Many residents of Santa Cruz can only dream of buying a home in this beautiful, expensive city. For some Cabrillo educators, that dream can now become a reality with a new partnership between the college and Landed, a home buying assistance program for teachers. Through the Landed program, a former Cabrillo student is helping to bring housing assistance to his hometown..
It’s not a coincidence that Cabrillo is the first institute of higher education in California to partner with Landed: the company’s director of partnerships is former Cabrillo student Ian Magruder.
Magruder, the son of a Santa Cruz public school teacher, was instrumental in bringing Landed to Santa Cruz public schools in 2017. The San Francisco-based startup has already helped about a dozen families in Santa Cruz County buy homes.
“It was a pretty easy choice, honestly,” said Magruder of choosing to bring Landed to Cabrillo. “We’ve had a lot of success in Santa Cruz County, we know there’s a big need in Santa Cruz County. The final piece of the puzzle was that the leadership in Cabrillo college really wanted us to be an option for their employees.”
For many Santa Cruz County residents, buying a home is nearly impossible. The average home price in Santa Cruz is currently the highest it has ever been at $925,000, according to real estate website Zillow. The high cost of down payments for such expensive homes is out of reach for many educators whose salaries often do not compensate for the exceptionally high cost of living. That’s where Landed comes in.
“We’re helping families who have some money saved to buy a house, but not quite enough to be able to put down 20 percent for a down payment they need to get into a house,” said Magruder.
Landed began in 2015 to help Bay Area teachers afford homes in one of the most expensive real estate markets in the country. Since then, Landed has expanded into other pricey areas, including Seattle, Denver, Boulder, Los Angeles, San Diego and, most recently, Hawaii. With capital from investors such as the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative (set up by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan, the program provides up to half of the total down payment of a home, up to $120,000. In exchange, Landed receives a portion of the change in value of the home when it is sold.
As a Santa Cruz native, Magruder has seen how the city has changed in the last 30 years.
“It’s gone from a sleepy beach town to a highly desired, expensive area,” he said. “In the process, I think it’s become harder and harder for working class families to stay.” As home prices rise and wages remain stagnant, educators need to make difficult decisions, according to Magruder. Many have to choose between teaching and staying in Santa Cruz. For families who have some, but not all, of the down payment they need, Landed can help bridge that gap.
“Landed can be that extra boost that can make home ownership and really their own financial security and stability possible,” said Magruder.
Landed has already made a difference in the lives of Santa Cruz teachers since 2017. Among them is Christina Canavan, a Soquel teacher who in 2018 became the first Santa Cruz educator to close on a home with Landed. She described her initial frustration trying to save enough on a teacher’s salary to buy her home in a video published online by the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
“I was starting to look for other opportunities over the hill in Silicon Valley where teachers get higher salaries,” said Canavan. “We just felt really priced out at this market.” With Landed’s help, she was able to bolster her savings enough to buy her home. “I really encourage any teacher that’s in this county to just at least look into the program,” she said, emphasizing that Landed will work with families over time until they have enough saved to buy a home.
In a testimonial provided by Landed, another Santa Cruz teacher, identified only as Cate, lauded the program’s assistance in the homebuying process itself.
“When the option became available in our county it was a no brainer for us! Excellent communication and guidance,” said Cate. “We also felt very secure in the decision process of picking a home since Landed thoroughly looked over the inspection reports.” At Cabrillo, more than 50 employees have already reached out to Landed, according to Magruder, and the number is growing.
Magruder attended Cabrillo as a high school student and served as the student body vice president in 2006 before attending UC Berkeley. He credits Cabrillo with providing him with a meaningful academic and social experience as a young student activist.
“Cabrillo is a real gem of an institution,” he said. “It’s honestly an honor to be able to come back and do something that helps out faculty and staff.”
To learn more about how Landed can help Cabrillo employees afford a home, visit landed.com.
