Mixed Housing Forecast For Santa Barbara County
Home sales in Santa Barbara County contained both good and bad news last month, with the South Coast seeing mostly positive gains and the North County facing negative numbers.
- Sales jumped sharply in July on the South Coast (the area from Goleta to Carpinteria) for existing, single-family homes as well as condos.
- Single-family home sales rose nearly 34 percent compared to a year ago, with 91 homes closing escrow vs. 68.
- Unlike the rest of the Southern California housing market, condo sales picked up even more, posting a 39 percent increase.
- The median price of South Coast single-family homes climbed 12 percent over the year, to $1.175 million - but the bulk of that gain came from multi-million sales in Montecito.
Not counting sales in Montecito and Hope Ranch, the South Coast median last month was $1.025 million, for an increase of just under 3 percent.
Condos on the South Coast posted a median of $590,000 in July, which is 10 percent below a year ago and still a very expensive California mortgage.
Because prices shift widely from month-to-month, the best indicator comes from looking at year-to-date numbers.
For the year-to-date, January-July, the single-family median price on the South Coast rose 4 percent from a year ago, to $1.25 million.
Excluding Montecito and Hope Ranch sales, the South Coast of Santa Barbara County year-to-date median fell by 1 percent to $1.049 million, and some experts think the median will continue lower in the months ahead.
Trouble in the financial market, especially with loans made to people with poor credit, has made it more difficult for first-time buyers to get a home mortgage loan with the best rates.
And California mortgage lenders have tightened requirements to other borrowers, as well.
“July’s sales and prices did not show much change. Sales were up slightly and median values were pretty flat,” said Mark Schniepp, director of the California Economic Forecast. “We expect to see more of a reaction to the credit crunch when we get all of the August numbers.”
Up in the North County, home sales and prices were mostly negative. Santa Maria and Lompoc also report the majority of California mortgage loan foreclosures that have spiked steeply for the county this year.
The Lompoc Valley took the biggest hit last month, with sales dropping by 47 percent - a total of 18 homes sold in July compared with 34 last year. Lompoc’s median price of $350,000 was down 13 percent from a year ago.
For the year-to-date, Lompoc home sales were off by 19 percent, but the median was only about 6 percent lower, to $395,000.
In Santa Maria, sales dipped by 33 percent in July and the median was down by 12 percent to $389,000. For the year so far, Santa Maria’s sales were 21 percent lower and the median was $400,000, or 11 percent below a year ago.
The Santa Ynez Valley reported 20 home sales last month, compared with 13 last year, causing a 53 percent increase. Median prices rose 6 percent to $792,000.
SOURCE: Santa Barbara News-Press