Mid Year Update
Looking back at the last six months the south coast of Santa Barbara, spanning from Goleta to Carpinteria, we’ve not...
Market Update – A Closer Look
The real estate market in Santa Barbara continues to remain vibrant even with high interest rates and low inventory. As the year progresses our unique coastal community continues to attract interest and investment in Santa Barbara real estate.
Year to date the market is up 14% on the total number of homes sold since this time last year. Property values continue to climb with the average price up 6%. The average time for a home to be on the market is around 30 days.
Nationally internal and external forces are accelerating change in today’s real estate market. The market continues to be strong and is not crashing. Prices are rising as the economy continues to expand.
Real concerns are affordability as homeownership shrinks and rates are expected to remain elevated. Another concern is the real estate industry is changing since the Department of Justice’s lawsuit against the National Association of Realtors prevailed and realtors are trying to navigate the new landscape for real estate sales. Consumers need real estate agents but it may be a little early to see how this will play out.
Click Read More Below for Statistics and Videos.
Are Home Prices Rising?
Are Home Prices Rising? The real estate market here in Santa Barbara continues to remain buoyant even with high interest rates. As the year progresses our unique coastal community continues to attract interest and investment in Santa Barbara real estate.
Keep in mind that all real estate is local. What may be happening somewhere else in California could be completely different from what you’re experiencing.
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Market Overview Locally and Nationally
May 20, 2024 – Mortgage rates moderated further last week before inching up in the past couple of days, as the latest economic reports suggest that consumer inflation resumed its downward trend, while retail spending cooled more than expected. It will take more than just a couple of reports to justify rate cuts for the Fed, but the new numbers offer hope that the central bank could still lower rates in their upcoming July or September meeting.
The California housing market, meanwhile, kicked off the spring homebuying season with an encouraging start. April home sales at the state level improved moderately from last month and were up from the same month of last year, while the statewide median price soared to the highest level on record. Housing supply continued to improve, with new active listings surging by double-digits from a year ago for the fourth consecutive month. Source: California Association of Realtors.
Click Read more for Santa Barbara real estate market trends, statistics, and video.
How’s the Market? Don’t Wait!
Don’t wait! Mortgage Rates remain high and it is unlikely rates will drop this year. Real Estate experts are urging home buyers not to wait as home prices are expected to rise. It’s a challenging market for buyers and Fannie Mae is predicting an increase in home prices through 2025. Don’t wait
Rising costs aren’t the only obstacle for buyers as low inventory is also impacting the market’s dynamics.
If Baby Boomers ever decide to move/downsize some experts believe that will put 9 million homes on the market over the next 10 years. Wait and see? Don’t wait.
Click Read More below for mortgage rate update and videos.
Good Time to Buy?
Prospective homeowners are struggling with their desire to buy a home and whether or not now is the best time to buy. Mortgage rates have dropped to around 7 percent but the inventory of homes for sale is still limited and challenging. Shark Tank personality and Realtor Barbara Corcoran thinks that homes will be going up in value this year which might not bode well for buyers sitting on the fence waiting for rates to drop and available homes for sale to improve.
It’s always hard to time the market. If mortgage rates drop and more buyers enter an already competitive market home prices will rise. There’s an expression in real estate, “Marry the house and date the rate.” In other words, buy now if you find the right house because you can always refinance later.
When is the best time of the year to buy a home in California? Traditionally most homes are listed for sale in the spring and summer. This allows families to get situated before the new school year begins in the fall. This pattern continues to evolve as buyers know they can find their dream home at any time of the year. Sometimes to get the right house you have to make tradeoffs that might be uncomfortable in the moment but more times than not pay off over time.
Buying a house right now might be overwhelming, but waiting too long can present challenges. Review your finances and think about how much you’re able to pay upfront as a down payment. Try to take the pulse of the real estate market where you’d like to live. Then, talk with an experienced local real estate professional who can assist you with whether or not you should buy now or wait. Good luck out there.
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Market Trends, Statistics, and Video
Despite a recent uptick in mortgage rates, the California’s housing market continued to demonstrate resilience in February, reaching sales levels not seen since September 2022, according to the California Association of Realtors on March 19, 2024.
February’s sales pace jumped 12.8 percent higher from the revised 257,040 homes sold in January and rose 1.3 percent from a year ago, when a revised 286,290 homes were sold on an annualized basis. The monthly sales increase was the second straight month of double-digit gains for California. It was also the second consecutive month of year-over-year gains, but the improvement was mild. The sales pace remained below the 300,000 threshold for the 17th consecutive month. While it is likely that sales will stay below this level in the first quarter of 2024, statewide home sales on a year-to-date basis remained positive with an increase of 3.4 percent, suggesting a better spring home buying season than that experienced last year.
Click Read More below for the whole post, Santa Barbara real estate statistics, and video.
Inventory and Market Update
The median price and active listings data depicted in the graphics in this post are generated from a survey of more than 90 associations of REALTORS® throughout the state and represent statistics of existing single-family detached homes.
Sales data are not adjusted to account for seasonal factors that can influence home sales.
Movements in sales prices should not be interpreted as changes in the cost of a standard home. The median price is where half sold for more and half sold for less; medians are more typical than average prices, which are skewed by a relatively small share of transactions at either the lower end or the upper end. Median prices can be influenced by changes in cost, as well as changes in the characteristics and the size of homes sold. The change in median prices should not be construed as actual price changes in specific homes.
Click Read More Below for more information, sales data, and video.
New Real Estate Laws for 2024
The landscape of California real estate is ever-evolving, influenced by market trends, societal shifts, and legislative updates. In 2024, several significant changes have been implemented in California real estate law, impacting both buyers and sellers, as well as real estate professionals. These alterations reflect the state’s ongoing commitment to enhancing transparency, fairness, and sustainability within the real estate sector.
In this post we break down the changes and provide a new Real Estate Laws Chart for 2024 from the California Association of Realtors.
Click Read More below for more information about the new California Real Estate Laws for 2024.
Proposition 19
Proposition 19 went into effect on April 1, 2021, protecting millions of older homeowners, homeowners with severe disabilities, and victims of wildfires or natural disasters.
As older homeowners move to senior housing, retirement communities, condos, and smaller homes, more homeownership opportunities will open up in communities throughout California each year for renters, young families, and first-time homebuyers.
Proposition 19 allows victims of wildfire or natural disasters to transfer the property tax base of their damaged house to a replacement home anywhere in California.
Proposition 19 also frees up inventory by offering these considerations.
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