Price: $699,000 FIZBER.com ID 14361737 Single Family with 2 bed, 2.0 bath, in 616 Sunset Capitola, CA, 95010 http://www.fizber.com/14361737/ 616 Sunset - For Sale By Owner Property Details: Type: Single Family Address: 616 Sunset, Capitola, CA, 95010 Sq footage: 975.0 Floors: n/a Bathrooms: 2.0 Bedrooms: 2 Year built: 1960 View full property details and seller's contacts. View more California homes for sale. Homes for Sale by Owner. Description: French Country Beach Cottage. 2BR/2BA. Many amenities throughout including; Oak hardwood floors, dual pane windows with lifetime guarantee, skylights that open, crown moldings, silhouette window coverings, newer hollow core doors & security system. Walk through the stained glass front door and into the sunny living room, with Oak hardwood floor... 02/11/2010

HOME PRICES IN CAPITOLA, CALIFORNIA - REAL ESTATE MARKET REPORT In this article I will take a look at home prices in Capitola, CA over the past year of 2009.  This is a follow up to a recent blog I wrote about Santa Cruz County Home Prices that took a look at home prices in Santa Cruz County as a whole. Capitola, CA is a small city in Santa Cruz County of about 2 square miles and a population of 10,500, which probably triples in the summer months with all the visitors.  Capitola is a picturesque beach town with a European feel and look.  There are some great events in the fall like the Capitola Art & Wine Festival  and the Begonia Festival.  Homes in Capitola range from small beach homes built early last century as summer cabins to large, modern ocean view homes.  Home prices in Capitol... 01/13/2010

Have you ever been in a relationship that you knew had no real future and yet it was so hard to break it off?   You start out by having occasional doubts. Little by little those doubts become all consuming thoughts. You have trouble concentrating at work and may even lose some sleep thinking about.   You know this absolutely will not work out long term, and yet can't imagine giving it up.   Finally, you make the decision to break it off and tell the other person the truth.  What once seemed impossible, now feels like a huge sigh of relief. It won't be easy, but your mind already starts wandering about what your new future holds.  This is what many troubled homeowners feel when they finally make the decision to do a short sale; a huge weight has been lifted off their back.  Although ther... 12/12/2009

Awarded the SILVER LEED rating by the U.S. Green Building Council, this house features the following green/eco attributes not found in standard construction: Solar Electric Power System:  Covers 80%% to 90%% of electricity usage of the home (electricity bills under $20/mo). Heat-On-Demand Gas Water Heater:  Takagi Tankless Water Heater – helps reduce wasted water and natural gas consumption. Radiant-heated floors with 3 individually controlled zones. Radiant Heat is the most clean & energy efficient method to heat a house, while contributing to the indoor air quality by reducing circulation of air born particles. Ecostar Majestic Slate Roof:  Ecostar roofs are non-leaching as opposed to standard asphalt “comp roofs” which leach benzene and other chemicals in to the environment.  Looks l... 11/23/2009

It was just a few years ago, we rarely saw homes being foreclosed by banks and later sold by banks on the MLS as REOs (Bank Owned Properties). On top of that, Short Sales were unheard of in those markets of yester year. However in today's market, a good percentage of homes are REOs or Short Sales and they all have one thing in common. These properties are bought and sold by banks or the banks have final approval of the property sale. As of last month, banks controlled over 50% of the real estate transactions in Santa Cruz County. For the most part, Bank control of transactions and inventory is not good for the market. These distress properties are some times neglected, abandoned and stripped, resulting in lower property values when they are sold. Recently some cities have required banks... 11/18/2009

  Santa Cruz Home Bubble Prices October 2009 As we move to the end of 2009, many home Sellers and Buyers are wondering what direction home values are going ? As I have mentioned on previous blogs, we are still seeing a constant stream of foreclosures with unemployment and negative equity the driving reasons. So until we see unemployment improved and home prices stabilize, there will not be much improvement.  So where are we now ? As you can see in the graft below,  homes in the Watsonville area have taken the biggest equity hit with median home prices off 57% from the peak of the market in 2005. In fact, Watsonville home prices are now below 2001 prices. In contrast, the median home price in the areas closer to the ocean like Rio Del Mar, Santa Cruz and Capitola are seeing median home p... 10/23/2009

