No Place Like Home | The housing crisis in Santa Cruz, California (2024)

FAQs

Why is there a housing crisis in Santa Cruz? ›

The housing crisis in Santa Cruz County and across California is rooted in over 40 years of State and local policies that have failed to produce enough housing to meet the needs of our local families and individuals, resulting in skyrocketing housing costs, scarce housing supplies and high levels of homelessness.

The city of Santa Cruz, which traditionally hosts the large majority of the countywide homeless population and reached nearly 57% of the total this year, is eying an upcoming financial cliff in its recent efforts to address homelessness.

The common wisdom around here is that Santa Cruz is expensive — more expensive than almost anywhere else in the country — because of its proximity to beaches and redwood trees and a world-class university.

The Merrill Road Affordable Housing Program offers high quality, affordable rental housing for families who qualify.

How is the Housing Market Doing Currently? As of February 2024, Santa Cruz witnessed a notable decline in home prices, with a 13.2% decrease compared to the previous year.

FRESNO, Calif. (KMPH) — Personal finance company Wallet Hub found Fresno, California, has the highest homeless rate in the nation. Fresno leaders say the ranking isn't at all surprising. "It just confirms what we've seen on the streets for years," said Fresno City Councilman Miguel Arias.

Santa Cruz is relatively safe, and that area is ok. The hotels you will find in that location aren't that great though. If you go a couple of blocks nearer the wharf, it's much better. I really love The Beach Street Inn.

The city of Santa Cruz has about 24,000 housing units, according to the 2020 census. Dawson estimated the city has “over 1,000, probably closer to 2,000 empty homes.” From 2015 to 2020, Census Bureau surveys suggest that 1,806 homes in the city of Santa Cruz were vacant.

Is it cheaper to live in San Jose or Santa Cruz? ›

The average cost of living is about 10% higher in San Jose. Plus, your commute will likely be about 6% longer, meaning more gas. Also, interestingly, if a work-from-home lifestyle is your ambition, then Santa Cruz is the place to be. 37.1% more residents work from home in Santa Cruz, compared to San Jose.

Pasatiempo. Nestled in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, Pasatiempo is a prestigious neighborhood known for its stunning views and luxurious homes.

The average Santa Cruz, CA home value is $1,371,967, up 5.6% over the past year and goes to pending in around 12 days.

(1) The City currently does not restrict rental increases or the grounds for eviction.

Santa Cruz has most homeless people in California per capita and insufficient county staff to help with mental health, GJR says. SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, Calif.

Causes. The imbalance between supply and demand resulted from strong economic growth creating hundreds of thousands of new jobs (which increases demand for housing) and the insufficient construction of new housing units to provide enough supply to meet the demand.

Surrounded by protected forest, UC-Santa Cruz (UCSC) in particular faces long-standing systemic, environmental, and structural obstacles that make it difficult for the university to reconcile UC system-wide plans to enroll and house more students with local community's concerns about the environmental and financial ...

Two proximate causes were the rise in subprime lending and the increase in housing speculation.

Insufficient housing

They found that high rates of homelessness are caused by shortages of affordable housing, not by mental illness, drug addiction, or poverty. They found that mental illness, drug addiction, and poverty occur nationwide, but not all places have equally expensive housing costs.