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At least three multimillion-dollar houses in Santa Cruz County have sold within the last month, giving rise to speculation that the economic slump in the high-end real estate market may be ending.

Topping the list was a modern beach house at 797 Los Olas Drive that sold for a record $6.5 million, said Realtor Steve Allen of Coldwell Banker, Jackson and Mann of Aptos, who represented seller Gary Passon of Los Angeles.

Buyers were Bill Watkins, president of Seagate Technology in Scotts Valley, and his wife, Denise. They were represented by Marcy Kjelesen of David Lyng Real Estate in Capitola.

"In addition to the $6.5 million, buyer and seller agreed that if the new buyer sells the property within seven years, they will split any proceeds above $6.5 million," Allen said.

"The high-end market has just been dead for the past year, and in the past month, we have seen an enormous amount of sales in Aptos," Allen said. "People are willing to invest larger amounts into real estate in Santa Cruz County, predominately in Aptos. It’s a reflection of higher consumer confidence in the economy."

The house at 797 Los Olas, which had been on the market for several months, originally was priced at $10.75 million.

"It was a challenge to pick a price," Allen said. "The house is impossible to replicate."

The 4,000-square-foot house with four bedrooms and 5½ bathrooms sits on a half-acre of sand, supported by columns that are sunk 40 feet into bedrock. The $6.5 million price is the highest price ever recorded in Aptos, Allen said.

Other record-setters included a house at 70 Geoffroy Drive in Santa Cruz that sold for $6.6 million in April 2001.

A year earlier, a house on Holiday Drive in La Selva Beach sold for $8.5 million.

Ever-decreasing mortgage rates, now at 45-year lows, and continued weakness in the stock market, are cited by real estate agents as the impetus behind the market jump.

And all of the trophy houses sold recently have one thing in common — a view of the ocean. Three of the four are on the ritzy strip of Los Olas Drive.

Steve Byrd, sales manager with Holcomb Real Estate in Aptos, said a house at 650 Bayview Drive in Aptos, with a price tag of $5.5 million, went into escrow last week.

"A lot of people who have had money in the stock market have taken it out of the market and the money market account and decided to put it into real estate," Byrd said.

The Aptos/Rio del Mar area is selling because it’s "location, location, location," Byrd said.

The house on Bayview Drive has four bedrooms and four bathrooms in 6,000 square feet on the bluffs of Aptos with ocean views from almost every room.

Sale of a third house at 725 Los Olas Drive, with a price of $3.7 million, is pending.

Last month, a house at 759 Los Olas Drive sold for $4.2 million by Sam Wright of Wright and Co. Realtors, Allen noted. Wright could not be reached to comment.

A check of the multiple listing service for the county shows more than 200 houses for sale at more than $1 million, including 28 between $2 million and $3 million, 16 from $3 million to $4 million, and nine from $4 million to $7 million.

Topping out the list is a $7.5 million residence in the Los Gatos Mountains, a $7.9 million residence on Cox Road in Aptos and a $12 million residence on Alba Road in Ben Lomond.

Contact Carolyn Leal at jcopeland@santa-cruz.com.

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