Last evening, I parked my car at the Capitola Community Center, and my doggie and I walked through the charming Jewel Box neighborhood, down the Union Pacific Railroad stairs to Capitola. The Jewel Box is a very eclectic neighborhood up the bluff from the Capitola Village and Beach. The streets, not surprisingly, are named after jewels: Topaz Opal Jewel Garnet Emerald Crystal Diamond Jade Ruby Ct. (The last three streets, I consider an adjunct to the "official" Jewel Box neighborhood, which is laid out on a grid. The "official" Jewel Box is comprised mainly of single family residences, with some duplexes and multi-res structures thrown in for good measure. Diamond, Jade, and Ruby Ct. are home to condos and/or manufactured homes, and are affordable choices for those wanting to live the C... 09/01/2009

After taking a walk down to Capitola last night, with my pooch, we stopped to rest for a minute on this park bench, which overlooks the Capitola Pier. I turned around and saw this inscription, which says it all to me. I am sorry I do not know who the bench commemorates, but what a nice surprising and encouraging message! 09/01/2009

I love it when cities or towns are smart enough to retain character (if they were lucky enough to ever have it). Capitola is a city, rather a village, that many people say has European-like charm. Vintage houses (those are the Six Sisters below), beautiful natural surroundings. This is where Soquel Creek empties into the Pacific Ocean. I vacationed in Capitola as a child, so I can attest to the fact that much of the charm of this jewel on the beach has been retained. Sadly, no more swings on the beach (if memory serves they were facing the sea wall in front of the Venetian Court). I read that way-back-when there was a mini-roller coaster in that area.Also, on the Esplanade, while many of the buildings appear to be the same, the uses are different, at least from a big kid's perspective (... 09/01/2009

Santa Cruz Beach Home Values   Like most areas through out the United States, Santa Cruz real estate has had its fair share of lost value. However some areas in Santa Cruz County like the beach areas have not been hit as hard. For example the greater Watsonville and south county area has been hit a lot harder than the beach areas of Santa Cruz. This is due in part to the higher demand for beach properties and a scarcer inventory of beach homes. But another reason is that there are a lot less bank owned properties for sale in the beach areas as compared to the Watsonville and south county area as seen the chart below.   Overall the Bank Owned Properties represented about 30% of the homes sold thru the MLS in June. But the bulk of those Bank Owned properties sales occurred in the Watsonvi... 07/15/2009

Santa Cruz Real Estate Market Mid Year Forecast 2009    Over the last few months, most experts have been predicting that the bottom of the Real Estate market will happen late 2009 or early 2010.  There are several things that have to happen if a recovery is to occur. First mortgage interest rates have to remain low. The lower end of the real estate market is currently being fueled by low interest rates that are allowing first time homebuyers and investors to pick up properties that are 40% to 50% off their market high prices. As I mentioned in my earlier blog, we are seeing multiple bids for these properties. But we will need on-going low mortgage interest rates to continue to fuel our recovery.  But for a full recovery to happen in our real estate market, we also need to clear out the ... 06/10/2009

This weekend May 15-17th Capitola will be celebrating it's 60th Birthday.    Friday night New Brighton Middle School will be hosting a Capitola History lecture as well as a silent auction. Saturday in Capitola Village there will be a Pirate Treasure Hunt for kids and adults, dunk tank (always hilarious), live bands and free movie on the beach at dusk. Sunday don't miss the Pie Eating contest, dedication of the new Tiki statue, and more live entertainment. Capitola starts the Wednesday Night Twilight series June 24th with live music every Wednesday during the Summer from 6-8 pm, bring a picnic for the beach and enjoy the music!  For more details visit this website:  http://happybirthdaycapitola.com 05/15/2009

