Editor’s Note: This is part of an occasional series about the challenge of renting in Santa Cruz County.
SANTA CRUZ >> Sara Jansen spotted the rental listing July 21 on Craigslist: Large group living opportunity, 12 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 1309 High St., one-quarter mile from the University of California Santa Cruz campus. Rent: $945 per month per room.
This was the first time she had seen a landlord setting up a rental like a dorm. She shared the information on Facebook with 2,000 fellow members of Santa Cruz County and SLV Rental Listings, a private group started by Summer Finley after she got priced out and moved to Monterey County.
Finley’s response: “This is a good idea.”
One group member chimed in, “That’s actually a really good deal.”
But the Craigslist posting soon disappeared, and a visit to the property turned up a city red tag indicating a violation.
Rentals are scarce in Santa Cruz County, and Zillow Research found the average rent for all types of housing jumped 22 percent to $2,571 last October when UC Santa Cruz began the fall 2014 term.
On the supply side, the economic crash waylaid building projects, and rising fees to build housing including water hookups discouraged developers.
On the demand side, people who lost their homes to foreclosure became renters and UC Santa Cruz added 700 more freshmen than expected last fall, pushing returning students off campus.
Meanwhile, Santa Cruz vacation rentals are growing in popularity — 596 on Airbnb.com and 364 on VRBO.com — and can be more lucrative than a year lease if the home is fully rented for the summer. Some highlight their location as close to campus.
In July, the city of Santa Cruz released a report documenting housing needs through 2023 showing 494 housing units in developments of five or more are in the pipeline.
So far, 93 have been completed; most are under review or awaiting a building permit.
The report, however, does not identify the number of units planned as rentals vs. planned for sale.
“There’s unbelievable demand,” said Ron Hirsch of Hirsch and Associates, a commercial real estate firm working countywide, observing little new rental housing. “There’s always a demand for studios.”
Deanna Scoggins Torra pointed out that High Street, at the foot of the campus, is popular for student rentals. Her mom lives in the Westside neighborhood and enjoys the company of student housemates, she said.
While some renters saw the High Street venture as creative, one was skeptical that three bathrooms would be sufficient.
Alex Khoury, the city’s assistant director of planning, said plans to add several bedrooms to the house on High Street had been submitted and were under review. Then the city got a complaint that construction was underway.
“When we visited the site, it was indeed underway with no permits,” Khoury said. “So a ‘stop work’ order was issued.”
As of Aug. 12, the red tag had not been lifted. The home, built in 1977, has four bedrooms, three bathrooms and 2,590 square feet, according to Zillow.com.
The owner is Brian Swartz, who bought the property in mid-July for $1.085 million, according to the Santa Cruz Record.
“We are working with the city on permits for the project,” Swartz said. “We are looking at what is allowed, how that property can be used.”
He said he was aware of the high demand for housing in Santa Cruz and called this property “well-located” for student housing.
“We want to complete the permit process and make sure the city is comfortable with it,” he said, brushing off other questions.
This fall, UCSC anticipates housing 9,058 students on campus, up from 8,637 a year ago, according to Scott Hernandez-Jason, campus director of news and media relations.
Housing capacity increased due to completion of repairs to waterproof apartment complexes at Cowell College and Porter College, which closed those facilities for a year and prompted a lawsuit against the builder. Before that, they had housed 742 students.
About 60 percent of the undergraduates will be assigned to triple rooms to meet the demand for on-campus housing, Hernandez-Jason said.
He expects about 3,650 freshmen this fall, fewer than the 4,037 freshmen last fall and the 4,087 undergraduates who earned degrees in June. Move-in begins on Sept. 17 with instruction beginning Sept. 24.
RENT STATISTICS
Santa Cruz County housing figures for July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2015.
Rental type Range Average
Room or double room $500-$1,400 $836
Studios/efficiencies $700-$1,495 $1,035
1-bedroom house/duplex $1,200-$2,000 $1,623
1-bedroom apt./condo $900-$1,800 $1,354
2-bedroom house/duplex $1,650-$3,100 $2,233
2-bedroom apt./condo $1,400-$2,750 $2,017
3-bedroom house/duplex $2,100-$4,350 $3,054
3-bedroom apt./condo $2,300-$3,875 $3,032
4-bedroom house/apt. $2,800-$5,100 $4,065
5-8 bedrooms house/apt. $3,500-$5,900 $4,740
Source: UC Santa Cru<CHARENTITY>7</CHARENTITY>z Community Rentals
