A place on the ocean, a property with history, with 280 degree ocean views and magical sunsets; just steps to the surf and sand at Pleasure Point. Privately held since 1954, this coveted property has been enjoyed by five generations and is now offered to the public for the first time in 55 years. The clean architectural influence of the Frank Lloyd Wright Prairie School of design is undeniable; the floor plan is flexible and livable, with generous rooms and commanding ocean views from nearly every room. There are 3 bedrooms plus a den/office overlooking the deck that could be a 4th bedroom; a formal living room with masonry fireplace; dining room with dumbwaiter serving the second floor; spacious family room and game and dining area with cathedral ceiling, wet bar with refrigerator, Tra... 10/01/2009

  It was 5:45 mid-week. A beautiful day on the coast (there aren't many that aren't - not bragging, it's just the way it is in Santa Cruz County). Anyway, I asked my little rescue pooch if he wanted to go for a walk . . . I knew I wanted to go to the beach, but which beach? Seacliff? A really long walk if you go left or right . . . no, Capitola? . . . too many tourists still . . . How about Twin Lakes & the Yacht Harbor? Yeah that's the ticket . . . The short drive was worth the effort. I parked in front of Twin Lakes Beach - the weather was still warm. We walked down to the Yacht Harbor, and outside the restaurants, a group of "oldies" were playing music and singing oldies. The volleyball courts were going full steam, and there was a sail boat race! Twin Lakes is one of the few beaches... 09/18/2009

A fast moving wild fire is forcing the evacuation of thousands in the Santa Cruz mountains. Due to a combination of high winds and drought conditions, this fire is becoming of great concern. I recently wrote  a blog  Is your property wildfire ready. Something you should think about especially in the west. One of the points made was the need for defensible space.  In large and fast moving fires like this one, there is little fire crews can do. A defensible space gives your home a fighting chance. Just listen to the reporters reports about having to write off homes. http://cbs13.com/breakingnews/santa.cruz.fire.2.1126596.html   Ensuring you have an escape route could mean the difference, when it counts the most. These fires are of great concern esp... 08/13/2009

02/25/2009

Santa Cruz Median Home Price Surprise?   Pick up the newspaper or watch the news on TV and you can't help but see how bad the news in the real estate market. However there are some areas in the country where property values have not been hit as hard as the central valley area of California. Certainly the Watsonville area of south Santa Cruz County has seen a major decline in home values comparable to central valley property values. However in comparison, many home owners in the prime areas of Santa Cruz areas like Aptos, Rio Del Mar, Capitola and Santa Cruz feel they have not taken the same decline in their property values. These prime areas have in the past have held their property values in even the toughest market downturns.   However based on median home values, over the last ten mo... 02/22/2009

People love to talk about the weather and I guess I fall in there too.  It has been absolutely beautiful summer weather here in Santa Cruz this week with 70+ temp.  I actually pray for rain/snow because we need it but it has been like skipping time and being in summer for a week in mid-January.  I walk my dogs several times a week on West Cliff Dr and it is packed right now!  So get out there and enjoy while you can. 01/15/2009

I wanted to comment on a positive trend I have noticed in my personal Real Estate business this year.  I service the Santa Cruz County in California which is a higher priced beach area just south of Silicon Valley and north of Monterey.  I was born and raised here and like many of my peers couldn't imagine living anywhere else.  I've tried it (I've lived in Argentina, Spain, Italy) but I always come home.  The geographical setting of the Monterey Bay is gorgeous, the community is great and there is just so much to do for every type of person. Being in a high demand, beach area our prices have been out of reach for most people and many of my peers that I have grown up with.  I am realitively young ( I just turned 30) and people my age with young families have not been able to find a way ... 01/13/2009

