Santa Cruz County to hold random drawling to select two homebuyers for affordable Measure J townhomes

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, Calif. (KION-TV)- The Santa Cruz County Community Development and Infrastructure Department will be holding a random drawing that will select two prospective Measure J homebuyers for two newly built three-bedroom Measure J townhomes in Soquel.

County officials are planning to hold the random drawing on July 11. The drawing date could be delayed by the Housing Division if needed to process a high volume of pre-applications. Applicants will be notified by email of the confirmed drawing date once it is set.

Applicants will be informed of their ranking number on the list for this project within three days of the drawing.

The maximum sales price for each of these new Measure J townhomes is $499,800. All Measure J homes are subject to permanent deed restrictions which impose ongoing resale price limits and affordability restrictions on current and future homeowners.

People who are interested in entering the random drawing must meet the Measure J eligibility
criteria for these homes which include.

• Gross household income does not exceed 2023 Moderate-Income limits for
• Santa Cruz County;
• Buyer is prequalified for a loan of at least 70% of the home price;
• Household size qualifies for a 3-bedroom home pursuant to the program’s occupancy standards (generally 4-7 household members, with limited exceptions);
• First-time homebuyer: has not owned a home for the past 3 years;
• Buyer is Purchase Ready, as defined in Affordable Housing Guidelines

To enter the drawling, Prospective buyers must deliver a printed pre-application form, with their
loan pre-qualification letter attached, to the County Community Development and Infrastructure Office in Santa Cruz between June 20-29, 2023.

County officials say that the the two top-ranked applicants must submit a complete Measure J eligibility
application within one week of notification.

If either applicant fails to complete the application or purchase process, Community Development and Infrastructure Staff will refer buyers from the ranked list in numeric order until a buyer is approved and enters into contract for each home.

To access the application for the random drawling, click here. If you want to learn more about the Measure J housing program, click here.