And the winner is....

click here to find out more: The Santa Barbara Million Dollar Home Raffle Winner for 2011

6 Property Enhancements that can Increase Your Home's Resale Value

Just read this in the latest REALTOR magazine. Over 600 real estate professionals were interviewed to discover which DIY home improvements give sellers the biggest bang for their buck. Hope you find it useful.

1. Cleaning and de-cluttering. Remove personal items, declutter countertops-get your home super clean!

2. Brightening. Clean all windows-inside and out. Remove anything that blocks windows/light. Make sure you do not have burned out bulbs in light fixtures.

3. Staging. This doesn't necessarily mean you need to have all new furniture brought in, but consider rearranging your existing furniture. Again-de-clutter and provide a comfortable ambiance. Perhaps have soft music playing in the background.

4. Landscaping. Curb appeal is super important. Make yours more attractive by adding mulch, bushes and flowers. Pull weeds. Don't forget the back and side yards as well!

5. Repair electrical & plumbing. Fix leaks, remove mildew stains. Fix lights or outlets that aren't working and replace old plug points with new safety features.

6. Replace or shampoo your carpets. Pet stains, etc. on carpets is such a turn off. Also consider fixing any creaking floor boards.

*Excerpted from HomeGain's 2011 Home Sale Maximizer Survey.

Earth Day in SB!

Those of you who have attended know that Earth Day in SB is huge.

With over 30,000 attendees and 250 vendors there is a ton to see, learn and do! Enjoy live music (this year the headliner is the Wailing Souls and special guest is Daryl Hannah) and tons of activities - it is worth checking out!

Click here to check out event highlight's & schedule on the CEC's website.

Just signed up!

We just signed up for Plow to Porch deliveries! A box of local and fresh produce will be at our door every Tuesday. Looking forward to NOT having to shop around for super fresh, pesticide-free produce, supporting local farms and excited to eat whatever it is that's in season :)

Click here to learn more.

Attention SB Home Owners! (and renters too).

This is a FREE seminar on how to maximize your comfort, energy efficiency & health within your home. Learn a little, save a lot!

January Santa Barbara Stats!

For more statistical information visit my website: NicoleByrnes.com

Santa Barbara Real Estate through the end of January 2011 for Montecito, Hope Ranch, Santa Barbara, Goleta, Carpinteria and Summerland

Escrows are up from January 2010 when there were 48 with an $825,000 median list price to 68 for 2011 with an $850,000 median list price. The return to an $850,000 median list price is particularly encouraging after experiencing 2 months of the median list price for escrows dipping into the $790,000 range and seeing evidence of that decline in the $787,500 median sold price of December 2010. Throughout most of 2010 and back into a substantial portion of 2009 the median list price of escrows was $850,000 so at this time it doesn’t look like there’s going to be a further erosion in home prices.

The sub $1 million market took a big drop from 56 sales in December to 25 in January and the $1 to $2 million market fell from 20 sales in December to 12 in January with the over $2 million segment dropping from 12 to 4 sales including only 1 over $5 million.

New listings always spike up in January because a lot of listings expire at the end of the year and then get re-listed at the beginning of the New Year and 174 “new listings” appeared in January. But, the overall inventory also went up to 472 from 429 in December with those approximately 475 properties having a median list price of about $1.55 million and an average list price of $3.2 million.

Looking at the Districts, we see that Home sales in Carpinteria/Summerland fell from 9 in ’10 to 1 in ’11 and the median sales price dropped from $790,000 last year to $591,000 for that one sale. In Montecito sales declined from 7 in ’10 with a median sales price of $3.3 million to 5 in ’11 with a median sales price of $3.15 million.

On the East Side of Santa Barbara sales fell dramatically from 21 in ’10 to 8 in ’11. But, those 8 sales this year had a median sales price of $1.4 million compared to those 11 sales last year that had an $849,500 median sales price. On the West Side of town the sales are way up over last year however rising from 8 in ’10 to 17 in ’11 but the median sales price fell from $738,750 last year to $730,000 this year.

In Hope Ranch there has been 1 sale this year for $1.6 million and last year there were 2 sales with a median and average sales price of $3,582,125. For Goleta South sales have fallen from 8 last year to 5 this year. But the median sales price has gone up from $546,000 last year to $707,500 this year and in Goleta North sales are up with 9 in ’10 and11 in ’11. But, the median sales price has gone way up from $674,000 last year to $900,000 this year.

Sales this year are starting out substantially below where they were in 2010 but the escrows for all the Districts are up from where they were last year plus the median list price on those escrows is up for all the Districts except Goleta North and South. After seeing sales rise for the last three months of 2010 and then falling back a lot in January 2011 with the numbers of escrows that have opened in January activity should return to the 2010 level.

