\t\t\t\t\tQuick Take<\/p>\n
Inventory stayed high in Santa Cruz County in June following May\u2019s big jump, and while sales were similar to the figures from May, some real estate professionals say that the market hasn\u2019t been quite as busy as they were expecting. That\u2019s due in part to the inventory, along with the fact that mortgage rates didn\u2019t fall as some hoped, plus persistent concerns surrounding layoffs and economic instability.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Santa Cruz County\u2019s housing market<\/a> saw its May business carry over into June, with plenty of homes on the market and a lot of them getting sold, too. Despite that, some real estate agents say that the summer hasn\u2019t been quite as busy as they had hoped, as buyers take longer than usual to close on sales.<\/p>\n Home sales rose 16% in June compared to a year ago, while the median price was lower than in June 2024, down about 9%, to $1,450,000 from $1,595,000. The number of properties listed for sale also rose slightly, adding to what agents say was already a lot of inventory on the market.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Sereno Group agent Jennifer Watson said the numbers reflect a market \u201cabout on par\u201d with her expectations, albeit slightly slower. She was looking forward to a noticeable drop in mortgage rates, but they stayed right around 7%, potentially keeping some buyers on the sidelines.<\/p>\n \u201cI was hoping that the rates might do a quick little dance down so that more people, especially buyers that have been waiting, would say now\u2019s the time,\u201d she said. \u201cBut it\u2019s a slow process a lot of the time, so if we see an extended dip in the rates, then that might happen.\u201d<\/p>\n Monterey Bay Mortgage advisor Scott Goodrich called the market \u201ca little bit more relaxed\u201d than in recent months. He said he spoke with a realtor over the weekend who hosted an open house for a condo in Santa Cruz and said that very few people came through. Goodrich agreed that mortgage rates stagnating at around 7% keeps some buyers hesitating to make a purchase while they hope for rates to drop, but said that other factors are also playing into it.<\/p>\n \u201cInterest rates aren\u2019t doing anything too exciting, so there\u2019s no rush to jump in there. Inventory levels are higher so you don\u2019t have to jump in like you did six months ago or even three months ago,\u201d he said. \u201cBuyers are in a little bit more of a relaxed mode.\u201d With mortgage rates staying steady and more listings for buyers to choose from, they are taking their time and exploring options for much longer than they would have when inventory was low or when mortgage rates were low in the frenzied post-pandemic market.<\/p>\n The number of homes up for sale rose slightly again in June, up to 532 from 523 in May, which was the highest level for the month of May in at least six years<\/a>. More than 500 homes on the market is considered a fairly high level for the region, and the number of properties on the market in June was the most in any June since 2019, when there were 552 homes on the market.<\/p>\n There were 130 home sales across the county in June, compared to 112 in the same month last year, a 16% increase. That was well below June 2023, though, when the county saw 150 home sales.<\/p>\n Properties sold in about the same time as they took in May, averaging 31 days on the market in June compared to May\u2019s 29. That\u2019s very similar to the amount of time that properties spent on the market last June, when they averaged 32 days on the market. All of those figures are much higher than during the peak of the post-pandemic period, when houses sometimes lasted only 20 days.<\/p>\n The countywide median sale price was higher in June than in the month prior, jumping to $1,450,000 from $1,361,000 \u2014 about a 6% increase. However, the average home size and lot size were much larger in June than in May.<\/p>\n For people looking to purchase a home, \u201cthere\u2019s definitely some leeway there now, which there didn\u2019t used to be,\u201d said Watson. She stopped short of calling it a buyer\u2019s market, but said she can\u2019t deny the extra power that buyers have right now: \u201cIf a seller can hang onto the property for a few months, then you can just wait and see what happens. If you\u2019re going to have to sell quickly, you\u2019re probably going to lower your price.\u201d<\/p>\n Watson added that the market is approaching a sort of \u201csweet spot\u201d that lies between a buyer\u2019s market and a seller\u2019s market. That means that sellers are realizing they will likely take longer to sell their house than they might have thought, while buyers can negotiate price and possible fixes to a property before committing to a purchase. Adjusting a price or relisting a property can be daunting for both agents and sellers: \u201cA lot of realtors that came into the market during the pandemic never had to talk to their clients about that.\u201d<\/p>\n