homes has been higher than the year before.   It seems that more lower priced homes were sold thereby bringing the median price down.   The median price for single-family, re-sale homes is up 25% from the bottom of the market, which was reached in April 2009. Market Stats by Santa Cruz Neighborhoods  My Santa Cruz Real Estate Report provides an automatic, easy to use, property analysis feature, a mi... 03/10/2013

WESTSIDE SANTA CRUZ HOMES FOR SALE - MARKET UPDATE 3-13 Anyone who has been trying to buy a home on the Westside of Santa Cruz this year knows that the name of the game is:  Low inventory and multiple offers.  Oftentimes homes for sale of the Westside of Santa Cruz are selling for over list price so far in 2013.  This has been frustrating to many buyers, especially first time buyers and very encouraging time for Santa Cruz home sellers.     This month of March 2013 we have had a slight increase in inventory of Westside Santa Cruz homes for sale - we have about 56 active/pending homes for sale on the Westside of Santa Cruz, up from just 20 in January.  The median list price of a home for sale on the Westside of Santa Cruz in February 2013 was right around $650,000 while the median sale p... 03/05/2013