Santa Barbara Real Estate Market Report – August 2017

Santa Barbara Area Real Estate Market Report – August 2017

Welcome to our latest real estate market report. August experienced both interesting and expected trends in the single-family home and condo markets. Our analysis will compare August 2017 with August 2016.

The August real estate market traditionally experiences more of an easy-going pace than spring and early summer. This is chiefly due to the dynamic activity we experience in the earlier months, especially with families wanting to make their moves prior to the new school year.

FYI: We drew MLS stats from the Santa Barbara and Goleta markets only for this report.

Santa Barbara Real Estate Market- August 2017
Report Data & Insights

Let’s Look at Numbers: Single Family Homes

• Home sales in August 2017 were down a fair amount (23%) compared to last year.
• Inventory levels showed a substantial decrease with 20% fewer homes to buy.
• Average asking price went up 16% from a year ago. The sale
• The sale versus asking price is down a bit from last year.

What does all this mean to a home buyer or seller in today’s market?

First and foremost, home buyers definitely took a breather this year compared to last. Here are a couple likely reasons.

• There were 20% fewer homes to buy this year.
• Home shoppers are starting to be more selective as the asking prices continue to rise.

Other Thoughts: The Cumulative Days on Market (CDOM) in 2017 was up from 53 in 2016 to 75 in 2017. If that trend continues in the future you could likely see owners begin to get more anxious and be quicker to reduce their price for fear of getting “stale” on the market.

Let’s Look at Numbers: Condominiums:

Not much excitement in the year to year condo numbers. However, a few some note-worthy items to acknowledge.

• The number of units sold increased by 14% going from 31 to 36.
• Inventory stayed exactly the SAME as it did the year prior.
• Days on Market was down a significant 33% from last year.
• The Average Sold Price was down less than 1%.
• The Average List Price was also down less than 1%

As you can see, the number of sales increased and the days it took to sell a condo went down. Normally we’d expect those figures to correspond to higher condo prices, yet they did not. That suggests condo prices may have reached a market threshold and buyers are being price-conscious.

Our Focus Neighborhood This Month: The Mesa

Let’s see how the Mesa did this year compared to last.

The Numbers: Mesa Single Family Homes

• Sales increased in 2017 by 29% – going from 5 to 7
• Inventory levels stayed exactly the same.
• CDM did drop significantly – 42% decline
• CDM(Cumulative Days on Market) A 2% decline

Although the percentage of home sales showed a significant increase, it really isn’t all that much considering it was only 2 additional sales. Essentially, when we are dealing with shallow home inventories and sales, the numbers can appear drastic when in reality they are actually rather stable or flat.

The Numbers: Mesa Condos

• The number of sales remained exactly the same with only 2 properties selling both this year and last year.
• The number of sales remained exactly the same with only 2 properties selling both this year and last.
• Inventory went from 2 in 2016 to 4 in 2017.
• The average sold price jumped dramatically from $693,500 in 2016 to $867,500 in 2017.

At first glance, one might say condo prices on The Mesa soared. However, the only two sales we can’t arrive at an accurate conclusion.

Our Crystal Ball Predictions for The Fall:

Fall is an interesting time in the Santa Barbara Real Estate Market. As mentioned, fewer families opt to move this time of year. As we approach Mid-October to November, a few will step into the game for mid-term moves.

• We expect a relatively calm market for the next few months.
• Home sellers, you may expect your place to linger longer than those who sold homes and condos in the Spring and early Summer.
• Home buyers may be able to negotiate better prices if the seller is trying to get things done by the end of 2017.

Thanks for hanging out with us and we hope this information is valuable. If you have other questions or would like to be represented by one of Santa Barbara’s most effective real estate teams, know we are here for you… today, tomorrow and in the future.

Garrett McCaw
Joe Parker
The Santa Barbara Group
Berkshire Hathaway Home Services CA