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
2014. For the Home Estate/PUD market sales started to rise for the month with
72 closings up from the 57 we saw in February. The Median Sales Price also rose
to $983,700 up from the end of February when it was $970,700 while the days on
the market for sold properties went down to 40 from the 58 we saw in the
previous month. The opened escrows went
up a lot however from 73 in February to 113 in March while the median list
price on those escrows went down to about $1.1 million from $1,185,000 in
February. There were approximately 150 new listings that came on the market in
March with a median list price of roughly $1.4 million and an average list
price of about $2.24 million with the overall inventory rising from about 245 units
for sale at the end of February to around 275 at the end of March.
Year over year sales are down about 24% with the
median sales price up to roughly $1 million for a 14% rise. The average sales
price is also up going from just over $1.485 million in 2013 to approximately
$1.57 million in 2014 while the numbers of escrows are down about 26% with the
median list price on those escrows up over 12%.
Looking at the
Districts, Carpinteria/Summerland sales are down from 19 to 11 and the median
sales price is down from $849,000 to $845,000. The numbers of escrows are also
down from 26 to 23 with the median list price on those escrows falling from
$875,000 last year to $865,000 this year.
For Montecito, sales are down going from 52
to 37 with the median sales price falling from $2,750,000 to $2.06 million.
Escrows are also down going from 60 to 44 but the median list price on those
escrows is up from $2.695 million to $2.795 million.
East of State St sales are equal
going from 59 in ’13 to 59 in ‘14 but the median sales price is up from $945,000
to $1.225 million. The escrows are down going from 81 to 62 with the median list
price on those escrows rising from $969,000 last year to $1,295,000 this year.
West of State St sales are up
from 47 to 48 and the median sales price is up from $716,444 to $950,000. The
numbers of escrows are down with 67 in ’13 compared to 51 in ‘14 but the median
list price on those escrows is up from $829,000 last year to $895,000 this
year.
Hope Ranch sales are down from 12
to 7 but the median sales price is up from $2.01 million to $5.1 million. The
numbers of escrows are down with 9 last year compared to 8 this year. But, the
median list price on those escrows is up from $1.86 million in ’13 to $3.85
million in ‘14.
Goleta South sales are down with
30 last year and 13 this year but the median sales price is up from $650,000 to
$780,000. The numbers of escrows are also down from 19 to 16 with the median
list price on those escrows rising from $699,450 to $749,000.
Goleta North sales are down with
51 in ’13 to 31 in ’14 with the median sales price rising from $708,731 to $774,000.
The numbers of escrows are also down from 58 to 50 with the median list price
on those escrows going up from $767,000 to $792,000.
For the Condo segment of
the market sales fell to 25 in March down from 29 in February. The median sales
price went up slightly however from about $540,000 to $560,000 and the numbers
of escrows went up a little from 33 to 35 with the median list price on those
escrows falling from $589,000 to about $550,000
There were 43 new condo
listings that came on the market for the month with a median list price of
about $550,000 and an average list price of approximately $630,000. But, the
overall inventory remained stable from just about 102 active listings in
February to roughly 100 in March.
Looking at the Districts,
Carpinteria/Summerland sales are down from 20 to 6 with the median sales price rising
from $423,000 to $551,250. The numbers of escrows are down from 24 last year to
10 this year but the median list price on those escrows is up from $437,000 to
$476,750.
Montecito condo sales are down with
7 in ’13 and 3 in ‘14 with the median sales price down from $965,000 to
$850,000. The numbers of escrows fell with 10 in ’13 and 5 in ‘14 but the
median list price on those escrows is up from $939,000 in ’13 to $950,000 in
‘14.
East of State St sales are up from
20 to 21 with the median sales price rising from $494,250 to $593,250. The numbers
of escrows are also up going from 15 to 25 with the median list price on those
escrows rising from $499,000 last year to $647,500 this year.
West of State St sales are down from
23 to 16 with the median sales price rising from $450,000 to $607,500. The escrows
went down from 26 to 25 with the median list price on those escrows going up from
$549,000 to $636,950.
Goleta South sales are up from 14 to 16 with the median sales price also
up from $442,500 to $475,000. The numbers of escrows are equal with 16 in ’13
and 16 in ‘14 with the median list price on those escrows up from $419,500 last
year to $537,000 this year.
Goleta North sales are
up from 11 to 14 with the median sales price also up from $280,000 to $429,000.
The escrows are up as well from 10 to 17 with the median list price on those
escrows going up from $402,000 to $424,500.
Through the end of the 1st quarter both
sales for the Home Estate/PUD and Condo markets are down compared to 2013 while
prices are up. Approximately 28% of the
home sales went for over the asking price in March with about 16.5% of the condos.
For Homes the percentage of the sales price over the asking price was about 3.4%
while for condos it was about 1.9%. Escrows are down for both single family
homes and condos but the second quarter looks like it’s starting to surge for
homes but not for condos. The median sales price for homes has risen to just
above $1 million while the median sales price for condos is up to around
$550,000. Listings are still the key for
a successful 2014. In March the
inventory for single family homes rose about 10% to roughly 275 properties for
sale while it stayed about the same for condos going to approximately 100
units. If that growth in the single family home inventory continues to grow and
the condo inventory starts to rise then the 2014 sales numbers will also rise
and the median sales price will continue to climb gradually.
by Gary Woods
As a sign of mortgage lenders’ rising confidence
in the housing market, restrictive lending standards are beginning to ease, and
the credit freeze is starting to thaw.
Lenders have started to accept lower credit scores and to reduce down-payment
requirements.
