We hope that everyone is having a great Holiday and enjoying time with family & friends! What an amazing time of year.

What is happening with the real estate market?  Not much has changed since last month, we continue on the same trajectory.  For more in-depth info, Click Here to read November’s report.

The most notable change in our market is our sales volume continues to be well below normal.  Since July of 2022, or the last 5 months’ sales, our monthly sales have been the lowest since 2010.  As we reviewed our month-over-month sales, our sales activity is currently resembling lower sales volume much like we experienced between 2007-2011, in all honesty, that is difficult to write.

With interest rates doubling from the low 3% rate at the end of 2021 and the continual talk of a weakening economy and inflation, our buyer pool is much smaller and more cautious in general.

With all this occurring, the prices of homes at many price points are coming down some, after two years of historic and rapid price appreciation.

As we look to best serve our clients in this changing market, we are mindful that sales are still occurring, and people still need and want a home.

If you are considering selling in today’s market, generally speaking, what we have seen be successful is twofold.

PRICE, being perceived as value by the buyer is important.  For instance, a colleague listed a home for around $1M about 15-20% less than what we think the house would have been listed at 9 months ago.  The home received multiple offers, lots of activity, and is under contract above asking.  It demonstrated that buyers are in the market for a home they perceive as value.  Conversely, another listing hit the market in that neighborhood at the same time, it did not follow the same pricing strategy (priced based on old comps) and is still available for sale.

Second, to appeal to the biggest audience of buyers an updated and/or move-in-ready home still sees the most activity.  As our buyer pool is smaller currently, appealing to as many buyers as possible returns the best results.

For buyers, it is much more straightforward.  Having good data and being informed of the trends helps us give better counsel.  But what remains challenging is simply finding a home, so we need to be proactive with our search.  Much different from 2007 to 2011, our inventory remains historically low.  On December 27, we only had 138 active homes and condos for sale between Carpinteria to Goleta.  Historically, even as sellers pulled their homes off the market for the Holidays, our inventory level stayed somewhere between 250-450 homes.

As always, we are here to be of assistance, feel free to reach out if you have any questions or needs.

THE HIGH & LOW

November 2022 Highest Sale  | 465 Hot Springs Rd, Montecito |  Sold for $11,500,000

November 2022 Lowest Home Sale  | 208 S Voluntario St, Santa Barbara |  Sold for $910,000

November Statistics

Year-To-Date | 2022

• Total Sales:   1,367 in ’22 vs 2,078 in ’21  |  DOWN 34%
• Total Home Sales:   957 in ’22 vs 1,450 in ’21  |  DOWN 34%
• Total Condo Sales:   410 in ’22 vs 628 in ’21  |  DOWN 35%
• Median Home Price:  $2,104,000 in ’22 vs $1,889,000 in ’21  |  UP 11%
• Median Condo Price:   $958,000 in ’22 vs $840,000 in ’21  |  UP 14%
• Sales Above $5M:   125 in ’22 vs 194 in ’21  |  DOWN 36%

November 2022

• Total Sales:   85 in ’22 vs 155 in ’21  |  DOWN 45%
• Pending Sales:   74 in ’22 vs 117 in ’21  |  DOWN 37%
• Total Off-Market Sales:   7 Sales  |  8%
• Total Cash Sales:  33 Sales  |  39% 
• Average 30-Year Fixed Rate Mortgage:   6.50% as of Dec. 27, ’22