FEBRUARY 2022
Aptos Real Estate Update
Ruth Bates 831.359.2212
ruthbates1@gmail.com CalBRE#01799929
JANUARY 2022 Only 12 homes Sold in Aptos in January. High sale: 133 Zanzibar – 4B/2.5Ba/3381SF, $2,150,000. Low sale: 813 Loma Prieta – 2B/1Ba/834SF, $869,000. Average Sales Price = $1,481,210. Only 3 Condos/TH Sold, all for over $1 Milliion Dollars! 261 Sea Ridge #2$1,250,000, 1730 Seascape-$1,156,000, 260 Rio Del Mar#1-$1,105,000. ACTIVE LISTINGS There are only 14 homes for sale as of 2/08/22, and 4 “Coming Soons”. High list: 635 Beach-$6,250,000, Low List: 1008 Redwood – 1B/1Ba/526SF-$650,000. There is only 1 Condo/TH for sale in Aptos. In Santa Cruz County, there are only 77 Home Listings and 33 “Coming Soons”. With 1200+ Realtors in the County, only 6% of us have Listings right now… might be time for some to consider another career, but not me, I love what I do and I’d love to help you – in any way I can. INTEREST RATES Bankrate.com 2/08 quotes 30-year fixed mortgage rate average of 3.93%. This is significantly higher than all of 2021, and will soon break 4.0% as the Feds will be doing another adjustment later on this year. The rising interest rates are supposed to correlate with lowering inflation, but that remains to be seen. DECLUTTERING February comes from the word ‘februa’, which means cleansing or purification, so maybe now is the time to think about Home Decluttering. Here are some ideas: 1. Clear off all flat surfaces – and keep them clean. 2. Make the most of underutilized storage spaces. 3. Ask yourself which items you actually use, and donate/ ditch the rest. 4. Designate a place for clutter to go. 5. Evaluate one room at a time. And my favorite: Make your bed every day. This is a quick and easy way to feel instantly more organized. ——— My favorite 4-letter word is “SOLD”! Call, email, text anytime and Get Results with Ruth!
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COMMUNITY NEWS
Newman Leads Housing Coalition H ousing Santa Cruz County, a impact that inadequate and unaffordable countywide coalition of local orga- housing supply has on our community,” nizations and individuals working said Don Lane, Housing Santa Cruz County governing board chairman. “We to increase affordable housing believe her deep experience opportunities for local residents working with marginalized and workers, has named Brooke communities will help housing Newman as interim managing Santa Cruz County better director. understand and advocate for This is a new position. community members in need of Newman will lead the affordable housing solutions.” staff as Housing Santa Cruz Newman’s background is County enters its second year Brooke Newman in community organizing and of mobilizing the community in support of key affordable housing policies building partnerships between disparate and affordable projects designed to meet groups. She is experienced at facilitating the needs of Santa Cruz County’s lower- relationships between the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to work toward income families and individuals. “Brooke has seen the devastating shared goals.
“After years of working in the realm of homelessness, it has become abundantly clear that our collective efforts to lift people out of poverty will continue to be stalled until we demand that the creation of more affordable housing be prioritized throughout the county,” Newman said. She played a lead role in the management and strategic growth of the Santa Cruz Downtown Streets Team. During her tenure, she developed its first CalFresh Employment Training program, first weekly women’s empowerment program, first culinary training program, and expanded the Team’s reach throughout the county. “Newman” page 13
Central Fire: Changes For November 2022 Election
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n Feb. 10, the Central Fire District Board of Directors opted to move forward with one of the maps presented by National Demographics Corp. drawing boundaries for 5 areas of representation for the future elections. The map chosen is “Purple II.” The map divides Central Fire into 5 areas, each with a nearly equal population and taking into account common issues, natural dividing lines and common needs and hazards. The new voting system is designed to comply with the California Voting Rights Act and avoid lawsuits that have been expensive in other jurisdictions. The voting public will be able to elect a director who lives in their area, to ensure the best representation for that area’s needs. The next step in moving to this new district-based election system is to submit the map to the Santa Cruz County Recorders Office for approval. Central Fire District leaders expect to have the new areas approved and implemented for the November 2022 election. Residents can view the “Purple II” on Central Fire’s interactive map page, and enter their address at the top left to see which represented area their property is going to be part of: https://tinyurl.com/ central-fire-purple-2 (Full URL: https://ndcresearch.maps. arcgis.com/apps/View/index.html?appid =4cb830fa156a4ff7a988d40cba60c6b7) The map was chosen following four public hearings. Four maps were initially presented by NDC, then two more (Orange II and Purple II) after input from the board and public.
12 / February 15th 2022 / Aptos Times www.tpgonlinedaily.com
At the fourth public hearing, all six maps and two alternates presented by a member of the public were all viewed and discussed before deciding the “Purple II” map was the most appropriate. n
••• For information on the decisionmaking process, including draft maps of the proposed areas and how to give feedback, visit www.centralfiresc.org/2279/ Re-Districting-Process-2021-2022.
