Vote for Village Properties in the Santa Barbara Reader's Poll!

The Santa Barbara Independent is hosting its annual "Best of Santa Barbara Reader's Poll".  For the past several years, Village Properties has won a variety of Reader's Choice Awards, and hopes to continue this trend in 2012!  Please take a few minutes to fill complete your poll entry.  The deadline for all ballots is August 17th, so make sure to submit your entries soon!

Some Interesting Statistics from the California Association of Realtors

California Home Prices by County

Santa Barbara County's median home price sits at $477,780 according to the California Association of Realtors most recent statistics.  These numbers take into account not only South Santa Barbara County, consisting of Montecito, Santa Barbara, Goleta, Summerland, Mission Canyon, and Hope Ranch; but also the North Santa Barbara region, which is composed of Santa Ynez, Solvang, Buellton, and Lompoc. This is why the median price appears lower. If these numbers reflected only Santa Barbara South County, it would be much higher.

Moving Habits of Californians

The California Association of Realtors also recently released statistics that tracked the moving habits of Californians over the course of the last five years.  In 2011, 68% of Californians moved within the state, while 20% moved to other states, predominantly Washington, Oregon, Arizona, or Texas. People love to stay in California!

New Listing - 124 W. Alamar - Listed at $400,000

This Spanish-style townhouse is centrally located off State Street.  Situated in the rear of the complex in a quiet creekside setting, this unit offers great lighting, a private patio off of the kitchen, and numerous upgrades including bamboo flooring, tile work, crown molding, and more.  Both bedrooms have their own full bath, and the master has a great balcony overlooking the creek with a large closet.

Alma Del Pueblo Construction Moves Along

I am excited to announce one of my new listings, the Alma Del Pueblo development in the heart of downtown Santa Barbara!  This is located on the corner of Victoria and Chapala, and will serve as home to residential housing as well as the Santa Barbara Public Market with 18 vendors and two additional commercial spaces.  Noozhawk covered the historic mural relocation which happened last week for the new development here.  Our sales office will be opening soon, feel free to contact me with any questions you have regarding the project!

Weekly Snapshot Statistics - Last 4 Weeks - Santa Barbara Real Estate

For the week ending 7/15/12:

54 New Listings

27 Price Changes 
42 Sales Pended:

   32 (under $1M)
   9 ($1-2M)
   1 ($2-4M)
48 Closed:

   38 (under $1M)
   6 ($1-2M)
   2 ($2-4M)
   2 ($8M+)
7 Expired

5 Canceled

4 Withdrawn

18 Back on the Market

For the week ending 7/8/12:

47 New Listings

38 Price Changes 
48 Sales Pended:

   34 (under $1M)
   7 ($1-2M)
   5 ($2-4M)

   1 ($4-8M)
   1 ($8M+)
38 Closed:

   26 (under $1M)
   7 ($1-2M)
   5 ($2-4M)
7 Expired

5 Canceled

4 Withdrawn

18 Back on the Market

For the week ending 7/1/12:

59 New Listings

33 Price Changes 
45 Sales Pended:

   24 (under $1M)
   15 ($1-2M)
   5 ($2-4M)
   1 ($8M+)
52 Closed:

   37 (under $1M)
   10 ($1-2M)
   5 ($2-4M)
20 Expired

4 Canceled

5 Withdrawn

12 Back on the Market

For the week ending 6/24/12:

60 New Listings

31 Price Changes 
42 Sales Pended:

   28 (under $1M)
   9 ($1-2M)
   4 ($2-4M)
   1 ($8M+)
33 Closed:

   18 (under $1M)
   11 ($1-2M)
   3 ($2-4M)
   1 ($4-8M)
6 Expired

9 Canceled

2 Withdrawn

10 Back on the Market

Forbes Article: Santa Barbara is Second Hottest Real Estate Market in the U.S.

Link to full article: Rebounding Riviera

Santa Barbara Real Estate: Rebounding Riviera

It’s probably no surprise that roller-coaster real estate markets like Phoenixand Miami are in roaring rebound mode this year, but Santa Barbara?

Who knew? Sometimes called the “American Riviera” for its red tile-roofed estates overlooking the Pacific, year-round great climate, active cultural life and its movie star residents, Santa Barbara took a significant though little publicized hit during the real estate bust, with median home list prices plunging from $1,667,500 in September 2007 to $649,000 this May.

But here’s the latest news: this May’s median list price in Santa Barbara – low as it may appear compared with the peak — was actually 30 percent higher than the same month last year, and nearly one-fifth higher than April of this year. Total home sales in May were double the year earlier. Pending contracts were up by nearly 80 percent.

Numbers like these rank Santa Barbara as the second hottest metropolitan real estate market in the U.S. after only Phoenix, according to a new survey byRealtor.com, based on data from hundreds of local Multiple Listing Services around the country. Local real estate brokers say the market is so fast-paced that virtually any realistically priced home that’s listed is being snapped up. New listings are selling 20 percent faster than they were a year ago.

So what’s going on in Santa Barbara? Probably several things simultaneously. For starters, there’s a severe scarcity of inventory. The number of homes listed and available for sale in May was down by 34 percent compared with the year earlier. Unlike 2005 and 2006, when sellers stood in line to list at seven figure asking prices, there aren’t so many houses for sale today in Santa Barbara.

Another factor: Although its median list price puts it behind only San Francisco ($699,000 median) among California’s largest luxury markets, there is a recognition that Santa Barbara is a very special place, and that underlying real estate values very likely will rise faster here in an improving economy than elsewhere. Not only is Santa Barbara special locationally and in cultural terms, it’s also special – at least for California – in terms of employment. Metropolitan Santa Barbara’s unemployment rate is nearly 3 percentage points lower than the California statewide rate (8.2 percent in May compared with 10.8 for California as a whole.) Consumers with good local jobs can afford the $649,000 current median asking price for homes, and they are signing contracts to buy a piece of this jewel by the sea.

Bottom line: Don’t be surprised if Santa Barbara prices keep moving up faster than most other markets. And if you’ve ever wanted to live there or purchase property, this could be one of your last shots in a long while to pick up real estate coming out of a deep cyclical low.

Positive News - 2012 Sales Have Far Surpassed 2011 Sales - Santa Barbara South County

This graph reflects the number of real estate transactions that happen each month in Santa Barbara South County. We have far surpassed 2011 this year. Prices have not rebounded significantly, but the number of transactions has gone up dramatically. 2012 is represented by the blue line. Click on the graph to see the full image.