The California Association of Realtors has released new data on the attitudes millennials have towards their first home purchase. While many millennials are current  renting, purchasing a home is still important to a large percentage of the cohort.  Check out the infographic below for all the details regarding homeownership and purchasing gathered by CAR. If you are interested in more information about Santa Cruz, such as local events please feel free to contact me at pete@petecullen.com. With such great growth coming to Santa Cruz, now is the time to make this amazing place your new home. Feel free to email me to find your new home here in Santa Cruz and make sure to check out my website!    11/20/2014

This past week, I took a trip to Wilder Ranch State Park, which is located just north of the city of Santa Cruz.  What  a delightful surprise.  Miles and mile of hiking trails, and the park is extremely friendly to bicyclists and horseback riders as well.  The view from the cliffs (aka "The Bluffs") are amazing.  It is a real easy hike, and is mostly flat.  Get out, enjoy some fresh air, and the park wsa not crowwded at all.  Here is a map.   The scenary is incredible. 11/19/2014

This Saturday will mark the 21th year that the Winegrowers of the Santa Cruz Mountains will be having their passport days. Passport days were created in 1993 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 50 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 during passport days.   For a full list of the w... 11/14/2014

The warm summer days in Santa Cruz may have passed, but for surfers around the world the crisp fall air signals the time to shred the waves at Steamer Lane. The format for this years Coldwater Classic will follow the format from 2013's competition where 16 unsponsored surfers will compete for the chance of a lifetime. The winner of the Coldwater Classic will be given a contract worth $50,000 for travel expenses and contest fees to make their World Championship dreams come closer to reality. This years competition will take place over two days of optimal surfing conditions during the window of October 28th to November 1st.   The O’Neill history is one of many aspects that contribute to the Santa Cruz surf community and lifestyle. Around the 1930’s surfers from Southern California made th... 10/24/2014

The California Association of Realtors has released some new data on the optimism of home buyers over the last few years in regards to home prices. Take a look at the infographic below to get the full details on the new data released by CAR.   If you are interested in more information about Santa Cruz, such as local events please feel free to contact me at pete@petecullen.com. With such great growth coming to Santa Cruz, now is the time to make this amazing place your new home. Feel free to email me to find your new home here in Santa Cruz and make sure to check out my website!         10/10/2014

On October 5th a special auction will be held to sell of beautiful redwood slabs from a redwood tree that fell in December of 2012 in the forests of Big Sur. The wood from this fallen behemoth has been carefully harvested and ten pieces will go up for auction to benefit the Henry Miller Memorial library, ensuring that the library will have a sustainable financial future. This is a extremely rare opportunity to own beautiful wood that has been growing for centuries here in California all while supporting a worthy cause.  To view the selected wood pieces that will be going up for sale please visit the Big Sur Redwood Wordpress page.  Even if you are not interested in participating in the auction for the ten redwood pieces you can still come out and spend a beautiful day amongst the redwoo... 09/26/2014

The California Association of Realtors has released some new data on the ways in which buyers are leveraging social media when they are looking to buy a new home. To start the number of Californians using social media to research homes has increased year over year from 2011's 52% of buyers to 2014's 77% of buyers. This is a marked increase demonstrating the importance of being active on social media, but if you are reading this blog you already know that.  Now to what exactly buyerrs are looking at when they use social media sites. Many buyers are using social media to get buying tips and advice from their friends and family. A suprising number are using social media to find their agents Facebook page as well as to see their Youtube video channel. Important information to ensure that we... 09/14/2014

Celebrating the combination for art, wine, music and food, the Capitola Art & Wine Festival fills Capitola Village with thousands people indulging in some of life’s simple pleasures with family and friends. This year on September 13 & 14, over 160 artist and 23 Santa Cruz Mountain wineries will display and share their gifts with locals and visitors alike. There is even a Children’s Art Area with ongoing craft projects is conveniently located in the center of the Festival on Lawn Way, making the event perfect for the whole family to attend. The best part? The event is free to attend, no admissions charges, no fees, just a great weekend to come out and enjoy some of the best that Santa Cruz has to offer.    Among the superb wineries to look forward to are the classic Bargetto Winery, Hall... 09/12/2014

