The Live Oak area of Santa Cruz is expansive and highly diverse, containing the popular Harbor area that many visit and wish they could stay longer, as there are so many surrounding, walkable areas that locals love, and your clients will too. As your go-to Santa Cruz County referral partner, we’re all about supplying you with local intel to keep your clients informed in their coastal and mountain property search. In this edition, we break down the Harbor and Live Oak area and its highly desirable amenities.
Beneath the video, you’ll find a quick summary of each neighborhood, but if you want to help your clients explore current listings, here’s a link to our Live Oak & Harbor search tool.
- Harbor & Twin Lakes - The Twin Lakes region is one of mostly beach cottages and was developed primarily starting in the 1920s. The Wood's Lagoon was dredged out and made into the Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor. The primary area of development was between 7th Ave and Schwan Lagoon, below the train tracks, and between 12th Ave and 15th Ave, bounded by East Cliff Drive. There’s a mix of larger ocean view homes with some smaller beach cottages. Easy walk to the beach or the yacht harbor from this neighborhood.
- Seabright - This neighborhood is the epitome of what Santa Cruz is known for - a quiet beachfront community that has a sailing flair with the sandy beaches. Here you will find a wide variety of real estate from luxury oceanfront homes, properties overlooking the yacht harbor, and homes and condos on the bluff with views of the beach and water. Seabright is a neighborhood with a variety of character and a great vibe.
- Live Oak/East Side - This area is a section of the county located roughly between the Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor and 41st Avenue and bounded by Hwy 1 and the ocean. It’s an unincorporated suburbia between Santa Cruz and Capitola. At 41st Avenue and Portola is a fun district of restaurants, coffeehouses, surf and skate shops, and other stores with a surf town aura. Pleasure Point is deeply connected to surf culture and features a combination of luxury beach homes and beach bungalows with local markets nearby.
- Prospect Heights - Prospect Heights is located on the north side of Santa Cruz and is liked for its proximity to the golf course, Dominican Hospital, and Delaveaga Elementary School, which is one of the schools in the area offering a dual immersion language program for students. There’s also an easy connection to Hwy 17 and Hwy 1 from this neighborhood.
- Mid-Town - Mid-Town is a very convenient, central location of Santa Cruz. It’s known for its walkable corridor along Soquel Ave nestled between downtown and Seabright. Locals catch performances at the Rio theater, listen to live music at The Crepe Place, grocery shop at Shoppers Corner, and grab bites to eat at town staples such as The Buttery, Charlie Hong Kong, and Lillian’s Italian Kitchen.