Santa Cruz County Inventory  May 12th 2009 These are interesting times in Santa Cruz County with regards to real estate. This is the time of year that Buyers get real active in finding the right property to purchase. Our high season for local real estate happens like the farming season for our fruits and vegetables, from May to September is our busiest time of the year. But this season we have a different pattern as compared to previous seasons.  If you look at the graft below, you will see a snapshot of the housing inventory of Santa Cruz County and there are several market trends that it reveals. This graft shows the number of all active and pending homes in each price range across Santa Cruz County.  First, as you can see at the lower end of the market there are a lot more pending ho... 05/12/2009

CAPITOLA, CALIFORNIA - BEACH HOMES FOR SALE IN THE BEST BEACH TOWN IN THE WEST!Capitola, California a small beach town of about 2 square miles and permanent population of 10,500 is located in Santa Cruz County and has recently been named one of the Top 20 Small Towns in the West by Sunset Magazine.  I spent about half of my childhood on Capitola Beach and grew up in the area so I know it well.  Growing up in a place like Capitola with it's natural beauty, architecture reminiscent of a small Italian beach town,  great waves, excellent food, small town everyone knows everyone feel it is easy to not understand and appreciate what you have, you take it for granted.  After leaving at 17 for University and living other places, traveling the world I now know how lucky I am to have grown up in ... 04/19/2009

Santa Cruz County Notice of Defaults   It is a well-known fact that Watsonville and South Santa Cruz County have been the hardest hit areas with regards to Foreclosures and Short Sales. Thus it is not a big surprise that Watsonville has the most NODs in the county. But what is really surprising is that Santa Cruz is number two and Watsonville has only a little over one third of the NODs in the County. Since the beginning of this year there have been around 220 NODs in Santa Cruz County. NODs are a leading indicator for both Short Sales and Foreclosure Sales, which both have a major impact on property values. This is major contributing factor to the lower median prices in the Santa Cruz and the surrounding areas since April of last year. But more importantly if a good majority these NODs... 02/25/2009

I have been thinking about places that are well loved (Capitola, Carmel & San Francisco, come to mind) and although very different from each other, these aesthetically pleasing locales seem to have several traits in common: Interesting architecture, a seemingly innate reverence for the importance of "community" & how that plays out in architecture - and a design aesthetic that translates to qualities of "charm" and "character". In the 1960's when strip malls seem to have been invented, ugly was the design default. I don't know how the architects who "designed" those monstrosities can sleep at night - their horrible "creations" actually negatively impacted the people who had to live in and among the bland, blocky, uninteresting buildings - masses & blobs of concrete, blacktop, flattop, ... 09/11/2008

Capitola's climate is considered mild.  Summer temperatures can hover in the mid 70s and winter temperatures in the mid 50s.  We see the sun upwards of 300 days a year with relatively low humidity for a coastal city. Rainfall averages about 31 inches each year, mostly between November and April. Capitola is inviting because of the mild weather and beautiful seaside backdrop. Although the weather is mild, it can get on the cool side due to seasonal morning or evening fog. Never hurts to layer up because you can experience summer and winter temperatures all in one day!  No matter what the weather is doing, it is always easy to find something fun to do in Capitola.  The Village offers shopping, great food, treats, all in a relaxed and casual atmosphere. 03/29/2008

Capitola Real Estate Capitola is an intimate beach village tucked in a river valley in Santa Cruz County. I specialize in Capitola Real Estate and Capitola Homes For Sale, please contact me, your Capitola real estate agent with any questions you may have. 02/29/2008

Bella Roma, Capitola, CA. I have been enjoying meals at this restaurant for a few years now. It is owned by Gaetano Balsamo and is located in Capitola Village, just a short walk from the beach. The food is enjoyable and a highlight for me, is the "old world" ambiance. The wait staff is awesome! Bella Roma 316 Capitola Ave. Telephone: 831.464.2608.      Bella Roma, Capitola, CA  10/22/2007

 The mouth of Soquel Creek where it meets the Pacific Ocean. Capitola Lagoon, Early Evening September, 2007. Note: The lagoon is shored up in the summer time to provide more beach for tourists. In the off-season, the creek runs naturally to the ocean. September in Santa Cruz County is amazing. The weather is generally warm, clear, and beautiful. That was the case last week when I took an early evening walk from Pleasure Point in Santa Cruz to Capitola. I thought this lavender colored rose was beautiful! 09/16/2007