Weekly Real Estate Snapshot 2/20 - 2/27
New Listings: 39
Price Improvements: 37
Pending: 33 breaks down to:
under $1 million: 23
$1-2 million: 6
$2-4 million: 2
$4-8 million: 1
$8 million+: 0
Closed: 16 breaks down to:
under $1 million: 12
$1-2 million: 3
$2-4 million: 1
$4-8 million: 0
$8 million+: 0
Off Market (expired, canceled, withdrawn): 20
Back On Market: 13
Monday, February 28, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
Snow in Santa Barbara This Weekend?
Can this prediction be true? I look forward to finding out!
"Liquid moisture is on the way. Did you notice I did not say rain? Today we will be dry and cooler. Highs in the high 50s only. The next system begins too march in over night.
Rain will begin in SLO after midnight and reach us some time Friday morning. Snow level will start out at 4000 feet . Then drop to 500 to 1000 feet Friday night. Needless to say it will be cold and bring many areas some snow. Snow will fall in many areas. Do the math 500 feet is not very high. This means even the foothills of Santa Barbara .
The models that we forecast off of are all over the place with rain totals. One say 1/4 to 1/2 inch another says 1 to 2 inches so we will average 1/2 to 1 inch coastal and 1 to 2 inch in the mountains . Many mountain area will receive 6 to 12 inches of snow. Some areas will start out with rain and turn to snow Friday night.
T
his system would be just a run of the mill storm , but for the cold air. It has not been this cold since Jan 30, 2002. The coldest core of weather is behind the front. Http://www.wrh.noaa.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Earth Day 2011: Powered By The People
Earth Day 2011: Powered by the People
Earth Day is the most important event of the year for any company or organization to showcase green programs and products and connect with the community. With more than 31,000 people attending the 2010 event, the Santa Barbara Earth Day Festival is the signature, annual event for Southern California environmental organizations and businesses to profile their work.
Santa Barbara, CA- The Community Environmental Council (CEC) will host the Santa Barbara Earth Day Festival at Alameda Park Saturday, April 16 and Sunday, April 17, 2011. The 2011 theme, “Powered by the People,” is in line with the CEC’s Fossil Free by ’33 campaign and emphasizes the power of daily choices in making Santa Barbara one of the first fossil-free communities in the nation.
The festival will feature approximately 250 exhibitors, a free valet bike parking section that is expected to hold over 1,000 bikes, and the third annual Green Shorts Film Festival. It will also include the festival’s 11th Green Car Show – featuring the largest collection of efficient and alternative fueled vehicles between Los Angeles and San Francisco and the longest-running show of its kind in the country.
The festival will feature approximately 250 exhibitors, a free valet bike parking section that is expected to hold over 1,000 bikes, and the third annual Green Shorts Film Festival. It will also include the festival’s 11th Green Car Show – featuring the largest collection of efficient and alternative fueled vehicles between Los Angeles and San Francisco and the longest-running show of its kind in the country.
The 2010 Santa Barbara Earth Day Festival attracted over 31,000 visitors. Widely acknowledged as the birthplace of Earth Day, Santa Barbara’s longstanding environmental reputation attracts national media and celebrity attention. Recent festivals have included stage appearances by Director James Cameron and Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk.
CEC is once again teaming up with LoaTree (LoaTree.com), an eco-lifestyle company, and New Noise Media Group (NewNoiseSB.com), an entertainment production company, to co-produce the festival. Exhibitor registration will open in mid January at www.SBEarthDay.org. Keep current by following Santa Barbara Earth Day on Facebook & Twitter.
Begun in 1970, the Santa Barbara Earth Day Festival has become the premier opportunity to showcase the latest in green technology and products to the environmentally savvy and affluent residents of California’s Central Coast. For example, the Santa Barbara region boasts one of the top five per capita markets of hybrid sales in the U.S., and is projected by Southern California Edison to be one of the top four markets for electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids in Edison’s territory.
