Santa Barbara Real Estate Market Report – March 2022
Greetings and welcome to our March 2022 Real Estate Market Report for the Santa Barbara area.
In this issue, each of us will give you our insights on the local residential real estate market.
Naturally, if you have questions, we will do our best to provide you with answers. If you need representation with the sale or purchase of a place, we'd be delighted to help you.
Joe Parker: “Honestly, I would’ve thought that we would’ve seen more of a slowing down of this market by now. Given all the news on inflation, interest rates, gas prices, and the war in Ukraine, there seem to be plenty of reasons why this market will start to cool down, but we are not seeing it yet.
People are still lining up to pay crazy high prices for Santa Barbara real estate."
Avi Becker: "In February, inventory levels were reported at .78 months’ supply for Santa Barbara. That means if no new supply had hit the market, all of the currently available homes for sale would be gone in less than a month!
This is why prices continue to skyrocket and now has never been a better time to sell. It's hard to say when prices will level off, but in my opinion, interest rates won't be going down. And should interest rates continue to rise, it will be the most likely indicator of a slowing market, as the majority of homes are still selling with a loan."
Garrett McCaw: "The local Santa Barbara real estate market is compressing further as new listing inventory hitting the market is down 32% week-to-week. The competition for available homes is beyond fierce with some properties receiving as high as 29 offers and going 48% over the original list price.
Our hope is that rising interest rates will put more of a restraint on the extreme environment we’re currently experiencing. Obviously, it’s a great time to be a seller. Unfortunately for buyers, it appears it’s probably going to get worse before it gets better."
The Numbers
Can you even believe we've got three months of 2022 under our belts? What trends are emerging in this red-hot seller's market that seemingly never slows down?
- The average sales price for a single-family in February of last year was $2.8M, this year it's $3.3M, a 19% year-over-year increase.
- It's worth noting that in February of last year, 110 single-family homes were sold which has fallen to 90 for February of this year, an 18% decrease.
- Inventory is still jaw-droppingly low, coming in at a .78 month supply ratio. This means it would take less than one month for all the inventory in SB's housing market to be snatched up given the current pace of sales.
- What exactly is the months' supply ratio? The months' supply ratio reflects the average number of months it would take for all the homes on the market to sell given the current pace of sales.
- Historically, 6 months of supply—or, a 6.0 ratio—correlates to normal price appreciation. Typically, the lower the level of supply, the higher the prices. .78 is extraordinarily low which indicates just how high the demand for SB properties is and how few there are available.
- As prices skyrocket, many buyers are opting for condos instead of single-family homes. Last month, 40 condos were sold, a 48% increase from the 27 condos sold in February of last year.
We'll keep monitoring the numbers and trends and report back to you here next month!
Avi's Take on 2022
In his latest 3-minute episode of Life's a Beach, Avi tackles topics like appreciation, supply and demand, inflation, interest rates, and others.
Tune in as he sheds some light on what's in store for 2022 through the lens of data, statistics, and past and current trends.
Missing Something?
Our monthly Santa Barbara real estate market report is designed to be a bite-sized account you can open, quickly digest, then get right back to your busy day.
But, if there's something we missed that you're eager to learn more about, don't hesitate to let us know.
Hit "Contact Us" and ask us a specific question about Santa Barbara's housing market. Want to know what your home is truly worth or learn about available homes in your favorite neighborhood in SB?
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