Santa Barbara Real Estate through the end of March 2015 for Montecito, Hope Ranch, Santa Barbara, Goleta, Carpinteria and Summerland

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 1^st 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.

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Ventura, California: 50 Best Places to Live in America

Ventura, California

Southern California used to be full of laid-back, middle-class beach towns. One by one they have disappeared — the locals pushed inland, their modest neighborhoods razed to make room for trophy homes and luxury condos. And then there's Ventura. This sleepy city of 106,000, located midway between Malibu and Santa Barbara, remains refreshingly unpolished, "like a 1961 Ford pickup that's been well kept," says C.J. Paone, a 44-year-old architect who's lived here for 11 years. The city's blue-collar roots are evident in the fleets of commercial fishing boats in the harbor. Main Street has more thrift stores than chain stores. Cross Highway 101 and head toward the Santa Ynez Mountains and you'll spot — or at least hear the roar of — vintage hot rods. Ventura County was a drag-racing hot spot in the 1950s and remains full of gearheads and high-end custom shops. Patagonia, with a workforce of 550, is one of Ventura's largest employers. A start-up incubator funded by the city is hatching new businesses, particularly in health care and technology, such as the Trade Desk, a five-year old firm that provides services to digital advertisers. "My board has asked me multiple times to move to New York," says Jeff Green, the company's co-founder. "But we've made the choice to be in Ventura; it's one of the best-kept secrets in California." Underappreciated, of course, also means undervalued. In Midtown, a neighborhood of modest single-story bungalows, a three-bedroom, turn-of-the-century Craftsman can be found for around $600,000. And good public schools mean you don't have to send your kids to a private-school money pit. That was a big part of the draw for Phil Graves, who recently moved here from Berkeley to run an investment fund at Patagonia. "Ventura is a better fit for us," he says. "The weather is 65 to 75 degrees all year, so we're at the beach with the kids on weekends. And at least a couple of days a week, some buddies from Patagonia and I might go on a bike ride to Ojai and back during lunch, about 20 miles. They've got showers here on Patagonia's campus. Or if you're pressed for time and you run to your meeting sweaty and stinky, nobody cares. It's very,very chill here."

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4 Keys Identified for a Full Housing Recovery

National Association of realtors

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | FRIDAY, JANUARY 17, 2014

In order to have a fully recovered housing market and economic recovery, economists point to the need for four positive indicators: 

1. A healthy job market with low stable unemployment; 

2. Mortgage delinquencies that have returned to historical averages; 

3. Home prices consistent with an affordable mortgage payment–to–income ratio; and 

4. Home sales that are in the range of historical norms. 

So, is the housing market inching closer? 

Freddie Mac’s U.S. Economic and Housing Market Outlook for January takes a look at how the housing market is performing among these four indicators. Economists note that the unemployment rate -- while inching down -- still remains high at 6.7 percent. Meanwhile, mortgage delinquencies have fallen to 5.88 percent -- nearly half of their peak rate but still higher than the national average of about 2 percent, Freddie notes. 

Home prices still have some room to grow without outpacing income growth, economists say. 

“From 1999–2006, mortgage payments on a hypothetical 30-year fixed-rate mortgage would have increased by 50 percent more than income growth,” Freddie Mac notes in the report. “Currently, payment-to-income ratios are only 60 percent of the level we had in 1999, suggesting room for continued housing growth.” 

Finally, home sales have risen over the past two years but remain below levels from a nearly a decade ago. Home sales, historically, average a rate of about 6 percent of the housing stock every year. They dropped to 4 percent during the housing crisis. Economists are predicting a 5.7 percent pace in 2014. 

"As we start 2014, the housing recovery continues its steady pace,” Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “House-price gains will likely moderate from last year's pace but rise about 5 percent in national indexes. Home sales, as well as other key indicators, continue to trend in the right direction, although in some markets we are seeing the sales recovery strengthen while many others remain weak."

Source: Freddie Mac and “Are We There Yet? Freddie Mac Says Recovery Has a Ways to Go,” Mortgage News Daily (Jan. 16, 2014)

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Ventura Home Prices Rise 17.2% Year Over Year

The median sales price for homes in Ventura CA for May 13 to Jul 13 was $420,000. This represents an increase of 10.5%, or $40,000, compared to the prior quarter and an increase of 17.2% compared to the prior year. Sales prices have appreciated 10.5% over the last 5 years in Ventura. The average listing price for Ventura homes for sale on Trulia was $663,360 for the week ending Aug 18, which represents an increase of 0.4%, or $2,330, compared to the prior week and a decline of 1.4%, or $9,172, compared to the week ending Jul 28. Average price per square foot for Ventura CA was $281, an increase of 7.7% compared to the same period last year

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The Best Santa Barbara Realtor

Karen Musser, of Prudential California Realty, specializes in Santa Barbara and Ventura real estate. The Prudential name brings buyers to your door but it is Karen’s commitment to enhancing your total real estate experience that ensures that your real estate goals are accomplished.

Thousands of home sellers have learned that Prudential California Realty surrounds its clients in a total experience unmatched anywhere. As one of the top five brokerages in the nation, with over $10 billion in annual sales, Prudential has over 3,000 sales associates in 58 offices to locate the best buyers and properties for their clients.

 As your agent, Karen leverages the power of the Prudential name by offering her expertise in an area that she herself has inhabited for over two decades.

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