“This festival is a reminder of our collective accomplishments and the local roots of what is now an international celebration,” said Sigrid Wright, Associate Director of CEC. “Earth Day brings us together to celebrate, recharge and prepare for one of the most important decades in history.”
Wright said that in the wake of the devastating 1969 oil spill off Santa Barbara’s shores, a group of local concerned citizens began talking about a different way of looking at environmental systems. Over the next few years, around the country the environmental movement was born – including the Community Environmental Council, which was incorporated in the spring of 1970. During that time, Senator Gaylord Nelson visited Santa Barbara to view the damage from the oil spill. When he returned to Washington, D.C., he introduced a bill designating April 22 as a national day to celebrate the earth. In CEC’s first act as new non-profit, it hosted one of the first Earth Day celebrations in the country.
For more information on Earth Day, go to www.SBEarthDay.org, email info@cecmail.org or call 963-0583 ext. 100.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Weekly Real Estate Snapshot 2/14 - 2/20
New Listings: 37
Price Improvements: 26
Pending: 32 breaks down to:
under $1 million: 23
$1-2 million: 5
$2-4 million: 3
$4-8 million: 1
$8 million+: 0
Closed: 25 breaks down to:
under $1 million: 15
$1-2 million: 8
$2-4 million: 1
$4-8 million: 1
$8 million+: 0
Off Market (expired, canceled, withdrawn): 25
Back On Market: 9
Price Improvements: 26
Pending: 32 breaks down to:
under $1 million: 23
$1-2 million: 5
$2-4 million: 3
$4-8 million: 1
$8 million+: 0
Closed: 25 breaks down to:
under $1 million: 15
$1-2 million: 8
$2-4 million: 1
$4-8 million: 1
$8 million+: 0
Off Market (expired, canceled, withdrawn): 25
Back On Market: 9
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Laurel Springs Ranch Reduced Price!
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Thursday, February 17, 2011
February Santa Barbara Green Team Newsletter
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Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Weekly Real Estate Snapshot 2/7 - 2/13
New Listings: 46
Price Improvements: 31
Pending: 22 breaks down to:
under $1 million: 14
$1-2 million: 6
$2-4 million: 1
$4-8 million: 1
$8 million+: 0
Closed: 11 breaks down to:
under $1 million: 8
$1-2 million: 2
$2-4 million: 0
$4-8 million: 0
$8 million+: 1 (575 Refugio Road at $10,000,000)
Off Market (expired, canceled, withdrawn): 19
Back On Market: 5
Price Improvements: 31
Pending: 22 breaks down to:
under $1 million: 14
$1-2 million: 6
$2-4 million: 1
$4-8 million: 1
$8 million+: 0
Closed: 11 breaks down to:
under $1 million: 8
$1-2 million: 2
$2-4 million: 0
$4-8 million: 0
$8 million+: 1 (575 Refugio Road at $10,000,000)
Off Market (expired, canceled, withdrawn): 19
Back On Market: 5
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Santa Barbara Real Estate through the end of January 2011
Each month a very generous 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!
Starting 2011 for the Home Estate/PUD market in Santa Barbara, Montecito, Hope Ranch, Carpinteria/Summerland and Goleta, sales in January are down dramatically from the previous December which usually happens because there’s a lot of activity that last month of the year as people scramble to get those escrows closed. But, closings for January 2011 are significantly below December 2010 and also January 2010. For the first month of 2011 there have been 41 Home Estate/PUD sales compared to 62 in January 2010 and 88 sales in December 2010. On the bright side, the median sales price for January 2011 went up to $829,300 from $778,500 the previous month and $763,500 in January 2010.
Escrows are also up from January 2010 when there were 48 with an $825,000 median list price to 68 for 2011 with an $850,000 median list price. The return to an $850,000 median list price is particularly encouraging after experiencing 2 months of the median list price for escrows dipping into the $790,000 range and seeing evidence of that decline in the $787,500 median sold price of December 2010. Throughout most of 2010 and back into a substantial portion of 2009 the median list price of escrows was $850,000 so at this time it doesn’t look like there’s going to be a further erosion in home prices.
