Eco Design Resources and Real Estate

About 30 miles south of San Jose in the Silicon Valley area of northern California, Scotts Valley is a smaller city, home to fewer than 15,000. It is north of Monterey Bay and lies in the upland slope of the Santa Cruz Mountains, offering a bit of all kinds of geography. Residents here have incomes higher than average, with median annual household income of around $75,000, and the Scotts Valley real estate is priced accordingly: more expensive than average but quite affordable in terms of the San Jose area.

The real estate market in Scotts Valley has suffered from the contagion of the widespread recession and its effects throughout the country. Foreclosures have risen, as has inventory while prices have fallen. However, falling prices has allowed some to buy homes in this market who couldn’t have previously afforded it. During December, at the end of 2009, there were nine new listings of Scotts Valley homes for sale, bringing the total monthly inventory to 61, down slightly from one year ago, when it was 66, but down from 97 three months ago in September.

December accounted for nine closed sales in Scotts Valley. Those homes sold after spending an average of 107 days on the market first.  Three months prior, in September, there were 14 sales, and a year ago just six. In December 2008, homes were spending 52 days on the market before selling, while that figure was 70 in September.

Prices have continued to suffer, and were quite lower at the end of 2009 than they were at the end of 2008: Homes sold in Scotts Valley in December commanded an average price of $750,888 and a median price of $700,000. In September, these figures were $930,428 and $787,500, respectively. One year ago, however, they were much higher, at $914,916 and $940,000.