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 January 2013. Starting with the Home Estate/PUD sector for the month of January 2013 we had about 80 sales compared to 71 in January 2012 and the median sales price went from $810,000 last year rising to $822,000 this year.
The numbers of escrows for the month came in at about 100 which is approximately where we started 2012 but the median list price on those escrows rose from $819,000 in 2012 to about $950,000 in 2013. The days on the market for sold properties dropped dramatically however from 2012 when it was 79 to roughly 50 in 2013 and the Sales Price to Original List Price Ratio rose from 89% last year to about 94% this year.
Of the roughly 80 homes that sold in January over approximately 50 were below $1 million with 25 of those 50 falling between $550,000 and $700,000. About 20 of the sales came in between $1 and $2 million with 10 above $2 million and of those 10 above $2 million there were 2 over $5 million.
For the Condo segment of the market there were about 26 sales in January 2013 up from 13 in January 2012. The median sales price also rose from $353,000 to roughly $410,000 but the average sales price declined from $464,069 to approximately $430,000. The numbers of escrows went up slightly from ’12 when there were 28 to about 30 in ’13 with the median list price on those escrows rising from $404,500 to approximately $425,000.
The overall inventory of available condos remained low at around 50 with a median list price on that inventory of $835,000 and an average list price of over $1 million. The troubling aspect of the inventory is that for both Home Estates and Condos January was the highpoint for the year so if we continue to drop from these 50 condos for sale and approximately 300 homes sales will drop while prices will rise.
Of the 26 sales about half were between $300,000 and $500,000 with the least expensive property which was an “affordable” going out at $158,300 and the highest priced sale closing at $995,000 giving us the $415,000 median sales price for the month.
For both the Home Estate/and Condo markets the inventory remains very low but for both segments of the market sales and median sales price is up if ever so slightly at this early point in the year. In order to capitalize on that momentum the inventory will have go up which is possible if the sellers start to see the prices creeping up.