The sub $1 million market took a big drop from 56 sales in December to 25 in January and the $1 to $2 million market fell from 20 sales in December to 12 in January with the over $2 million segment dropping from 12 to 4 sales including only 1 over $5 million.
New listings always spike up in January because a lot of listings expire at the end of the year and then get re-listed at the beginning of the New Year and 174 “new listings” appeared in January. But, the overall inventory also went up to 472 from 429 in December with those approximately 475 properties having a median list price of about $1.55 million and an average list price of $3.2 million.
Looking at the Districts, we see that Home sales in Carpinteria/Summerland fell from 9 in ’10 to 1 in ’11 and the median sales price dropped from $790,000 last year to $591,000 for that one sale. In Montecito sales declined from 7 in ’10 with a median sales price of $3.3 million to 5 in ’11 with a median sales price of $3.15 million.
On the East Side of Santa Barbara sales fell dramatically from 21 in ’10 to 8 in ’11. But, those 8 sales this year had a median sales price of $1.4 million compared to those 11 sales last year that had an $849,500 median sales price. On the West Side of town the sales are way up over last year however rising from 8 in ’10 to 17 in ’11 but the median sales price fell from $738,750 last year to $730,000 this year.
In Hope Ranch there has been 1 sale this year for $1.6 million and last year there were 2 sales with a median and average sales price of $3,582,125. For Goleta South sales have fallen from 8 last year to 5 this year. But the median sales price has gone up from $546,000 last year to $707,500 this year and in Goleta North sales are up with 9 in ’10 and11 in ’11. But, the median sales price has gone way up from $674,000 last year to $900,000 this year.
Sales this year are starting out substantially below where they were in 2010 but the escrows for all the Districts are up from where they were last year plus the median list price on those escrows is up for all the Districts except Goleta North and South. After seeing sales rise for the last three months of 2010 and then falling back a lot in January 2011 with the numbers of escrows that have opened in January activity should return to the 2010 level.
The condo market in Santa Barbara also experienced a dramatic decline in sales in January 2011 going from 25 in December to 16 in January 2011. The numbers of sales was also below January 2010 when there were 21 closings. The median sales price also continued to increment down falling from $422,500 in November to $415,000 in December down to $382,000 in January. But, at least the median sales price for January ’11 was ahead of where it was in January ’10 when it was $375,000.
Unlike Homes however the opened escrows declined from the previous year except for Goleta North which had one more property start the buying process than occurred in 2010. In the past three months escrows went from 31 in November with a median list price of $399,000 to 18 in December with a median list price of $450,000 then stayed at 18 for January with the median list price sliding back to $420,000.
With only 16 sales for the month and 9 of those in the $350,000 to $500,000 range it looks at this time like condo prices are continuing to increment down. There were 2 sales in the $850,000 to $999,999 range but nothing over the $1 million mark which had seen a substantial increase in activity in the past few months.
There were 44 “new listings” in January with a median list price of $499,000 but the overall inventory remained at around the mid 140 level with a median list price of about $575,000 and an average list price of approximately $780,000.
Looking at the Districts, sales for Carpinteria/Summerland were the same with 5 in ’10 and 5 in ’11 but the median sales price went up slightly from $330,000 to $350,000. Escrows went up from 4 to 5 but the median list price on those escrows dropped from about $400,000 last year to $348,300 this year.
In Montecito there was 1 sale in each year with the 2010 offering going for $1,050,000 and the 2011 property selling for $890,000. Last year there were 2 escrows at this point with a median list price of $1.2 million and this year the one escrow has an asking price of $998,000.
On the East Side of Santa Barbara there were 7 sales last year compared to 3 this year but the median sales price rose from $310,000 to $450,000. The numbers of escrows are also down from 3 to 2 and the median list price on those escrows is down from $435,000 last year to $369,900 this year.