The condo market in Santa Barbara also experienced a dramatic decline in sales in January 2011 going from 25 in December to 16 in January 2011. The numbers of sales was also below January 2010 when there were 21 closings. The median sales price also continued to increment down falling from $422,500 in November to $415,000 in December down to $382,000 in January. But, at least the median sales price for January ’11 was ahead of where it was in January ’10 when it was $375,000.

Unlike Homes however the opened escrows declined from the previous year except for Goleta North which had one more property start the buying process than occurred in 2010. In the past three months escrows went from 31 in November with a median list price of $399,000 to 18 in December with a median list price of $450,000 then stayed at 18 for January with the median list price sliding back to $420,000.

With only 16 sales for the month and 9 of those in the $350,000 to $500,000 range it looks at this time like condo prices are continuing to increment down. There were 2 sales in the $850,000 to $999,999 range but nothing over the $1 million mark which had seen a substantial increase in activity in the past few months.

There were 44 “new listings” in January with a median list price of $499,000 but the overall inventory remained at around the mid 140 level with a median list price of about $575,000 and an average list price of approximately $780,000.

Looking at the Districts, sales for Carpinteria/Summerland were the same with 5 in ’10 and 5 in ’11 but the median sales price went up slightly from $330,000 to $350,000. Escrows went up from 4 to 5 but the median list price on those escrows dropped from about $400,000 last year to $348,300 this year.

In Montecito there was 1 sale in each year with the 2010 offering going for $1,050,000 and the 2011 property selling for $890,000. Last year there were 2 escrows at this point with a median list price of $1.2 million and this year the one escrow has an asking price of $998,000.

On the East Side of Santa Barbara there were 7 sales last year compared to 3 this year but the median sales price rose from $310,000 to $450,000. The numbers of escrows are also down from 3 to 2 and the median list price on those escrows is down from $435,000 last year to $369,900 this year.

The West Side of Santa Barbara is down 1 sale from 2 to 1 this year and the median sales price is down from $443,000 in ’10 to $315,000 for that one sale this year. Escrows are way down however dropping from 7 to 2 with the median list price on those escrows remaining basically stable slipping from $434,900 to $420,000.

Sales are the same in both years in Goleta South with 3 in both years but the median sales price declined from $465,000 to $335,500. The numbers of escrows are up however going from 3 to 4 with the median list price on those escrows rising from $259,000 in 2010 to $375,950 in 2011.

Goleta North sales are up by one going from 3 to 4 but the median sales price has dropped from $459,000 to $382,000. The numbers of escrows are the same however with 3 in both years with the median list price on those escrows going up from $228,100 last year to $479,000 this year.

For the overall Santa Barbara area, home sales while starting slowly look like they’ll return to the 2010 level with the median sales price remaining stable at about $850,000. Condos however look like the numbers of sales are going to decline as does the median sales price of those units that do sell.

-Gary Woods

The Stats are in. Looking back at 2010.

Here's the latest housing statistics in Santa Barbara. For more information on the housing market visit my website by clicking here.

Santa Barbara Real Estate for all of 2010 compared to 2009 for Montecito, Hope Ranch, Santa Barbara, Goleta, Carpinteria and Summerland

For the greater Santa Barbara area including Carpinteria/Summerland, Montecito, Hope Ranch and Goleta, sales of single family residences finished 2010 about 7.6% ahead of where they were in 2009 just nosing over the 900 units sold mark. But, the median sales price was just barely ahead of the ’09 number finishing the year at about $850,000 only $5,000 up from ’09. The average sales price moved a little farther ahead however finishing the year at around $1.46 million up from $1.4 million in ’09. Escrows were also up for the year rising from 869 in ’09 to 922 for ’10 for a 6.1% rise and the median list price on those escrows, just like the sales price was within about $5,000 of the previous year finishing ’10 at $879,000.

After sales declined 6 out of the 7 months from April through October they started back up in November with 69 and December with 88. But, while the numbers of sales went up in December the median sales price went down, dropping from $865,000 in November to $778,500 in December. The numbers of escrows also declined in December from 76 in November to 63 in December. This slowing of sales activities usually occurs because the focus in the last month of the year turns to getting the open escrows closed rather trying to put new escrows together.

Looking at the Districts, Carpinteria/Summerland finished the year 9% ahead of the ’09 rate of sales rising from 73 in that year to 80 in ’10. But, the median sales price declined slightly dropping from $687,500 in ’09 to $675,000 in ’10 for a 2% dip. Montecito also had sales go up in ’10 rising from 143 in ’09 to 153 in ’10 for a 6% gain. But, the median sales price for the area remained basically at the previous year’s level rising slightly from $2.35 million to $2.375 million.

