Kiteboarders, Windsurfers, Eastsiders and Westsiders alike agree that our county beaches are host to some of the best surf in the world. So naturally for the Good Times Surf Issue, it made sense for me to do a piece about homes where you can walk to the waves.
What does it cost to live close to the water? As you might imagine, it’s not exactly cheap, but depending on how close to the water you have to be, you might be surprised to find that there are options available that won’t necessarily break the bank.
Here are statistics for listings in the beach areas in the various categories over course of the past year:
Looking at Condos, there are 21 active listings on the market within a few blocks of the beach at an average price of $712,143, ranging from an oceanfront unit in Capitola for $2,250,000 down to a 1BR unit in Seascape Resort for $320,000. There are only two listings in escrow for this category and 46 sales during the past year at an average price of $712,204.
For Townhomes near the beach, things are a little tighter with only 3 listings available at an average price of $1,245,667 compared to an equal number of listings in escrow, and 17 sales in the past year that closed at an average price of $897,147.
There are currently 28 houses on the market in the county within a few blocks of the beach with the average price at $2,585,767, compared to 10 homes in escrow, and 111 sales in the past year that closed at an average price of $1,480,874.
At $12,500,000 and $3,250.98 per SF, 735 Las Olas in Aptos has both the highest price and the highest price per SF in the County amongst the properties currently on the market, and the highest sale in the past year was 63 Geoffroy in Live Oak for $6,395,000, but that distinction may soon be taken by 1570 Prospect Ave in Capitola, currently in escrow with an asking price of $7,995,000.
The distinction for least expensive home on the market where you can walk to the waves is led by the diminutive 1-bedroom 208 Saxon cottage in Capitola at $795,000 edging out the 3-bedroom home at 122 Sacramento in Santa Cruz in second at $889,000.
To provide a venue for tracking beach home sales, I recently created a live IDX page at SantaCruzCountyBeachHomes.com that shows the current inventory of any listings in the County within a few blocks of the beach in real-time as they hit the market. And of course you can get in touch with any good local agent for a custom report and a tour of any homes close to the surf that you would like to see live and in person.
