Exciting times for Santa Barbara

The Santa Barbara real estate market recently saw its slowest November and December as per number of homes sold since the big dips in 2007 and 2008. The lack of sales for these months can largely be attributed to the record low inventory levels that buyers had to contend with. The consensus from just about every long time Santa Barbara Realtor I’ve talked with in the past 6 months is that recent inventory levels are the lowest they ever remember.

The number of home sales Santa Barbara produces this year will definitely depend on the amount of inventory that becomes available. Documentation from the Santa Barbara Multiple Listing Service (MLS) shows that there were only 424 active listings two weeks ago for homes, condos, and land combined. Today the total is 453, a nice 7% increase, but far off levels reached in 2011, 2012 and 2013 when the number of listings rose to 958, 715, and 616 respectively.

Smart investing is said to be counterintuitive, which in real estate translates to: when no one else is buying you should buy, and when no one else is selling you should sell. The current housing conditions are certainly enticing then for savvy buyers and sellers to become more active. If this happens we can surely bet that this year’s sales numbers will be better than last.

I appreciate your inquiries and look forward to keeping you posted on what’s gearing up to be a very good year for the Santa Barbara real estate market.