Santa Barbara Area Real Estate Statistics October 2018

A big thanks to Fidelity National Title for putting together these reports! I like using these because Fidelity tracks all sales, not just sales in the Santa Barbara Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Last month, May 2018, we had approximately 33 Non-MLS sales out of a total of 173 sales. Note that some of these sales are intra-family transfers and new construction that didn't hit MLS . . .

So what's the latest in the Santa Barbara Area Real Estate Market? Out of the 173 sales in May, 27 were all cash - considerably lower than last month. That is approximately 15.6% of the total sales.

Our year-to-date median sales price (January - May) is the highest on record, coming in at $1,015,000 (homes including condos). Continuing to help fuel our high prices is low inventory - the lowest it has been per the SBMLS since 2014 (for single family residences). Interestingly, if we look only at May 2018 compared to May 2017, we saw over twice as many sales in Goleta (54 compared to 21). Some of this can be attributed to new construction and the number of new developments that are now recording these transactions . . . We did see a decrease in the number of sales in Santa Barbara and Montecito - the lowest May sales numbers in 6 years, with Carpinteria and Summerland sales remaining flat during this same time comparison.

What does the rest of the year hold for the Santa Barbara housing market? We are in a very strong market at the moment, and new construction sales will add to our overall sales numbers throughout the year. Federal Reserve officials raised interest rates for the second time this year and upgraded their forecast to 4 total increases in 2018 (and 3 in 2019 - each a 1/4 point), as unemployment fell and inflation overshot their target numbers faster than previously projected. Rate increases will most likely flatten our median sales prices by year end, as rates are now at the highest level since 2011, but still considered historically low by comparison.

Check out the graphs and charts below for more information.

As always, please Contact Me with any questions or feedback!