May Flowers APRIL

Hello Family and Friends -

We are finally enjoying the California sunshine here is Santa Barbara and we hope you also enjoy this May residential real estate market report with data, graphs and available properties. Let us know what you think!

The hot market continues as people are reaching out about activity in the local residential Santa Barbara County market. There are still more buyers than sellers and this historically low inventory is a significant part of what’s driving the market right now and keeping the asking prices ambitious. We can confidently say that people who can afford to live anywhere—CHOOSE Montecito and Santa Barbara which is another reason the demand remains strong—in spite of real estate weakness in other markets.

To put the ongoing inventory shortage in perspective, be sure to check out the graph on pages 8 and 9 showing inventory and sold transactions YTD and for the past 10 years by month. One thing that stood out to us was that more homes were sold during the first 5 months of the 2020 pandemic (564), even with the two month nationwide shutdown, than we have sold in 2023 (441). This lack of available homes to buy is keeping the sold prices elevated. If you have thought about selling in the next 5 years, we feel this is an ideal time to take advantage of the high demand. Why not capitalize on your home’s equity with these historically high sold prices and a potential phenomenal return on your home’s investment. The limited inventory for buyers to choose from may make your property stand out and sell quickly! If you have nowhere to go, many buyers are offering attractive seller lease back options to get their offer accepted. Sold transactions for the entire Santa Barbara area has been hovering around 100 for the past three months. Only 104 homes changed hands in May, 41% were all cash, 13% off market and an average of 30 days on market. Montecito had a 2023 record of 25 transactions in May, over double last months 10 sales (68 YTD) with an astounding 52% being all cash and 16% off market. The smaller community of Hope Ranch did not have any sales in May (10 YTD) but demand still remains high there.

For buyers, now more than ever with the inventory shortage and surge in off market sales, we encourage you to reach out for our list of Compass Private Exclusive properties. These are off-market homes that we can share directly with our buyers and the property details are not disseminated widely and will not appear on public home search websites. This is an excellent way to stay ahead of the market by eliminating competition. Reach out frequently since the inventory moves quickly. Read on for the May 2023 market stats broken down by each city. Plus, check out some property ideas that are currently available that we feel are good values. As always—please reach out with any questions or to discuss your specific real estate goals!

In this highly competitive market—experience matters. We offer concierge level professional service to our clients with world-class marketing, a proven track record of success, the skills necessary to put complicated deals together then negotiate the price and terms that will get your offer accepted amongst multiple offers. Our goal is to get you the best price for your existing home and find you the right replacement property with minimal stress. Let’s explore your property’s current valuation and discuss a strategy.