An analysis of the Santa Barbara Real Estate market including Carpinteria/Summerland, Montecito, Hope Ranch, downtown Santa Barbara and Goleta through the month of May2012. For the Home market, May marked the third month in a row that sales of homes topped 100 going up to over 130 for the month. The median sales price also went up going over $800,000 to about $825,000 for the month rising from $756,300 in April. The numbers of escrows also rose in May to about 170 from 142 in April with the median list price on those approximately 170 opened escrows going up from $789,000 in April to about $840,000 in May.
Through May, compared to last year, sales are up from 340 to about 475 for approximately a 40% rise while the median sales price is down a little from $810,000 last year to about $795,000 for a 2% drop. Escrows are up from 405 to about 605 for a 50% upswing with the median list price on those escrows going down 10% from $879,000 to about $800,000.
With all the activity in sales and escrows the overall inventory remains at around 400 Homes available for purchase from Carpinteria to Goleta and because of all the sales below $1 million the median list price on those homes has risen to about $1.95 million with the average list price hovering around $3.65 million.
For the Condo segment of the market, after the 41 sales in the month of March and 28 sales in April sales rose to about 45 in May. The median sales price however remained right around $400,000 for the month while the numbers of escrows rose from 45 in April to about 50 in May. The median list price on those escrows also rose from $379,000 in April to about $405,000 in May.
Year over year, condo sales are up from 89 in 2011 to about 150 in 2012 for a 65% rise and the median sales price has gone from $390,000 last year to just about $400,000 this year for a 2.5% upswing. Escrows are up dramatically from 101 in 2011 to about 215 in 2012 for a 110% gain while the median list price on those escrows has gone up slightly from $399,500 to approximately $410,000 for another 2.5% gain.
The overall inventory took a slight upturn in May from the approximately 100 available condos from Carpinteria to Goleta in the previous 4 months to about 115 listings with nearly a $570,000 median list price and almost a $715,000 average list price.
In May, sales of both Homes & Condos remained strong surging to heights we haven’t seen for quite a few months. Escrows also swelled making the rest of quarter 2 and on into quarter 3 look very strong. With all of the multiple offers for Homes and Condos, prices inched up in May and should continue to move up based on the median list price on the escrows opened during the month.
Also, because of all the sales and escrows the inventory will probably remain low with about 400 Homes and 100 Condos available in the area. With the low inventory and high demand, list prices should start to move up. But, because of the substantial numbers of Short Sales on the market the upward motion in listings and sales prices probably won’t become a surge.
