Quick Statistics

The average price for the 45 properties is $1,244,812.

The highest price is $12,943,000 - 1169 Hill Road.

The median price is $795,000.

The lowest price is $374,325 - 5694 Alondra.

The average Market Time is 92.

Santa Barbara Real Estate through the end of February ‘10 for Montecito, Hope Ranch, Santa Barbara, Goleta, Carpinteria and Summerland

Market Overview:

The trend in both the Home Estate/PUD and Condo markets is that Santa Barbara is lacking inventory in the "hot" sectors of these markets.  For the Home Estate/PUD market, the "hot" properties are the sub $1 million dollar homes.  For the Condo market, the "hot" properties are below $500,000.  For the Home Estate/PUD market, listings are down in every District except Goleta North which is over 25% ahead of where it was last year. Montecito is basically at the same level of inventory we experienced last year at this time. But while the inventory continues to shrink the escrows continue to mount.  Every District except Goleta South has experienced more open escrows this year than occurred last year. Of the approximately 150 condo listings from Carpinteria to Goleta about a third are below $500,000 and with 75% of the sales coming from that segment.

Comparing the first two months of the year to the same period last year, sales are up by roughly 15% but the median sales price is down by about 8% falling to approximately $775,000 for the year. Sales generally lag in the first quarter of the year so the decline in the numbers of sales is not unusual. There is a substantial amount of activity in the marketplace with a significant number of properties going into escrow.  In January there were 55 escrows opened and in February that number rose to the high 60s. The median list price on those opened escrows also rose from $825,000 in January to right about $900,000 in February.

The decline in sales in the below $1 million range is primarily due to the lack of inventory in that range.  Listings are down in every District except Goleta North which is over 25% ahead of where it was last year while Montecito is basically at the same level of inventory we experienced last year at this time. But, while the inventory continues to shrink the escrows continue to mount. Every District except Goleta South has experienced more open escrows this year than occurred last year.

The sales picture is more varied however with Carpinteria/Summerland, Montecito and East of State St having more sales this year and West of State St, Goleta South and Goleta North experiencing fewer sales in ‘10. The encouraging signs for the month are in the strengthening of sales between $1 and $2 million but the troublesome signs are the declining inventory in the sub $1 million range.

Condo sales will start to rise as we move into the second quarter and the median sales price level should continue to be around $450,000 to $475,000. In February of the 18 sales 14 were below $500,000 and of the 4 over $500,000, 2 were over $1 million. The condo market in Montecito after being very quiet for most of '09 seems to be moving forward again but 3 sales in 2 months can't be considered a huge trend. Sales in the rest of the Districts are also ahead of or equal to last year's numbers.

Inventory remains the problem in the condo market. Of the approximately 150 condo listings from Carpinteria to Goleta about 50 of them or 1/3 are below $500,000 and with 75% of the sales coming from that below $500,000 segment of the market the inventory in that range continues to diminish. Despite a decline in the median sales price in January the prices seem to be basically stable and should continue that way for the foreseeable future with numbers of sales depending on whether the inventory starts expanding or continues to contract.

Home Estate/PUD

The Home Estate/PUD market for Santa Barbara, Montecito, Hope Ranch, Carpinteria/Summerland and Goleta for February 2010 saw sales in the mid 40's, falling from 61 in the previous month. The median sales price rose however from $760,000 in January up to around the $800,000 level.

The decline in the number of sales was primarily in the sub million dollar bracket dropping from the low 50s in that range in December 2009 to the mid 40s in January and to the low 30s in February. The $1 to $2 million price range saw a rise in activity, however, which accounts for the median sales price going up for the month.  The over $2 million range saw a decline in sales falling from 7 in January to around 4 sales in February with only 1 sale over $5 million.

The sales price to original list price ratio also rose for the month from 75% in January to right about 80% for February, but when you look at both months combined that ratio is right around 77% for all of 2010 so far compared to 84% for the same period in 2009.

Carpinteria/Summerland: Sales that are more than triple what they were last year at this time and the median sales price has gone up from about $590,000 in 2009 to approximately $835,000 in 2010.

Montecito: Sales are almost exactly where they were last year at this time but the median sales price has dropped about $1 million from approximately $3 million last year to about $2 million this year.

East of State: Sales are almost double where they were last year, but the median sales price has dropped from $970,000 last year to about $830,000 this year.

West of State: Sales have dropped about 23% from this time last year and the median sales price has fallen from $870,000 in 2009 to about $740,000 in 2010.

Hope Ranch: Sales are exactly the same as this time last year, but the median sales price was $2.36 million in 2009 compared to $3.58 in 2010.

Goleta South: After a big year in 2009, sales have fallen behind in the numbers this year.  The median sales price has declined from $680,000 last year to about $550,000 this year. 

Goleta North: Sales have fallen behind the 2009 numbers and the median sales price has also declined, but only slightly from about $690,000 last year to approximately $680,000 this year.

Condos

For the Condo Market in Santa Barbara the numbers of sales have declined for the last 5 months in a row.  The reason for the fall off of sales is the lack of inventory in the all important $350,000 to $500,000 range. During the month, the condo overall inventory rose to about 150 available properties.   Of those 150, less than 50 were priced below $500,000 and of those approximately 50 condos about 15% were the "affordable" properties requiring income limitations on the buyers.

While the sales have declined for the past 5 months, when you compare 2009 to 2010 for the first two months of the year the numbers of sales are almost double. Also, the numbers of opened escrows are up by almost 50%. With sales and escrows up, the median sales price declined from $478,500 last year to about $425,000 this year. Even so, the trend seems to be up with the median sales price rising in February to about $460,000 from $375,000 in January.

Carpinteria/Summerland: There were a few more sales this year compared to last year and the median sales price is stable for both years at about $365,000.

Montecito: After a dismal start last year, this year has seen 3 sales so far with a median sales price of $1,075,000.

East of State St: There has been a big run up in sales this year - more than doubling what occurred last year at this time.  The median sales price has dropped almost in half falling from $625,000 in 2009 to $323,500 in 2010. It should be noted however that this big decline in the median sales price for the East of State St area is primarily because of a significant number of short sales in one particular complex.

West Side of State St: condo sales are about 2 ahead of last year but the median sales price has declined from $522,500 to about $450,000.

Goleta South: Sales in this area are almost exactly the same as they were at this time in  2009. but the median sales price has dropped from $452,000 to $347,500.

Goleta North: There were 4 more sales this year compared to last with the median sales price holding firmly at about $460,000 for both years.