The West Side of Santa Barbara is down 1 sale from 2 to 1 this year and the median sales price is down from $443,000 in ’10 to $315,000 for that one sale this year. Escrows are way down however dropping from 7 to 2 with the median list price on those escrows remaining basically stable slipping from $434,900 to $420,000.
Sales are the same in both years in Goleta South with 3 in both years but the median sales price declined from $465,000 to $335,500. The numbers of escrows are up however going from 3 to 4 with the median list price on those escrows rising from $259,000 in 2010 to $375,950 in 2011.
Goleta North sales are up by one going from 3 to 4 but the median sales price has dropped from $459,000 to $382,000. The numbers of escrows are the same however with 3 in both years with the median list price on those escrows going up from $228,100 last year to $479,000 this year.
For the overall Santa Barbara area, home sales while starting slowly look like they’ll return to the 2010 level with the median sales price remaining stable at about $850,000. Condos however look like the numbers of sales are going to decline as does the median sales price of those units that do sell.
Gary Woods
Friday, February 11, 2011
Tax Benefits of Owning A Home
I found this article interesting and strongly suggest that you speak with your CPA about your particular situation.
The tax benefits of buying a home include:
Home mortgage interest deduction: The interest paid on a mortgage or mortgages of up to $1 million for a principal residence and/or second home is deductible as an itemized deduction. In the early years of a home loan most of the payments consist of interest, so this deduction is particularly substantial during the first years of homeownership.
Depending on the state a buyer lives in and his or her tax bracket, this deduction can reduce the cost of borrowing by one-third or more.
Home equity loan deduction: Homeowners can borrow up to $100,000 against the equity in their home and deduct the interest as an itemized deduction. The money can be used for any purpose, such as paying off high-interest credit card debt. In contract, the interest on credit card debt is not deductible.
Property tax deduction: Homeowners also get to deduct from their federal income taxes the state and local property taxes they pay on their home. This is another itemized deduction that renters don't get.
Deductible homebuying expenses: Various closing costs ordinarily involved in a home purchase are also deductible as itemized deductions, including loan origination fees (points), prorated interest on a new loan, and prorated property taxes paid at settlement.
$250,000/$500,000 home-sale exclusion: Perhaps the greatest tax benefit of owning a home comes when a person sells it at a profit. Homeowners who lived in their home for two of the prior five years prior to its sale need pay no income tax on a substantial amount of their profit -- $250,000 for single homeowners and $500,000 for married homeowners who file jointly. This exclusion can be used once every 24 months.
14 days of free rental income: Another little known tax benefit of owning a home is that the owner can rent it out for up to 14 days during the year and pay no tax at all on the rental income. In contrast, a renter who sublets his or her rental must pay income tax on all the rental income he or she earns.
Real Estate Tax Talk
By Stephen Fishman, Friday, February 4, 2011.
The tax benefits of buying a home include:
Home mortgage interest deduction: The interest paid on a mortgage or mortgages of up to $1 million for a principal residence and/or second home is deductible as an itemized deduction. In the early years of a home loan most of the payments consist of interest, so this deduction is particularly substantial during the first years of homeownership.
Depending on the state a buyer lives in and his or her tax bracket, this deduction can reduce the cost of borrowing by one-third or more.
Home equity loan deduction: Homeowners can borrow up to $100,000 against the equity in their home and deduct the interest as an itemized deduction. The money can be used for any purpose, such as paying off high-interest credit card debt. In contract, the interest on credit card debt is not deductible.
Property tax deduction: Homeowners also get to deduct from their federal income taxes the state and local property taxes they pay on their home. This is another itemized deduction that renters don't get.
Deductible homebuying expenses: Various closing costs ordinarily involved in a home purchase are also deductible as itemized deductions, including loan origination fees (points), prorated interest on a new loan, and prorated property taxes paid at settlement.
