Homes in Bonny Doon
Bonny Doon, named by an early Scottish settler after a well-known song of the day, encompasses a wide area between the ocean village of Davenport over to Felton and Ben Lomond. The spectacular topography ranges from coastal redwood forests to open meadows and includes some of the Zayante Sand Hills habitat.
The Zayante Sand Hills were created when tension along tectonic plates shoved the ocean floor up above sea level. Now, these areas are the only home in the world for certain rare or endangered flora and fauna. There are a couple of local schools, a church, volunteer fire department and some wineries, plus the amazing Bonny Doon Ecological Reserve. In fact, there is a native stand of the extraordinarily rare Santa Cruz Cypress Tree nearby.
The area is rather exclusive, featuring well built homes on larger than average properties. There are about 1200 homes in this unincorporated area, and about twice as many residents. The majority of properties are owner occupied, but there are rentals also. Employment in Bonny Doon itself is limited, but there are opportunities in the closest city of Santa Cruz, with a population of about 45,000. Santa Cruz has a wide variety of shopping, dining, and recreation options including world famous surfing beaches. The University of California at Santa Cruz is within 10 miles of most homes. Many residents are in high tech and commute to the Silicon Valley. There is high speed internet available at many properties (via satellite), allowing some to work from home. However, cellular reception is not reliable without a home booster.
During the recent real estate downturn, Bonny Doon properties prices remained relatively stable.
In early 2007, the average prices for a single family home was in the range of $900,000.
By the end of 2011, the average price for a Bonny Doon home remained resilient at $815,000.
During 2015, a healthy 27 single family residences sold with an average price of about $840,000.
