Santa Barbara Real Estate Market - A Look at Q1 2012 (January-March)

This year has been quite an exciting and active year in Santa Barbara real estate. A lot has been happening over the past few months, and things seem to be looking up in the market! 


(Check in again for more updated statistics that will be posted on my blog in the next week.)


Looking just at this year's sales for the first quarter (January through March) specifically in the Home/Estate market (not including condos, vacant land, investment properties, etc.), we see signs of acceleration.  The market has picked up speed across all segments, but these graphs are specific to the Home/Estate market. After experiencing about 70 sales in January and February, the numbers of sales rose by about 30% to 99 sales in March. To emphasize that rise in activity, not only did the numbers of sales go up, but the median sales price also went up to about $845,000 from $677,500 in February. 

As shown below, the first quarter (Janurary through March) sales were higher in conparision to the past few years. As of March 2012, the market for Home/Estates reached 238 sales compared to a low of 144 in 2009, showing roughly a 40% increase. In addition, the median price for the first quarter ($795,000) is still at a low, down about 35% from 2008's median price of $1,214,500 .Yet, we see a very slight increase of $5,000 from last year's median price of $790,000, which may be a forecast for a slight rise in prices in the coming months. 

Now let's take a look at what is happening within each district of the Santa Barbara County by taking a closer look at the 'Year over Year' comparison for the first quarter of 2012 compared to the first quarter of 2011:

Carpentaria /Summerland Home/Estate sales were up from 12 transactions last year to 24 in the first quarter of this year, and the median sales price is up from $672,500 to $690,000. For Montecito, Home/Estate sales were up from 28 to 45 with the median sales price dropping from $2.388 million last year to $1.75 million this year. East of State Home/Estate sales were up going from 46 in 2011 to 72 in 2012, but the median sales price went down from $895,000 in 2011 to $837,500 in 2012. West of State sales were down from 42 to 39, but the median sales price went up from $669,095 to $739,500. Hope Ranch sales were up from 4 to 6, and the median sales price went up from $1.775 million to $1.82 million. Goleta South sales went up with 14 last year and 23 this year, but the median sales price went down from $649,500 to $550,000. Goleta North sales went down with 42 in 2011 and 37 in 2012 with the median sales price dropping from $685,000 to $615,000. 

From the Condo perspective,  the 'Year over Year' numbers for condo sales are up about 35% as well, and the median sales price went up slightly. Both aspects of the market seem to be showing similar trends. 


Carpentaria/ Summerland condo sales went down from 15 to 8 with the median sales price falling from $353,500 to $313,750. Montecito condo sales went down with 5 in 2011 and 3 in 2012 with the median sales price up from $645,000 to $1,135,000. East of State condo sales went up from 8 to 20 with the median sales price rising from $414,750 to $462,515. West of State condo sales went up from 9 to 21 with the median sales price falling from $425,000 to $415,000. Goleta South condo sales went down from 14 to 12 with the median sales price also down from $355,000 to $248,500. Goleta North condo sales went up from 7 to 9 with the median sales price down from $365,000 to $345,000.

As we near the close of the second quarter of 2012 both the Home/Estate and Condo markets look to be in good shape. Sales are up for both sectors, and the median sales prices are slightly up for both homes and condos. The market is still showing to be extremely affordable, and from my perspective, when you combine this with incredibly low interest rates, this a great year for the buyers in the market. With spring and summer having arrived, this tends to be the more robust time for our real estate market, and this may be the time to jump into the market while sales are up and prices, interest rates, and overall affordability are highly in your favor!