Shakespeare Santa Cruz Lives On!   A few days ago I reported on the potential demise of Shakespeare Santa Cruz. They needed to raise $300,000 in donations in one week, or they would have to shut down. I am happy to report that the were able to raise over $400,000, from 2,000 donors, many of them on the internet, and are therefore able to soldier on.  The entire Bay Area Theatre Community is breathing a collective sigh of relief. Now we can all help out by going to see their 2009 season next summer. I know I am looking forward to seeing this wonderful company again. 12/23/2008

Shakespeare Santa Cruz in Financial Trouble!   Shakespeare Santa Cruz, the 10th largest attended Shakespeare festival in the country, and a staple of the Silicon Valley theatre community since 1982 is in big trouble. The festival has an estimated 40,000 attendees every season at its' University Of California Santa Cruz outdoor amphitheatre , and is both critically acclaimed, and a  very popular summer destination. The festival is also a great employer of both local theatre talent and has a wonderful internship program that is a fantastic opportunity for theatre students from all over the country.   The Festival always operates with a deficit, despite its artistic successes, but University has always made up the deficit as it adds so much to both the theatre department and the university... 12/18/2008

Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz Realtor, Santa Cruz Real Estate, Santa Cruz land, Santa Cruz homes, Santa Cruz listings, mls, homes, realtor SOUNDS CRAZY, but it's TRUE Real Estate in Santa Cruz is BOOMING, while the rest of the country is either stagnating or GOING DOWN. Santa Cruz Listings are doing fine. The MLS is full of great values and Santa Cruz land is also doing well on the mls. Why is this so? Santa Cruz s Booming because of all the reasons that the rest of the Country is BUSTING apart. People are EMIGRATING from the rest of the world and coming to Santa Cruz, and places like it from all over the world. Sure, there are a few Santa Cruz bargain homes in town now, and yes, there are even a selection of Santa Cruz Foreclosure homes, but in general these Santa Cruz foreclosure properties... 10/22/2008

One day I noticed that Soquel Ave., between Branciforte & Morrissey  Blvd. seemed somehow brighter, more vibrant - it was like it happened overnight, although I am sure that is not the case. After doing a little research, I found that this stretch comes under the Santa Cruz Redevelopment Agency Storefront Improvement plans to update neighborhood aesthetics. About the same time I noticed these improvements, I also read somewhere that the issue of redevelopment is a controversial one - gentrification concerns . . . Aesthetically, I personally appreciate the new look of the neighborhood and believe that whatever brings people together in community will have positive benefit. The area is like a second downtown, with a variety of businesses, cafes & restaurants. 09/11/2008

Just by coincidence, awhile back I met Richard Beal, the author of Highway 17 (1991 The Pacific Group, Aptos, CA). When I got back to my office, I pulled the book off the shelf and began thumbing through it. What a gold mine of local history! I saw that the year I graduated high school (no hints) there were 36 fatalities on "17!" (I don't think my parents knew that, otherwise, why would they allow a crazy teenager to regularly drive over the hill?). According to Beal, Harvey West was responsible for installing "gory billboards" up on 17 - complete with red day-glo images of skeletons & coffins, as a way to discourage unsafe drivers. It seems to have worked! I get nostalgic every time I read about the towns of Alma and Lexington being flooded to create Lexington Reservoir. I seriously w... 09/11/2008

  Last Tuesday, another Realtor friend and I went to the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf for dinner at Stagnaro's. It was really wonderful and even more wonderful because many restaurants on the wharf have specials for locals on Tuesdays. (Some dinner selections for $9.99). Neither one of us had the specials but it was really fun to eat on the wharf and we did get complimentary parking, which was a fantastic bonus. It's really nice that the wharf honors locals. After dinner I insisted on stopping at Marini's for some candy. I can't help it. It's too good to pass up. It was a very nice summer night at the beach. I wanted to go on the roller coaster, but my dinner partner was a party pooper and had to rush home, so I will have to wait to get my roller coaster fix. 08/03/2008