$250,000/$500,000 home-sale exclusion: Perhaps the greatest tax benefit of owning a home comes when a person sells it at a profit. Homeowners who lived in their home for two of the prior five years prior to its sale need pay no income tax on a substantial amount of their profit -- $250,000 for single homeowners and $500,000 for married homeowners who file jointly. This exclusion can be used once every 24 months.
14 days of free rental income: Another little known tax benefit of owning a home is that the owner can rent it out for up to 14 days during the year and pay no tax at all on the rental income. In contrast, a renter who sublets his or her rental must pay income tax on all the rental income he or she earns.
Real Estate Tax Talk
By Stephen Fishman, Friday, February 4, 2011.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Electirc Vehicle Workshop: Commnity Environmental Council
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Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Weekly Real Estate Snapshot 2/28 - 3/6
New Listings: 68
Price Improvements: 46
Pending: 34 breaks down to:
under $1 million: 19
$1-2 million: 10
$2-4 million: 2
$4-8 million: 2
$8 million+: 0
Closed: 25 breaks down to:
under $1 million: 18
$1-2 million: 2
$2-4 million: 3
$4-8 million: 2
$8 million+: 0
Off Market (expired, canceled, withdrawn): 27
Back On Market: 8
Price Improvements: 46
Pending: 34 breaks down to:
under $1 million: 19
$1-2 million: 10
$2-4 million: 2
$4-8 million: 2
$8 million+: 0
Closed: 25 breaks down to:
under $1 million: 18
$1-2 million: 2
$2-4 million: 3
$4-8 million: 2
$8 million+: 0
Off Market (expired, canceled, withdrawn): 27
Back On Market: 8
Weekly Real Estate Snapshot 1/31 - 2/6
New Listings: 30
Price Improvements: 26
Pending: 23 breaks down to:
under $1 million: 16
$1-2 million: 2
$2-4 million: 5
$4-8 million: 0
$8 million+: 0
Closed: 13 breaks down to:
under $1 million: 9
$1-2 million: 2
$2-4 million: 1
$4-8 million: 1
$8 million+: 0
Off Market (expired, canceled, withdrawn): 23
Back On Market: 5
Price Improvements: 26
Pending: 23 breaks down to:
under $1 million: 16
$1-2 million: 2
$2-4 million: 5
$4-8 million: 0
$8 million+: 0
Closed: 13 breaks down to:
under $1 million: 9
$1-2 million: 2
$2-4 million: 1
$4-8 million: 1
$8 million+: 0
Off Market (expired, canceled, withdrawn): 23
Back On Market: 5
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Unsubscribe from The Yellow Pages! Best idea ever!!! Too good not to share!
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 Dear YellowpagesWednesday, February 2, 2011 Feature by: Ben Burleson Dear Yellowpages, When we were young, we looked to you for all the answers. You faithfully stood by in the kitchen drawer, eager to share your wisdom. Back when a phone was just a phone, you were there to connect the world. We’ve all grown now, “moved on” as it goes. Well, except you. You’re still there, like a lost puppy on our doorstep, waiting for a master to play. But not so cute. In fact, we’ve gotten a little tired of cleaning up after you. Three times a year, every year, until today. It turns out you’ve grown up too! You’ve recognized we can get along without you, and for that, we salute you. With the release of your new Opt-out website, you’ve carved a notch of respect in our book. We can’t say we’ll miss those surprises on our doorstep, but really, truly, we wish you the best. Love, Mikana |
| LOVEmikana is strictly editorial. Our love is always free! ©2010 LOVEmikana Inc, All Rights Reserved. PO Box 90728 | Santa Barbara, CA 93190 www.lovemikana.com | contact us | privacy policy | terms & conditions "You are receiving this daily newsletter because you subscribed at www.lovemikana.com." change subscription preferences | forward to a friend |
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Santa Barbara Council Hands Off Drafting of Bag Tax to Ordinance Committee
The council votes unanimously to support a citywide tax in an effort to reduce the use of single-use plastic bags
The council agreed to have the Ordinance Committee hammer out the details of a citywide bag tax and come back with a workable solution. Ultimately though, voters would have to approve the tax with a two-thirds vote. The ordinance also would need to undergo an environmental impact report to avoid potential lawsuits, and the cost of that document — unknown at this point — could be a tough sell to some members of the council.