For Santa Barbara’s East Side, sales went up from 236 in ’09 to 244 in ’10 for a 3% rise and the median sales price rose from $885,000 in ’09 to $925,000 in ’10 for a 4.5% rise. But, after moving ahead of the previous year’s pace for most of the year, activity on the East Side looks like it’s slowing with escrows almost at exactly the same level they were at in ’09 and the median list price on those escrows dropping below the $900,000 mark coming in at the same price level as ’09.

Over on the West Side however, sales finished the year substantially ahead of where they were in ’09 rising from 152 to 196 for a 29% boost. The median sales price for the area is also up going from $743,000 in ’09 to $785,000 in ’10 for a 5.7% gain. The numbers of escrows is even farther ahead than the sales finishing the year with 217 up from 166 in ’09 for a 30% gain.

Hope Ranch finished the year almost exactly where it left ’09. There were 19 sales in ’09 and 21 in ‘10 but the median sales price dipped slightly from $2.335 million to $2,212,500 in ’10. The average sales price was way up however going from $3,276,575 in ’09 to $3,888,212 in ’10. This rise was due to some very high priced sales in the area.

Goleta South ended the year with 9.2% more sales activity than the previous year going from 87 sales in ’09 to 95 sales in ’10. The median sales price fell however dipping from $700,000 to $670,000 in ’10 for a 4.3% drop. But, sales in Goleta North dipped from the previous year going from 162 in ’09 to 157 in ’10 for a 3% decline while the median sales price remained exactly where it ended in ’09 at $705,000.

For condos in the greater Santa Barbara area the picture is not quite as rosy as the single family dwelling market. For the final 3 months of 2010 sales declined from 33 in October to 27 in November and down to 25 in December. The median sales price also dropped for those 3 months from $475,000 in October to $425,000 in November and down to $415,000 in December. The numbers of escrows also dropped substantially from November when there were 31 to 19 in December but the median list price on those escrows did come up from just under $400,000 in November to about $459,000 in December

The numbers of condo sales for 2010 were about the same as we experienced in 2009 rising ever so slightly from 319 to 324. But, the median sales price continued to decline dropping from $465,000 in ’09 to $434,000 in ’10 for a 6.7% drop. As the median sales price continues to decline it is getting closer to the ’02 level than it is to the ’03 level unlike single family home median sales price which have remained at almost exactly the same median sales price level we experienced in 2003.

Looking at the districts, Carpinteria/Summerland sales are 26% ahead of where they were in ’09 rising from 52 to 66. The median sales price has dropped however sliding from $430,000 in ’09 to $382,500 in ’10 for an 11% drop. Montecito condo sales finished the year at more than double where they were in ’09 rising from 11 to 26 and the median sales price was also up from $945,000 in the previous year to $1,075,000 in ’10 for an almost 14% rise.

For the East Side of Santa Barbara condo sales were also up from 56 to 67 for a 19% rise, but the median sales price fell from $529,900 in the previous year to $481,500 in ’10 for a 9.1% drop. The party may be over for the East Side however because escrows have dropped about 7% for the year falling from 68 in ’09 to 63 in ’10.

The West Side of Town had sales below the ’09 level dropping from 81 to 80 for a 1.2% decline and the median sales price dropped a little from $503,000 to $495,000 for a 1.6% dip. The numbers of escrows are also very close together for the area so things should remain at about the same level of price and activity.

Goleta South has experienced two rough years in a row. Sales dipped 31% for the area falling from 67 in ’09 which fell significantly from ’08 to 46 in ’10. The median sales price also fell dramatically from $450,500 the previous year to $375,000 in ’10 for almost a 17% decline. Across the freeway in Goleta North sales also fell but not quite as far. For ’10 there were 48 sales compared to 60 in ’09 for a 20% drop. But, the median sales price went up if ever so slightly from $395,000 in ’09 to $397,500 in ’10.

Sales of condos have been slowing through the last quarter of ’10 and at this point it looks like they’re going to continue in that direction. There has been substantial activity in the luxury condo market however with 4 sales over $1 million in December and several more in both October and November. The single family home market has also experienced a surge at the upper level with 5 sales over $5 million in December and 12 sales over $2 million.

The real boost in sales was in the below $1 million market where there were 56 sales up from 38 in the previous month. This rise in that sector is the reason the median sales price for the month tumbled to $778,500. Going into 2011 it look like the single family home market should remain strong with some upward pressure on prices below $1 million. The $1 to $2 million looks unsteady however while the over $2 million market has remained stable.

-Gary Woods