Santa Cruz county is seeing a construction boom as more developments are being planned and built. Brooks Properties, a construction firm here in Santa Cruz, is working on a new set of homes off of De Laveaga Park Road. This new housing development consists of 13 new single family homes running near one of the creeks here in Santa Cruz. These new homes have an exterior Meditteranean design using traditional materials such as tile and stucco. The interiors of these new homes will reflect a more moden style, fitting in with the demands of the booming Bay Area economy and clientele. To see the interior floor plans of these homes check out the Brooks Properties website. These homes will be listed exclusively through Bailey Properties. Thinking of purchasing one of these new propeties? Need s... 09/05/2014

Every year for Labor Day weekend the Begonia Festival is held in Capitola. The Begonia Festival began in 1952 and is now celebrating its 62nd year in existence, a long history is at the center of the festival. The festival features an array of fun family friendly activities. Some of the events held this weekend include a sand sculpture contest, fishing derby as well as the pinnacle event, the float parade.  The float parade will feature dozens of floats decked out in their finest begonia attire. Watch as teams race to put the finishing touches on their floats to make it in time for the parade. These floats are beautiful displays of craftsmanship showing the talent that the Santa Cruz community has to offer. For a list of the all the float entries that will be at this years Begonia Festi... 08/29/2014

You have just bought your first home making the transition away from renting to buying. You are finishing packing your moving truck ready to make some big moves as you check your rearview mirror, your gas tank and set out... up the block to your new home! The California Association of realtors has released some figures on just how far away current renters would like to live from their current residences when they buy their first home. The data may or may not come as a shock but the majority of respondents stated that would either stay in their current county or the same neighborhood that they currently live in. For the full list of places renters would like to move to when they buy check out the graphic below! If you are interested in more information about Santa Cruz, such as local eve... 08/26/2014

55+ Home for Sale - Villa Santa Cruz Co-Op Park 2435 Felt Street,  Santa Cruz, CA 95062   Located in one of the best 55+ Senior Parks in Santa Cruz where you own the land - this is a Co-op Park with low monthly HOA dues.  The amenities in this 55+ Senior Park in  Santa Cruz include:  Swimming Pool, hot tub, billiards, clubhouse, communal dinners, activities, exercise room, car wash area . . . all in a walk to beach location.  This park is immaculately maintained and has a great sense of community.       This home for sale in Villa Santa Cruz 55+ Cooperatively Owned Park features 2 bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms.  The interior is bright and light with built in bookshelves, window seats, double pane windows, crown moulding, light carpet.       The kitchen has been remodeled and has white t... 08/24/2014

Data collected from the sale of homes in Santa Cruz in May has shown that the median home price in Santa Cruz has risen to its highest value since February 2008. The median home price in Santa Cruz county now sits at $675,000. This data confirms the trend of steady price increases for homes in Santa Cruz.  On top of the increased median home price there was also an uptick in the amount of homes that are going up for sale. This is good news as the Santa Cruz market has suffered from a lack of current home owners looking to sell their properties. Hopefully as prices continue to rise coupled with plenty of interested buyers more home owners here in Santa Cruz will place their homes on the market. The May data also shows more homes are beginning to sell for a million dollars or more in Sant... 08/22/2014

Last year 1 in 5 homeowners began work on some sort of home improvement or remodeling project. These new projects ran that gamut from simple paint jobs all the way to new additions to their homes.  The California Association of Realtors has released some data on the kinds of projects that these homeowners were most likely to do. 70% of these remodeling homeowners were likely to work on a remodel of their kitchen. These remodeling homeowners were also 49% more likely to have worked on an addition to their home. Clearly homeowners last year were not afraid to get their hands dirty tackling some big projects of their own. For the complete list of projects that remodeling homeowners were most likely to take on, see the CAR inforgraphic below.  If you are interested in more information about... 08/15/2014

