The Boulder Creek housing market, part of the larger Santa Cruz County real estate market, saw marked signs of improvement in the most recent tracking period. Although the numbers for the month of June are not yet available, the month of May demonstrated strong growth in the housing sector. The Santa Cruz Sentinel reported that one hundred sixty single-family houses were sold in May of 2010, a substantial improvement over the same time last year. While the figure was substantially higher than May 2009, it was still well off from the peak years. When the market was at its peak, even without the benefit of the federal tax credit, two hundred or more houses would be sold during the month of May. The median price of a Boulder Creek house for sale increased from May 2009, although it did drop from April 2010. In May 2009, the median price was $425,000, while in May 2008 the figure was above six hundred thousand dollars. Although the number was at $553,000 in April 2010, it fell slightly to $535,000 in May 2010. Home sales also seemed to be transitioning towards the middle of the market. While there were fewer home sales in the high end of the market, there were also less foreclosed properties and distressed short sales.

The entirety of California saw similar improvements in recent months. Nine of the ten areas with the highest median prices were in the Golden State, including Boulder Creek and Santa Cruz County. According to Sight on San Diego real estate insider, “How about in terms of home price? San Diego has the ninth highest median home price. The most expensive metro area? San Jose at $584,000. San Francisco is right behind at $526,300, followed by Santa Cruz at $507,000 and Santa Barbara at $450,400. Again, if it seems all about us, it is. Of the 10 metro markets in terms of median home price, nine are in California. The metro area with the lowest home price is Detroit at $85,300. Next are Toledo at $94,100 and Dayton at $101,300.”