Jan 30th	Trust Me, Don’t Worry – Santa Barbara Real Estate Predictions for 2008
2008	Categories: Buyer's Resources & Advice

One rule you should learn as a Realtor is to never say, Trust Me Don’t Worry.  Well, I guess I am breaking this rule (partly at least) and giving you one prediction for Santa Barbara Real Estate in 2008.

The part of the rule I am breaking is the Trust Me part, so here it goes.

Trust Me, there are already many investors in 2008 poking around that recognize that a buyer’s market in Santa Barbara is an excellent time to purchase real estate.

The Santa Barbara real estate market is very unique for many reasons, some of them basic economics with demand for homes often being greater than supply.  From 1997 until 2005, this basic supply v. demand economic concept has been one of the major influences in the skyrocketing real estate values here in Santa Barbara and Montecito.  Real estate investors have also been a good portion of this demand from 1997 to 2005.  As the market slowed the last 2 years and prices dropped, real estate investors were then the last people to be seen.  This though is starting to change.

I myself have had several calls and conversations with investors in the last few months of 2007 and into early 2008.  I have also started looking for property with 3 different investors just in the last 3-4 weeks.  I have also talked with other agents who say they as well have “investor clients” who are starting to get active and serious.

For many, condos are still a big question, but single family homes are starting to find a level ground and investors are starting to talk about writing offers.  Exactly how much activity this will be is anyone’s guess.  What I can say for certain is, Trust Me, the Santa Barbara real estate investor has started to become active again.

Further Reading: Is My Realtor a Santa Barbara Neighborhood Specialist in My Area?, Search the Santa Barbara, Goleta, Montecito CA MLS for Free, My Home has Declined in Value…Can My Property Taxes Be Lowered?, Plan For Your Santa Barbara Remodel Now, So You Don’t Go Crazy Later, The 2 Major First Steps in Buying a Home in Santa Barbara CA., Little Known Advantages of Blogging Realtors…Santa Barbara and Montecito CA.

For information on Real Estate here in Santa Barbara, Montecito and/or our surrounding areas, as well as any other aspects of life in our area, please don’t hesitate to contact Kevin Schmidtchen at Sotheby’s Int’l Realty.

Thank you for reading.  I hope you find Santa Barbara Real Estate Voice informative. Please feel free to contact me or comment below with any thoughts.

Subscribe to Receive Personal Listings of Santa Barbara Area Properties

Search the Santa Barbara Area MLS

Tags: market updates, Montecito, real estate investors, Real Estate News, real estate values, realtor, santa barbara real estate market, santa barbara real estate predictions

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 30th, 2008 at 2:21 pm and is filed under Buyer's Resources & Advice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

1. Greg Knowles said at January 30th, 2008 at 3:08 pm

   Glad to hear it Kevin.

2. Darrel said at February 29th, 2008 at 10:33 am

   I am in agreement with you in the Santa Barbara real estate will show some improvement over the course of this year. While I don’t expect a full market recovery right away some area should experience an uphill trend in terms of interested buyers and sales. Areas like SB are always popular because of the beauty and close proximity to the beach.

3. Jo said at February 28th, 2009 at 4:28 pm

   I very much doubt any of this. The days of cheer leading are well over. No areas are immune to the downturn, and real estate prices will continue to plummet throughout 2009 and possibly well into 2010. Now is a really bad time to buy, especially in the high end. California unemployment is +10% and worsening every day. SFHs are sitting on the market for months due to continued seller denial. It is very likely pricing will over correct beyond 2001 prices, as momentum builds up due to awareness of the economic crisis. The best policy for brokers is to make sure their clients understand the situation, and that asking prices are realistic. The sooner that happens, the sooner we’ll get over this crisis, and everyone we will the better for it. Just pretending nothing is happening only prolongs it, and possibly makes things worse. There is a lot cash sitting out there, just waiting for sellers to wise up. Thankfully, there are now many brokers who are openly admitting this, but too many are still afraid to confront their clients with the truth, in a persuasive manner.

4. Kevin said at March 2nd, 2009 at 12:52 am

   Jo,

   I appreciate the comment, but if you look at the date…you are commenting 14 months after the fact. Lots has for sure changed in the world in this time frame and probably 95% of it was predicted by NO ONE. We will see what the future holds for all of us. Thanks for reading and commenting…take care kevin

Leave a Reply

Name (required)

Email (will not be published) (required)

Website