FEBRUARY MARKET UPDATE

Feb 21

In all of 2023, there were only three sales over $20M. Riskin Partners is honored to have been involved in all three. Halfway through Q1 of 2024, there have already been three sales over $20M (two of them Riskin Partners’ closings over $30M), and there is currently one additional property in escrow over $30M (another RP sale). Additionally, there have been several sales YTD over $10M, some of them with multiple offers. 2024 is shaping up to be a real showcase of the current strength in the market!

As noted in The Wall Street Journal, Santa Barbara leads the Winter 2024 Emerging Housing Markets Index, standing as the sole West Coast community in the top 20. This uptick in interest is fueled by a steady stream of out-of-town buyers who are drawn to Montecito’s enviable lifestyle and beautiful year-round weather. Competition remains strong with more buyers than sellers, pointing to heightened demand and a quicker turnover pace.

South Santa Barbara County

Overall, the South Santa Barbara County residential market saw a nice uptick in January with 85 closed sales, a marked change from one year ago when there were 69 sales (+23%). Of the 85 sales, 59 were single-family residences and 26 were condominiums, 41% of which were all cash. While only one month of data, this bump in sales could be attributed to a number of factors, but they could include lower mortgage rates and increased consumer confidence as a result of the performance of the equities market in Q4. The Median Price in January was $1.7MM, up 6% from January 2023, with 75% of those sales over $1MM, on par with one year ago, but down slightly from Q2/Q3 when that figure was in the low 80% range. For reference, in 2019, roughly 53% of sales were over $1MM. The most notable sale in January was 1035 Alston Rd in Montecito for $14.5MM.

Montecito

There were 16 closed sales in January, up from 9 last January. Median Price (of $4.6MM) was down slightly by 4% from a year ago when it was $4.8MM. There were 3 sales over $7MM in January; 608 Stone Meadow Ln for $7.8MM, 515 Santa Angela Ln for $7.825MM, and 1035 Alston Rd for $14.5MM.

Santa Barbara

There were 36 closed sales in January, up slightly from 33 last January. Median Price was 6% higher ($1.72MM) while Median Price was 33% higher to almost $2.9MM, a monthly record that is skewed by the sales of 3139 Cliff Drive for $8.75MM.

Hope Ranch

There were 2 sales in Hope Ranch in January, 4157 Lago Dr for $4.37MM and 4161 Creciente Dr for $7.5MM.

Carpinteria

There were 6 sales in January, even with January 2023. Interestingly, 5 of those 6 sales were below $1MM, bringing the Median Price down by 30% to $780,000. The other sale was 8109 Puesta Del Sol for $4MM.