Another month has flown by and October sales are way up from this same time last year. The median price of homes in our area continues to rise and is now up 17% from 2019. This has partly been fueled by the strong demand for higher-priced homes in Montecito and Hope Ranch, but even without the very high-end market sales, the median home price for the rest of the areas is up 12% from last year.

October pending home sales soared and were 25% above those of October 2019, so we should expect to see strong November sales as well, reflecting these numbers.

Here is a quick overview of the stats for October 2020 compared to the same time in 2019
Total properties sold in October 2020 were, 267 – 183 Homes & 84 Condos
Home sales are up +72% over October 2019 while Condos were also up +83%
Median Sales Price for a Home – $1,750,000 +37%
Median Sales Price for a Condo – $786,000 +18%
Months of Inventory – 2.54
25% of offers were “All Cash Sales”

This robust demand for homes in the Santa Barbara area means that we are very low on inventory. Despite the fact that we are heading into the holidays, it is still an excellent time to sell or buy a home.

As we head towards Thanksgiving I am truly grateful to all my clients, friends, and the local community who we have shared this year. We give thanks to all of you and for the many blessings, we have here in beautiful Santa Barbara.
Wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving, full of heartfelt warmth and celebration of all the good we have in our lives. Stay safe and healthy!

Click this link here for the full report

We continue taking every precaution needed while serving clients because everyone’s health and safety are important to us.
_{The numbers included in this report are courtesy of Fidelity National Title. All information provided is deemed reliable but has not been verified and we do not guarantee it.
We recommend that viewers make their own inquiries.}

Here we are, mid-October, and quickly headed toward the Holidays already!

I certainly could not have predicted the tremendous surge in home sales and median prices that we are currently experiencing. As this month’s Market Report shows the upward trend began in June and has climbed steadily with September showing by far the highest number of sales and prices in a very long time. The median sales price for September is up 41% over last year at the same time and the number of sales is also up compared to September 2019. Pending sales for September have increased 50% indicating that October will be another strong month with no sign of any imminent slowdown in the market.

The demand for Santa Barbara and Santa Ynez homes continues to climb. Buyers are making decisions to purchase a new home based on the fact that they are spending more time at home, and need more workspace and amenities. Many businesses are making the decision not to reopen their offices, requiring employees to continue to work from home indefinitely. This means that homeowners can now live wherever they want because they no longer need to live near their place of work.

Santa Barbara and Santa Ynez are certainly very appealing locations and we are seeing many people relocate to the safety and lifestyle offered here.
This should continue to drive the demand in our local market.

Here is a quick overview of the stats for September 2020 compared to the same time in 2019
Total properties sold 272 – 201 Homes & 71 Condos
Home sales are up +74% over September 2019 while Condos were also up +42%
Median Sales Price for a Home – $1,725,000 +41%
Median Sales Price for a Condo – $802,500 +16%
Months of Inventory – 3.45
28% of offers were “All Cash Sales”

Click this link here for the full report

We continue taking every precaution needed while serving clients because everyone’s health and safety are important to us.
_{The numbers included in this report are courtesy of Fidelity National Title.
All information provided is deemed reliable but has not been verified and we do not guarantee it.
We recommend that viewers make their own inquiries.}

Last month we reported that the number of sales and prices in our area were extremely strong, reaching the highest numbers for many years. The month of August continued this upward trend fueled by the high-end market, where the number of sales has almost doubled. The forecast is for another very strong month for September.

The more than usual number of sales in Montecito is driving up the median price, and the overall increase in sales throughout Santa Barbara County is creating a very active market with limited inventory and homes to choose from.

I’m often asked, where the buyers are coming from?
Many buyers are local or coming from out of town, (Los Angeles, San Francisco area, and out of state areas such as New York, Chicago, Washington State, and Texas) mainly fueled by people trying to get out of the big cities.

Here is a quick overview of the stats for August 2020 compared to the same time in 2019
Total properties sold 229 – 159 Homes & 70 Condos
Home sales are up +22% over August 2019 while Condos were also up +52%
Median Sales Price for a Home – $1,625,000 +26%
Median Sales Price for a Condo – $672,000 -.4%
Months of Inventory – 3.62
30% of offers were “All Cash Sales”

Click this link here for the full report

We continue taking every precaution needed while showing properties because everyone’s safety is important to us.
_{The numbers included in this report are courtesy of Fidelity National Title.
All information provided is deemed reliable but has not been verified and we do not guarantee it.
We recommend that viewers make their own inquiries.}

We continue to support our clients during these difficult times. Our hearts go out to everyone directly impacted by the ongoing pandemic in and around our community.

Covid-19 has had an impact on the local real estate sales activity for the Santa Barbara area, most notably in the first two quarters of 2020 while recently showing some dramatic shifts.

There seems to be a surge in out-of-area homebuyers seeking to escape the heavily populated cities of California and our home prices are reasonable compared to some other places.

Here is a quick overview of the stats for July 2020 compared to 2019
Total properties sold 190 – 127 Homes & 63 Condos
Home sales are up +9% over July 2019 while Condos were down -19%
Median Sales Price for a Home – $1,675,000 +43%
Median Sales Price for a Condo – $764,000 +21%
Months of Inventory – 4.03
30% were All Cash Sales

Click this link here for the full report

We continue taking every precaution needed while showing properties because everyone’s safety is important to us.
_{The numbers included in this report are courtesy of Fidelity National Title.
All information provided is deemed reliable but has not been verified and we do not guarantee it.
We recommend that viewers make their own inquiries.}

As always, we hope this Market Report finds you and your loved ones healthy and happy.

