This
is an analysis of the Santa Barbara Real Estate market including Carpinteria/Summerland,
Montecito, Hope Ranch, downtown Santa Barbara and Goleta through the month of March
2015. For the Home Estate/PUD market sales went way up for the month with about
117 closings from the 58 we saw in February. The Median Sales Price also rose
to about $1.2 million up from $1,035,000 at the end of February while the days
on the market for sold properties went down to around 54 from the 71 we saw in
the previous month. The opened escrows stayed
at about the same level from 121 in February to about 118 in March. The median
list price on those escrows went up however to about $1.249 million from $1,050,000
in February. There were approximately 160 new listings that came on the market
in March with a median list price of roughly $1.45 million and an average list
price of about $2.5 million with the overall inventory rising from about 260 units
for sale at the end of February to around 280 at the end of March.
Year over year sales are up about 22% with the median
sales price up to roughly $1.15 million for a 12% rise. The average sales price
is also up going from just over $1.585 million in 2014 to approximately $2
million in 2015 while the numbers of escrows are up about 29% with the median
list price on those escrows up over 11% to $1,175,000.
Looking at the
Districts, Carpinteria/Summerland sales are up from 11 to 24 and the median
sales price is up from $845,000 to $895,500. The numbers of escrows are also up
from 23 to 29 with the median list price on those escrows falling from $865,000
last year to $829,000 this year.
For
Montecito, sales are up going from 38 to 46 with the median sales price rising
from $2,112,500 to $2.86 million. Escrows are also up going from 41 to 53 and the
median list price on those escrows is up from $2.795 million to $2.95 million.
East of State St sales are up
going from 59 in ‘14 to 68 in ‘15 and the median sales price is up from $1,225,000
to $1.25 million. The escrows are also up going from 61 to 75 with the median list
price on those escrows rising from $1,295,000 last year to $1,349,000 this
year.
West of State St sales are up
from 48 to 50 but the median sales price is down from $950,000 to $845,000. The
numbers of escrows are also up with 49 in ‘14 compared to 69 in ‘15 and the
median list price on those escrows is up from $895,000 last year to $1,055,000 this
year.
Hope Ranch sales are up from 7 to
12 but the median sales price is down from $5.105 million to $2.86 million. The
numbers of escrows are also up with 8 last year compared to 12 this year. But,
the median list price on those escrows is down from $3.85 million in ‘14 to
$2.89 million in ‘15.
Goleta South sales are up with 13
last year and 19 this year but the median sales price is down from $780,000 to $760,000.
The numbers of escrows are also up from 15 to 20 with the median list price on
those escrows rising from $739,000 to $778,000.
Goleta North sales are up with 31
in ‘14 to 36 in ‘15 with the median sales price rising from $770,000 to $862,500.
The numbers of escrows are also up from 48 to 50 with the median list price on
those escrows going from $789,000 to $949,000.
For the Condo segment of
the market sales went way up to 56 in March from 27 in February. The median sales
price also went up from $542,500 to $587,000 and the numbers of escrows went up
from 38 to 68 with the median list price on those escrows rising from $542,000
to about $559,500.
There were about 45 new
condo listings that came on the market for the month with a median list price
of about $599,000 and an average list price of approximately $686,697. But, unlike the Home Estate/PUD market the
overall inventory fell from just about 86 to roughly 65.
Looking at the Districts,
Carpinteria/Summerland sales are up from 7 to 24 with the median sales price falling
from $527,500 to $475,000. The numbers of escrows are also up from 10 last year
to 30 this year but the median list price on those escrows is down from $478,500
to $474,000.
Montecito condo sales are up with 3
in ‘14 and 7 in ‘15 with the median sales price up from $850,000 to $950,000. The
numbers of escrows rose with 5 in ‘14 and 10 in ‘15 while the median list price
on those escrows is up from $950,000 in ‘14 to $967,000 in ‘15.
East of State St sales are up from
21 to 35 with the median sales price rising from $593,250 to $634,350. The
numbers of escrows are also up going from 23 to 48 with the median list price
on those escrows falling from $675,000 last year to $575,000 this year.
West of State St sales are up from
16 to 29 with the median sales price up from $607,500 to $618,500. The escrows
went from 24 to 32 with the median list price on those escrows going from
$644,900 to $699,000.
Goleta South sales are down from 16 to 15 with the median sales price even
from $475,000 to $475,000. But the numbers of escrows are up with 15 in ‘14 and
21 in ‘15 while the median list price on those escrows is down from $537,000 last
year to $475,000 this year.
Goleta North sales are
down from 14 to 11 with the median sales price up from $429,000 to $497,000.
The escrows are also down from 18 to 15 with the median list price on those
escrows going up from $429,000 to $489,000.
Through the end of the 1st quarter both
sales for the Home Estate/PUD and Condo markets are up compared to 2014 and
prices are also up. Approximately 12.8%
of the home sales went for over the asking price in March with about 13.4% of the
condos. For Homes the percentage of the sales price over the asking price was
about 3.1% while for condos it was about 1.7%. On the other side of the coin
23% of the Homes had a price reduction and 36% of the condos went down in
price.
Escrows are up
for both single-family homes and condos but the second quarter based on escrows
looks like it’s stabilizing for homes and based on the inventory perhaps even
falling for condos. The median sales price for homes has risen to roughly $1.1
million while the median sales price for condos is up to around $570,000. In March the inventory for
single-family homes rose about 9% to roughly 285 properties for sale while it
went down about 20% for condos to approximately 65 units. 2015 has started out
strong for sales of homes and condos with the median sales price rising for
both segments. The question is whether that momentum will be maintained.
