Each month, Village Properties provides us with the latest reports and statistics on Santa Barbara’s robust housing marketing. As agents, we’re committed to keeping you informed and prepared with the most up-to-date information, so in this blog post we will be reviewing and explaining the market reports so you can best understand the data, trends, and what it all means for buyers and sellers. Whether you're considering buying your dream home, selling a property, or simply staying updated on the local market, understanding these metrics is crucial for making informed decisions. Let’s dive in!
Click Here to view the full report and follow along! The first photo in our market report shows data for the entire Santa Barbara area from the year so far. This is followed by photos showing more specific data for different parts of Santa Barbara, including Montecito and Goleta. This data includes totals, average, and median statistics from the month by itself, the year to date, and percentage changes over the year. It is also categorized by the type of property, including single family residences and condominiums.
Single Family Residence (SFR): Standalone residential homes designed to occupy one household.
Condominiums: Standalone or attached housing units as part of a larger property complex.
YTD (Year to Date): This measure gathers data from the beginning of the year to the current date. YTD Sales for SFR homes since June 2024 is 216. This means that 216 SFR homes have been sold from January to June of 2024.
Average vs Median: Due to outliers, median statistics typically provide a better measure of the standard value of homes. In July of 2024, the average sales price for homes in Santa Barbara was $2,255,407 while the median price was $1,850,000. These statistics show that middle-of-the-pack homes in Santa Barbara sold around $1,850,000, with higher priced homes skewing the average sale price up to $2,255,407. Though the average includes important data from all price points, it does not necessarily showcase an accurate picture of the typical sale like the median statistic does.
Percentage Over Year: Listed beneath some of the data is the percentage over year. This statistic shows the percentage increase OR decrease when compared to the market from a year ago. From January through June of 2024 there have been a total of 634 sales, a 12% increase when compared to the total sales from January through June of 2023. This data shows us how the market is changing from year to year.
Quarters: Years are divided into 4 Quarters, with each quarter consisting of three months of the year. Q1 (Jan, Feb, Mar). Q2 (Apr, May, June). Q3 (Jul, Aug, Sep) Q4 (Oct, Nov, Dec).
What it all means: Santa Barbara has been in a long term undersupplied market, with more buyers than homes on the market. As a result, pricing has gone up substantially over the past 5 years and our latest report shows that this trend is continuing with the median price of homes increasing by 4% in Q2 of 2024 when compared to Q2 of 2023. Though Santa Barbara is still a seller’s market, there has been an 11% increase of closings when compared to Q2 of 2023 and 12% increase of YTD sales when compared to June of 2023. This increase in homes sold shows that our market is becoming slightly more balanced, as more homes become available for buyers.
We are grateful to Village properties for always supplying us with the most accurate and up to date statistics on our housing market. We hope this information and review provides more context so you can read and understand the next report like a pro.