Despite the harsh economy for millenials, many still view a home as a great financial tool for their increased security. With high debt loads and tight credit for lending institutions millenials are still looking to make that first home purchase and the data suggests that many are making the jump away from renting and into mortgages. The California Association of Realtors has released some numbers on just exactly the generational makeup of new home purchases and despite a plethora of articles saying that millenials are eschewing home ownership en masse millenials have made up 1/3 of all new home purchases. For a full rundown of the average millenial buyer please take a look at the graphic below. Have a great weekend! If you are interested in more information about Santa Cruz, such as lo... 08/01/2014

Santa Cruz Wharf to Wharf Race Every year, runners from around the world come together in Santa Cruz to run the 6 mile Wharf to Wharf Race. This event draws elite running athletes from all over the world as they compete to be the first to cross the finish line in a race going from Santa Cruz to the Capitola.                                                                                         The Wharf to Wharf race begain in 1973 with a few locals running across the two cities. Now the event draws competitors world wide and has become a top race for competition. Top champions in the Wharf to Wharf race have even included some Olympians, showing just how elite the competition is. With the beautiful seaside weather that Santa Cruz has to offer this race is one where, even if you do not... 07/25/2014

This Saturday the 19th of July, the Winegrowers of the Santa Cruz Mountains will once again 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 winegrowing tradition in the Santa Cruz Mountains. This years July celebration will feature the Silver Mountain Vineyards location in the Santa Cruz Mountains as well as their West Side location in Santa Cruz at the Surf City tasting room.       In addition to the great wine you will enjoy there will also be different music acts, as well as many different local vendors from around Santa Cruz selling their unique items. Most wineries are closed to the public on passport days so this is a great opportunity to meet the winegrowers in a unique pers... 07/18/2014

With a recovering economy, more and more young renters are considering making their first home purchases. The California Association of Realtors has released a new infographic about the attitudes young renters have in regards to their first home purchase. To start, 89% of young renters surveyed in 2013 said that they had planned to buy a new home sometime in the future, indicating that despite low homeownership rates amongst the young, most are still looking to make that first purchase. Of those young renters surveyed, 81% agreed that buying a home allowed you to live in a nicer home versus renting. 80% of those surveyed agreed that buying a home was good investment in building wealth along with 76% of those asked saying that buying a home would be a good investment over time. Another 6... 07/11/2014

Happy Fourth everyone! As you sit back and enjoy the much deserved long weekend, here are some local activities right here in Santa Cruz to help you celebrate our nations Indepedence.   If you are looking for some explosions in the sky you are in luck. Right over in Scotts Valley on the 17, fireworks will be in full view later in the evening at Skypark Park starting at 9:15pm. Before the start of the show, attendees can play games and enjoy music in food at the park. The cost of entrace to park is 8 dollars. Make sure to arrive early to enjoy the pre firework activities and get some of the best spots to view the main attraction. Remember that this is the only place in Santa Cruz that will be having a fireworks show!   Want to take advantage of the beautiful ocean view here in Santa Cruz... 07/04/2014

For pretty much every buyer, there are certain features of their new home that they cannot compromise on. This can be diffucult especially if you find yourself looking for a home with a significant other as your two preferences can clash when looking at potential homes. The California Association of Realtors has released an new survey of the various deal breakers that buyers have. The survey shows the different preferences between men and women and surprisingly there are only a few deal breakers that both sexes do not share. The first deal breaker for both men and women in a home is one without sufficient outdoor living space, looks like we all want to have some nice yard space for those summer barbeques! With the gorgeous scenery of Santa Cruz you might be spending too much time indoor... 06/28/2014