Santa Barbara Real Estate through the end of December ‘12 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 December 2012. For the Home Estate/PUD market sales in December went up to about 125 from approximately 100 in November with the median sales price rising a little to about $800,000 from $786,000 in November. Usually sales go up in December as everyone tries to get them closed before the end of the year but escrows fall off. In December 2012 escrows remained strong with about 90 down from 98 in November and the median list price on those escrows went up from $811,850 the previous month to over $900,000.
Of those approximately 125 sales about 80 of them were below $1 million with a great deal of activity from $700,000 to $800,000 which accounted for about ¼ of those sales. Roughly 25 sales came in between $1 and $2 million with about 20 sales over $2 million and of those sales over $2 million there were 4 over $5 million.
Year over year, the numbers of sales are still way up with about 1,300 transactions completed compared to 953 last year. The median sales price is basically unchanged but up just a little from $790,000 in 2011 to about $795,000 at the end of the year. The escrows are also still way up from approximately 1,000 last year to about 1,300 this year while the median list price on those escrows has risen a little from about $800,000 last year to approximately $840,000 now.
Looking at the Districts, Carpinteria/Summerland sales are up from 89 to 92 and the median sales price is up from $647,500 to $729,000. The numbers of escrows are down going from 95 to 89 with the median list price on those escrows rising from $662,000 last year to $800,000 this year.
For Montecito, sales are up going from 164 to 263 with the median sales price dropping from $2.105 million last year to $1.9 5million. Escrows are also up going from 179 to 275 but the median list price on those escrows is down from $2.2 million to $2.095 million.
East of State St sales are up going from 259 in ’11 to 333 in ‘12 but the median sales price is down from $870,000 to $862,500. The escrows are also up going from 284 to 336 with the median list price on those escrows even from $895,000 last year to $895,000 this year.
West of State St sales are up from 207 to 281 and the median sales price is up from $682,750 to $707,500. The numbers of escrows are also up with 212 in ’11 compared to 286 in ‘12 and the median list price on those escrows is up going from $699,900 last year to $715,000 this year.
Hope Ranch sales are up from 28 to 29 and the median sales price is up from $1.95 million to $2.1 million. The numbers of escrows are up with 30 last year compared to 36 this year and the median list price on those escrows is up from $1.995 million in ’11 to $2.295 million in ‘12.
Goleta South sales are up with 90 last year and 126 this year and the median sales price is up from $594,950 to $640,000. The numbers of escrows are also up from 100 to 147 with the median list price on those escrows rising from $579,000 to $659,000.
Goleta North sales are up with 162 in ’11 and 207 in ’12 with the median sales price dropping from $661,500 to $623,500. The numbers of escrows are also up from 184 to 211 with the median list price on those escrows falling from $682,000 to $637,000.
For the Condo segment of the market sales went through the roof in December with about 115 being reported up from 37 in November. The primary reason for this surge in sales is that the Bella Riviera properties showed up. The surprise was that the affordable properties which had not previously been reported in the Multiple Listing Service showed up as sold which meant that the median sales price dropped dramatically to right around $300,000 from $482,000 in November.
Of the approximately 115 sales for the month about half were below $300,000 and another 30 were reported between $300,000 and $500,000. The upper end was represented however with 5 sales over $1 million and the most expensive sale coming in a $1.375 million which brought the average sales price up to about $430,000 for December.
Year over year condo sales are up from 308 in 2011 to over 500 in 2012. But, the median sales price on those properties is down a little from about $420,000 last year to approximately $400,000. With the condo inventory continuing to stay low at around 55 units the median sales price should go up and it will definitely spike upwards since the bulk of the Bella Riviera properties have come in.
Looking at the Districts, Carpinteria/Summerland sales are down from 62 to 60 with the median sales price rising from $350,000 to $365,500. The numbers of escrows are up from 62 last year to 64 this year and the median list price on those escrows is up from $359,900 to $395,000.
Montecito condo sales are up with 23 in ’11 and 33 in ‘12 and the median sales price is up from $905,750 to $1,100,000.The numbers of escrows are up with 23 in ’11 and 33 in ‘12 while the median list price on those escrows is up from $998,000 in ’11 to $1,195,000 in ‘12.
East of State St sales are up from 73 to 213 with the median sales price falling from $462,500 to $430,973. The numbers of escrows are also up going from 78 to 226 with the median list price on those escrows falling from $495,000 last year to $447,000 this year.
West of State St sales are up from 67 to 98 with the median sales price falling from $437,000 to $402,500. The escrows are up from 79 to 96 with the median list price on those escrows falling from $429,000 to $416,300.
Goleta South sales are up from 54 to 63 with the median sales price down from $355,000 to $305,000. The numbers of escrows are also up with 57 in ’11 and 66 in ‘12 but the median list price on those escrows is down from $349,500 last year to $323,950 this year.
Goleta North sales are up from 40 to 62 with the median sales price down from $362,500 to $350,000. The escrows are also up from 37 to 70 with the median lit price on those escrows falling from $359,000 to $355,950.
In December both single family home and condo sales jumped up markedly to about 125 single family homes and approximately 115 condos. The days on the market for single family dwellings spiked downward in December to about 58 showing a still brisk market while the days on the market for condos continued to drop to about 18. This number is skewed however because many of the Bella Riviera condos were reported as being sold in 1 day. The nagging question for Real Estate in general is what will happen with the inventory? The foreclosed properties took a spike up in November and December which will keep the medium sales price down. But, until that median sales price starts to rise a great number of people won’t be listing their homes.