5 Year Average Selling Price For Santa Barbara Real Estate

Here is a great simple graph that looks at the overall average selling prices for homes here in the Santa Barbara area.  The graph breaks down the prices into the main neighborhoods of Santa Barbara...Montecito, Santa Barbara proper, Carpinteria / Summerland, Hope Ranch and Goleta. One of the first obvious looks shows that our high end properties are really starting to see a big increase in demand.  Both Hope Ranch and Montecito have seen prices increase a good amount in the last... Continue Reading >

3 Very Nice Recent Real Estate Testimonials From Clients Here in Santa Barbara, Montecito and Summerland

To Whom it may Concern I have known Kevin Schmidtchen since our days at Santa Barbara High School (Class of 88).  He is an exemplary human being, world class athlete, of highest ethical and moral standard, and I am honored to call him a friend. It is no surprise to me that Kevin has become a premier Real Estate guru in the Santa Barbara County.  With his attention to detail, his honorable status among his peers and community, his great negotiating skills,... Continue Reading >

Why are Short Sales Here in Santa Barbara and Goleta Selling with Ease?

Are Short Sales No Longer a Pain to Close? A lot has changed with the pulse of real estate market here in Santa Barbara and Goleta over the last 12 months.  After having a pretty steady / good market from Fall 2011 until about June 2012, the real estate market has really taken off over the last 3-5 months.  Seemingly everything that is priced "simply normal" is selling and often with multiple offers.  We have also seen a jump in prices across... Continue Reading >

Great News For Santa Barbara Condo Buyers – FHA Eases Tough Condo Financing Rules

In our overall extremely tight real estate market here in Santa Barbara, here is some needed and encouraging news for all of the condominium buyers out there. The biggest source of funding for buyers with 5-20% down payments, the Federal Housing Administration, has revamped controversial rules that caused thousands of condo complexes across the country to lose their eligibility for FHA financing....and a few here in the Santa Barbara area. The new and revised guidelines issued last week take effect immediately.  This will for... Continue Reading >

More Statistics Confirming That The Santa Barbara Real Estate Market is Very Very Strong!

Here are some recent statistics about how strong the real estate market has become here in Southern California and especially in the Santa Barbara area. The number of sales in Southern California is up 9% from July and 14.2% from the same month last year! The median sales price is up 10.8% from last year! This is the 6th consecutive month that the year-over-year median price has risen AND it’s up 27% from the low in 4/09! Foreclosures are now at their lowest percentage of the market... Continue Reading >

Lack of Inventory Extremely Tough On Buyers Here in Santa Barbara

When will we see the next good run of new inventory here in the housing market in Santa Barbara? This is a question that everyone across the board is asking each other from buyers, to lenders, to real estate agents. Every statistic we see as well as just the true pulse on the market points out that there are more buyers than real estate to choose from.  Compared to just the last few years, we are roughly down 50% on listings.  It... Continue Reading >

Santa Barbara Real Estate Market Report for August 2012

Real estate here in Santa Barbara for the summer of 2012 ended up being a market where a lot of people were looking and ready and most everything that was coming on the market was sold very quickly.  We are continuing to have a definite lack of inventory across all price points, but especially in the $300,000 to $900,000 price point.  Many buyers continue to be frustrated as they are ready and pre-approved (or all cash) and simply not being... Continue Reading >

Santa Barbara Area Tops in Hot Real Estate Market

Here is a great article from Inman News about the very strong California real estate market overall... and especially here in Santa Barbara.  This is pretty much in line with what I have been writing about the last 6 months and what we are experiencing. Editor's note: Data from Realtor.com's June 2012 Real Estate Trend Data Report. The report analyzes data for 146 U.S. metros and includes single-family homes, condos, townhomes and co-ops. Three California metros -- Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Lompoc, San Francisco and... Continue Reading >

Santa Barbara Real Estate Seriously Rebounding – Recent Forbes.com article

Here is a new article just published this last week online at forbes.com by Ken Harney. "It’s probably no surprise that roller-coaster real estate markets like Phoenix and Miami are in roaring rebound mode this year, but Santa Barbara? Who knew? Sometimes called the “American Riviera” for its red tile-roofed estates overlooking the Pacific, year-round great climate, active cultural life and its movie star residents, Santa Barbara took a significant though little publicized hit during the real estate bust, with median home... Continue Reading >

Santa Barbara, Montecito, Hope Ranch and Goleta Cort Reports May 2012

Here are the latest CORT report statistics for real estate here in Santa Barbara, Montecito, Goleta and Hope Ranch. The overall market also continues to be very strong with most well priced homes selling within a few days to a few weeks.  Buyers continue to be very comfortable with prices and are taking advantage of incredibly low interest rates.  Other strong signs for the market is that many investors are now buying again as well as cash investors.  We are also... Continue Reading >

Santa Barbara Real Estate – San Roque Real Estate Market Update May June 2012

The San Roque real estate market continues to be a very strong market here in Santa Barbara.  The only homes that seem to not be selling are the ones that the market is telling us are too high priced.  Outside of this, from a fixer to a done up home across all price points in San Roque, homes are selling.  Buyers are out there and simply asking for more inventory.  Many homes are also seeing multiple offers of 2-3 offers. If... Continue Reading >

What Does $1 Million Buy in Today’s Very Strong Santa Barbara Real Estate Market?

Where is our real estate market today? We continue to see buyers very very comfortable with where the Santa Barbara real estate market is today.  Most reports and statistics are also showing that this very strong market is not just a tick here and there, but a market with "very strong legs".  We have now seen about 6-8 straight months of solid activity with homes selling quickly and prices very stable.  Here in Santa Barbara, we are now once again confronted with... Continue Reading >