Santa Barbara wouldn’t be alone in that effort, however. Other cities have had to do their own environmental impact reports, and Santa Monica and San Jose are among a handful of cities that have adopted bans. Currently, Santa Barbara residents can recycle plastic bags with grocery store programs, but there is no curbside recycling available for the bags.
Local attention to the issue comes in the wake of a failed attempt to ban plastic bags statewide. The California State Senate decided last fall not to enact a statewide ban on plastic grocery bags.
The Assembly bill, formally known as Assembly Bill 1998, would have prohibited supermarkets from providing single-use plastic bags to customers, though paper bags would have been available for no less than 5 cents each. Even the paper bags provided would have had a minimum of 40 percent post-consumer recycled content. The bill would have gone into effect for supermarkets on Jan. 1, 2012, and in 2013 for convenience stores. Customers could have avoided the tax by bringing in reusable grocery bags.
At the local level, the Santa Barbara City Council supported AB 1998, and it even advocated that the bill be made stronger, with higher fees for the bags to reduce use.
The idea of cutting down on single-use bags has received support from several organizations, including Santa Barbara Channelkeeper and the California Grocers Association, which partnered with the city during the “Where’s Your Bag?” campaign that kicked off in August 2009.
San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles and Malibu have adopted ordinances prohibiting the distribution of plastic bags, but a number have been sued by plastic-bag manufacturers on the basis that prohibitions were “projects” subject to the California Environmental Quality Act.
Of the nine public speakers during Tuesday’s council meeting, all were behind the idea of reducing the use of plastic bags.
Tri-County Produce owner John Dixon said his customers get a ticket for each reusable bag they bring, worth 5 cents that then can be donated toward six charities. He said the program has earned $3,500 for local charities and has increased the number of people using reusable bags in the store. He said he hopes that if the issue can’t be taken up statewide, that it will be examined at a county level.
“Everyone can solve this problem by bringing a bag,” Dixon said.
Councilman Grant House said that people entering his sewing machine stores have responded to the “Where’s Your Bag?” stickers placed by the cash register. And Councilman Bendy White said he’s disappointed that the Santa Barbara community has to be “dragged” into the effort.
“We’re not moving fast enough,” he said.
Mayor Helene Schneider read a statement that Assemblywoman Julia Brownley sent to the city, in which Brownley encouraged local governments to move forward on the bans so that momentum can gather and eventually change state policy.
“A statewide ban is the way to go,” Schneider said. “If the way to get there is with a city by city basis, we should be a part of that.”
— Noozhawk staff writer Lara Cooper can be reached at lcooper@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk or @NoozhawkNews.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Weekly Real Estate Snapshot 1/24 - 1/30
New Listings:45
Price Improvements: 43
Pending: 19 breaks down to:
under $1 million: 15
$1-2 million: 3
$2-4 million: 0
$4-8 million: 1
$8 million+: 0
Closed: 10 breaks down to:
under $1 million:6
$1-2 million: 3
$2-4 million: 1
$4-8 million:0
$8 million+: 0
Off Market (expired, canceled, withdrawn): 33
Back On Market: 10
Price Improvements: 43
Pending: 19 breaks down to:
under $1 million: 15
$1-2 million: 3
$2-4 million: 0
$4-8 million: 1
$8 million+: 0
Closed: 10 breaks down to:
under $1 million:6
$1-2 million: 3
$2-4 million: 1
$4-8 million:0
$8 million+: 0
Off Market (expired, canceled, withdrawn): 33
Back On Market: 10
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