Measure T..... for 9-1-1- Service Santa Cruz City Special Mail-in Ballot Election In an emergency, every single second counts.  When you place a call to a 9-1-1 emergency call center, you expect an operator to answer immediately and help to arrive within minutes. When someone's life or health is at stake, the first minutes are the ones that matter most. We all depend on 9-1-1 call centers for immediate response in the event of medical emergency, threat to public safety, fire or natural disaster.  Santa Cruz City Council has decided to hold a special mail-in election on August 26th to reinstate the revenue. If approved it would add $3.49 cents back into city residents monthly phone bills, including cell phones. It will be passed with a simple majority vote. Revenue from Measure T will go... 07/25/2008

There is change in the air...  Home sales are up in Santa Cruz County and the price irrosion have slowed- maybe stopped.  Lower end homes are selling again with very attractive and safe loans available.  The mis market seems to be encouraged as well.  Even the more depressed higher density areas in our county are starting to improve.    Of course this is the start of the 'buy/sell' season for homes so it will be interesting to watch as the summer goes on to see if this strength continues.  As always you can check my website for the latest available market data.  www.BobBickers.com   Thanks for stopping by. 05/27/2008

Are you looking for a great agent in Santa Cruz to help you locate homes & beach properties for sale? I specialize in Santa Cruz Ca Real Estate, Santa Cruz Beach Homes, Aptos Real Estate, Capitola Homes, and all surrounding areas.I live and work in the area, and as an area expert I can help you locate a perfect Santa Cruz Home or Real Estate for sale. Contact your Santa Cruz Real Estate Agent today. 02/29/2008

I have a short sale in Santa Cruz that was approved by the second lender in December, and they are willing to accept $1000 and eat the rest of the lost. The first lender which is saxon mortgage would not approve the same purchase price because they feel the first bpo that was done is accurate even though the second bpo was an interior bpo which I beleive was more accurate. To make a long story short I the investors behind saxon mortgage approved the price of $480,000 even though there are current listings and sold comparables at $450k and less. What am I supposed to do in this situation? Your honest opinions will help. Thank you. Free Home Search 02/05/2008

Let’s start back in the late 70’s when it all started. Prop 13, also known as the ‘Jarvis Gann Amendment’, was brought on by the overzealous California Tax & Spend boys up in Sacramento. They are still trying to get in your pocketbook today.Back then the average house/property tax percentage was 3% of the value placed on the property by the County Assessor . Property values in the early to mid 70’s were moving upwards pretty fast, not unlike what we have just observed in the past three years. This had nothing to do with what you paid for your home even if you had bought it twenty years prior to that time. Let’s say your taxes in 1972 were $300 per year. By 1976 your taxes were $600 and steadily climbing. The average wage then was around $600 per month here in Santa Cruz. Wow, that’s 8.5... 01/17/2008

Four of the larger lenders promise to help California borrowers avoid default. They will principally maintain the loan rates when the borrower got the loan and not at the reset rate for 5 years. Many of these borrowers had sub prime loans.  Our governor Schwarzenegger has been actively involved with Countrywide Financial Corp.,GMAC Financial Services,Litton Loan Servicing and HomeEq Servicing for an agreement.Many borrowers have requested rate resets for rate relief and been given no or at times, long delayed responses. Banks have been cavalier towards their borrowers' credit plight in my opinion. In some cases it is because the loan was sold to a servicing company and the servicing company, with whom the borrower sends their money, has no personal relationship. Oftentimes lenders sell ... 11/24/2007

 Now this is more like it! Cold Water Classic, Steamer Lane, Santa Cruz, CAA couple of days ago, I posted a blog on my camera battery conking out on the Fourth Day of the Cold Water Classic. Day Four was drizzly, weather-wise, but Day Five was unbelievably beautiful - clear and warm. Day four was on a Friday, so parking was a not an issue - it was a little more challenging on Day Five, a Saturday, but since the weather was so beautiful it was pleasant walking along West Cliff Drive and experiencing the surrounding beauty of the Pacific Ocean. 10/14/2007