We are pleased to bring you our June real estate update. The numbers reflected in this report show year to date numbers which include when sales dropped off in the early months of COVID, showing a decline in year over year sales. However, we are happy to report compared to May and the months prior to COVID, June closed sales have bounced back strongly. We saw more sales in every price range. The sale pending numbers (in escrow) are 40% higher than June of 2019. We are expecting to see July closings very high as well.

Here is a quick overview of the stats for June 2020 compared to 2019
Total properties sold 161 – 118 homes & 43 Condos -13%
Median Sales Price for a Home – $1,425,000 +19%
Median Sales Price for a Condo – $650,000 -9%
Months of Inventory – 4.31
25% were Cash Sales

Click here is a link to the full report

As a reminder, we are taking every precaution needed while showing properties, because everyone’s safety is important to us.

As we begin the Summer of 2020, like so many other businesses in our community, the Real Estate mar­ket continues to evolve daily.

We are excited to announce that on Monday, June 1st, Village Properties officially re-opened our offices, with all the California government, OSHA, and County safety requirements in place.
It is nice to be open, even if it is only to perform essential activities that cannot be performed digitally or virtually.

In the past few weeks, our market has become very active. Some of this is due to listings and sales that were either withdrawn from the market or fell out of escrow due to COVID 19, and have now been re-listed. The activity is a good sign, especially for our buyers and sellers who need to buy and sell. It is reported that many of the buyers are from out of town, coming to our communities from more densely populated areas.

We are most appreciative of your support throughout these challenging past months, and wish you good health and a fun Summer ahead!

The Santa Barbara real estate market continues to see low inventory levels while the demand is high once again now that life is returning to somewhat normal since businesses are opening back up.
Then again who wouldn’t want to call this place home?

Here are some of the highlights from May 2020;

Total properties sold 85 – 65 homes & 20 Condos -56%
Median Sales Price for a Home – $1,169,000 -9%
Median Sales Price for a Condo – $810,000 +17%
Months of Inventory – 4.29
27% were Cash Sales

For a complete look at the real estate market report for May 2020 click the link below

May 2020 Real Estate Report

Information provided is deemed reliable but has not been verified and we do not guarantee it. We recommend that buyers make their own inquiries.
Data provided by CORT and or Fidelity Title.

The effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic are obvious and has changed everyone’s lives in many ways, the real estate market was no different.

Like many businesses, we have pivoted in providing our services virtually and digitally. For the first two weeks we waited for the Governor to confirm that Real Estate was indeed an essential service and that, following strict safety guidelines, we could continue to show properties to buyers. April’s market statistics clearly reflect a drop in sales for the first couple of weeks when everything came to a sudden halt. April also saw a decline in the number of homes listed for sale.

Here are some of the highlights from April 2020;
Total properties sold 94 – 69 homes & 25 Condos -44%
Median Sales Price for a Home – $1,200,000 -10%
Median Sales Price for a Condo – $791,000 +12%
Months of Inventory – 3.81
16% were Cash Sales

Despite all we are going through, we have some good real estate news. The median house price in our area has not dropped, and in fact, has stayed steady over the past 3 years.
There are many buyers still seeking to buy a home.

In some cases, we continue seeing multiple offers come in on many listings due to the fact that there is still a shortage of inventory. Right now we definitely have well-qualified buyers who want to buy homes.

We have quickly adapted to the changes in our industry and continue to go above and beyond to safely serve clients with excellence, not only in real estate but also by helping them in a myriad of practical ways as we face these new times together.

For a complete look at the real estate market report for April 2020 click the link below

April 2020 Market Report

We hope this information finds you safe, healthy and taking care of yourself and loved ones during this unprecedented time.

Our normal business activities have drastically changed with the banning of open houses, property caravans, price sets, and in-person meetings. We have all the technology in place needed in order to move toward virtual tours, marketing,  and using social media to stay connected. Our affiliations with Leading Real Estate Companies of the World, Luxury Portfolio and Mayfair International have given us even more tools and a broad reach to accomplish what we need to serve our clients.

We are pleased that Real Estate has been identified as an essential service by Homeland Security. This gives us an opportunity to serve buyers and sellers who have the need to buy and sell during this time. We are sensitive to our client’s needs, emotions, and are listening to what feels comfortable to them. We continue to conduct our business virtually, but on those occasions where this is impossible, we are using all safety precautions including social distancing and careful sanitizing.

Our Community is very much on our minds and we continue to do what we can to support it.

Now for this month’s Market Report, the numbers tell the true story.

• 128 total properties sold in March, 91 homes & 37 Condos
• The median sales price for a home was $1,330,000
• The median sales price for condo’s $652,000
• 3.22 Months of Inventory

Interestingly enough, the same number of properties were sold in February also. I feel the stats for April will be more reflective of how the market may be affected by this pandemic.

Until next time…

March/1st Qtr. YTD Report

• Catch up on some reading
• Watch some movies
• Practiced a musical instrument
• One thing for sure I limiting the NEWS and Social Media

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Be sure to take a look at this month’s newsletter and have a wonderful day!