Each month a very generous and talented colleague, Gary Woods compiles all the Santa Barbara Multiple Listing and Cort sales data and provides many of us in the real estate industry with a synopsis of the current market. Thank you Gary, as always your expertise and data is very appreciated!
Including Carpinteria, Summerland, Montecito, Hope Ranch and Goleta.
Looking at the Home Estate/PUD market for the greater Santa Barbara area from Carpinteria/Summerland to Goleta including Montecito and Hope Ranch for the first 6 months of ’10 the numbers of sales for June was 81, down from 86 in May and 89 in April. The Medium Sales Price was up slightly however going from $902,500 in May to about $915,000 in June. But, the average sales price did drop from the previous month going from $1.425 million in May to about $1.25 million in June. This decline in the average sales price was due to a fall in the numbers of homes that sold over $1 million and an increase in the sales below $1 million.
Comparing June ’09 to June ’10, the sales are about the same with 85 in ’09 and 81 in ’10 but the median sales price has gone up substantially from about $795,000 last year to $915,000 this year. What has also gone up is the numbers of escrow rising from 84 in ’09 to over 100 in ’10. The median list price on those escrows did not go up a lot however with ’09 having an $829,000 median list price for opened escrows and ’10 showing up with an $885,000 median list price for escrows opened in June.
The inventory is up from the previous month when there were about 615 Home Estate/PUDs available for purchase with a median list price of about $1.7 million to about 650 Homes on the market in June with a $1.6 million median list price
Looking at the Districts, Carpinteria/Summerland home sales are up with 35 this year compared to 26 last year and the median sales price has drifted upward from $643,000 in ’09 to $675,000 in ’10. What has dropped substantially this year is the numbers of escrows falling from 39 in ’09 to 27 in ’10. This means that most of those sales that were racked up this year were actually put into escrow last year.
Montecito has seen 57 sales this year compared to 52 last year and the median sales price has risen slightly from $2.33 million in ’09 to $2.48 million in ’10. But, compared to Carpinteria/Summerland the future looks bright in Montecito because the escrows are up from 54 in ’09 to 72 in ’10 with the median list price on those escrows holding solid at about $2.6 million for both years.
East of State St sales are way up from 74 last year to 112 this year with the median sales price rising from just under $900,000 last year to about $960,000 this year. The escrows are also way up this year so things should continue surging forward in the area.
On the West Side of town the numbers of sales are up from 78 last year to 86 this year with the median sales price also going up from $735,000 last year to about $815,000 this year. Escrows are also way ahead of last year so just like the East Side things should keep going on the West Side.
In Hope Ranch sales are up from 7 to 10 this year with the median sales price going from $2.55 million to $3.23 million. But, it looks like things have stalled in the area because escrows are holding at 11 this year compared to 10 last year with the median list price on those escrows in ’10 falling to just under $2 million.
For Goleta South sales are up from 45 last year to 51 this year but the median sales price has dipped from $700,000 last year to $650,000 this year. It looks like things are slowing in the area with escrows just slightly ahead of the ’09 pace but on the up side the median list price on those escrows is right about $700,000.
Goleta North sales are up from 73 in ’09 to 83 in ’10 with the median sales price also rising from $704,000 last year to $735,000 this year. The escrows are way up however going from 78 in ’09 to over 100 in ’10.
For the Home Estate/PUD market sales are remaining in that mid 80s range for the month with the median sales price still hovering around the $900,000 range for June.
For the Condo market in the Santa Barbara area there were 33 sales in June down from 37 in May but up from 32 in April. The median sales price also fell for the month from $467,000 in May to $439,000 in June. The average sales price dropped substantially however falling from about $600,000 in May to about $500,000 in June.
In June ’09 there were 43 sales compared to the 33 in June ’10 but the median sales price last year of $455,000 has remained rather stable for about a year. But, when you look at the period from Jan. 1 to June 30 there were 130 sales in ’09 compared to 168 this year while the median sales price slid down from $467,500 in ’09 to $437,000 in ’10. For June ’10 most of the sales were concentrated below $550,000 with only 6 of the 33 sales above that mark and no transaction above $1 million.
Looking at the Districts, Carpinteria/Summerland has 36 sales this year compared to 19 last year but the median sales price has dipped slightly from $400,000 in ’09 to $393,100 in ’10. The escrows are also way up from 23 last year with a median list price on those escrows of $420,00 to 35 this year with a median list price of $409,000.
In Montecito there have been 10 sales this year with a median sales price of $1,062,500 compared to only 1 sale last year for $679,000. The escrows are also up from just 1 in ’09 to 12 this year so sales should remain substantially ahead in Montecito for the foreseeable future.
On the East Side Santa Barbara there have been 38 sales this year compared to 29 last year but the median sales price has dropped from $505,000 last year to $442,500 this year. The escrows are only slightly ahead this year with 38 compared to 33 last year with the median list price on those escrows going down from $539,000 in ’09 to $499,000 in ’10.
For the West Side condo sales have gone up from 29 in ’09 to 40 in ’10 but the median sales price has dropped from $520,000 last year to $496,000 this year. The escrows are also up from 36 last year with a median list price of $519,000 to 49 this year with a median list price of $515,000.
Goleta South condo sales have dropped from 32 in ’09 to 24 in ’10 with the median sales price of $419,500 last year down to $357,500 this year. The pending properties are also way down from 44 last year to 28 this year. This decline in activity is because of the lack of inventory in the area. Right now there are just 6 condos in Goleta South available for purchase with a median list price of $519,000.
Goleta North condo sales are right where they were last year with 20 in both years and the median sales price is also solid with $408,500 in ’09 compared to $405,000 in ’10. The escrows are also very close together with 30 last year and 29 this year as is the median list price on those escrows with $399,000 last year and $419,000 this year.
The inventory came up slightly in June with 147 available properties and there were 55 new listings occurring in the month showing up with a median list price of about $480,000 which is very close to the median sold price of approximately $440,000 when you consider the Sales Price to Original List Price Ratio of 90.37%.
With Home Sales remaining in the mid 80s and condo sales in the mid 30s for the month things look like they’re going to keep going for awhile especially when you consider the over 100 Home Escrows opened in June. The condo escrows are not piling up however but just matching the numbers of sales. But without an expanding inventory this is to be expected. The median sales price of homes is up slightly from $830,000 last year to about $860,000 this year over the 1st 6 months while the condo median sales price is down from $467,500 last year to $437,000 this year.
Gary Woods
