Santa Barbara Real Estate through the end of September ‘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 September 2012. For the Home Estate/PUD market sales declined dropping from 127 in August to about 80 in September. The median sales price also fell, going from $825,000 in August to $746,000 in September. With both sales and the median sales price going down for the month the days on the market for properties that sold remained stable in the mid-60s.
The numbers of opened escrows continued at a high level in September coming in at 100 which is still below where it was in July and August when there were 120 homes starting the buying process. The median list price on those escrows also declined going from $822,450 in August to $748,490 in September. The inventory remained below the 400 mark at about 370 while both the median and average list price of available properties came down slightly to approximately a $2.2 million median and a $3.8 million average.
Year over year the numbers of sales are still way up with over 940 transactions completed compared to 711 last year. The median sales price is down however from $815,000 in 2011 to about $790,000 now. The escrows are also still way up from about 753 last year to over 1,000 this year while the median list price on those escrows has declined a little from about $830,000 last year to approximately $820,000 now.
Looking at the Districts, Carpinteria/Summerland sales are up from 64 to 65 and the median sales price is up from $722,500 to $735,000. The numbers of escrows are down going from 69 to 68 with the median list price on those escrows rising from $710,000 last year to $750,080 this year.
For Montecito, sales are up going from 128 to 191 with the median sales price dropping from $2.227 million last year to $1.872 million. Escrows are also up going from 140 to 219 but the median list price on those escrows is down from $2.295 million to $1.995 million.
East of State St sales are up going from 185 in ’11 to 247 in ‘12 but the median sales price is down from $900,000 to $867,500. The escrows are also up going from 201 to 263 with the median list price on those escrows dropping from $949,000 last year to $895,000 this year.
West of State St sales are up from 158 to 199 and the median sales price is up from $680,000 to $700,000. The numbers of escrows are also up with 162 in ’11 compared to 230 in ‘12 but the median list price on those escrows is down going from $699,925 last year to $699,000 this year.
Hope Ranch sales are the same from 22 to 22 but the median sales price is up from $1.9 million to $2 million. The numbers of escrows are up with 22 last year compared to 29 this year and the median list price on those escrows is up from $1.995 million in ’11 to $2.3 million in ‘12.
Goleta South sales are up with 60 last year and 91 this year and the median sales price is up from $600,000 to $615,000. The numbers of escrows are also up from 74 to 108 with the median list price on those escrows rising from $575,000 to $654,550.
Goleta North sales are up with 123 in ’11 and 163 in ’12 with the median sales price dropping from $659,500 to $623,500. The numbers of escrows are also up from 135 to 180 with the median list price on those escrows falling from $685,000 to $623,500.
For the Condo segment of the market sales declined from 46 in August to about 30 in September. The median sales price also fell, going from $383,000 in August to $374,900 in September while the escrows fell back from August when there were 62 with a $399,500 median list price to about 35 in September with a $454,000 median list price. The days on the market for those approximately 30 sales fell dramatically however from the 77 we saw in August down to below 40 for September.
Year over year condo sales are up from 219 in 2011 to over 300 in 2012. But, the median sales price on those properties is down from $425,000 last year to about $400,000. With the condo inventory continuing to stay low at 58 units the median sales price will soon have to rise because the only units left will be higher priced than the ones that are currently selling evidenced by the $749,000 median list price for the overall inventory and the over $1 million average list.
Looking at the Districts, Carpinteria/Summerland sales are down from 44 to 43 with the median sales price rising from $359,450 to $369,000. The numbers of escrows are up from 45 last year to 50 this year and the median list price on those escrows is up from $379,000 to $397,000.
Montecito condo sales are up with 19 in ’11 and 20 in ‘12 and the median sales price is up from $818,750 to $1,105,000.The numbers of escrows are up with 18 in ’11 and 24 in ‘12 while the median list price on those escrows is down from $1,096,500 in ’11 to $1,195,000 in ‘12.
East of State St sales are up from 45 to 97 with the median sales price falling from $518,750 to $495,000. The numbers of escrows are also up going from 58 to 141 with the median list price on those escrows rising from $535,000 last year to $589,000 this year.
West of State St sales are up from 51 to 66 with the median sales price falling from $439,000 to $375,000. The escrows are up from 60 to 75 with the median list price on those escrows falling from $439,000 to $399,000.
Goleta South sales are up from 41 to 52 with the median sales price down from $360,000 to $288,950. The numbers of escrows are also up with 46 in ’11 and 56 in ‘12 but the median list price on those escrows is down from $355,950 last year to $310,000 this year.
Goleta North sales are up from 30 to 45 with the median sales price down from $362,500 to $353,000. The escrows are also up from 27 to 56 with the median list price on those escrows rising from $350,000 to $369,000.
In September single family dwelling sales started to fall off and the median sales price fell from the previous month. The number of condo sales also fell but the median sales price on those units that sold remained at about the same level declining a little. Days on the market for single family homes remained at around 65 but for condos it declined to below 40 while the sales price to original list price ratio for both condos and homes stayed approximately in the 95th percentile.
The outlook for the rest of 2012 still depends on what happens with the inventory. If the numbers of properties for sale continues to drop the median sales price will start to rise which might bring more sellers into the marketplace. But, if there is a surge in the inventory, prices will remain about where they’ve been all year with an approximate $800,000 median sales price for homes and a $400,000 median for condos.