Spring has sprung and residential home sales are up throughout our area, from Carpinteria to Goleta, for the month of March.
Carpinteria has had the most increase in market activity with its month’s supply of homes dropping dramatically to just a 240-day supply from 443, if no other homes are listed. This means there have been more properties go into escrow in the past 30 days in Carpinteria than the month prior.
Next up in activity is Goleta, north of Highway 101. That area had the highest number of sales, at 14 for the month of March and 24 properties going into escrow, giving Goleta north only a 120-day supply of homes on the market at month’s end.
With a brisk low-end market in full swing, we are beginning to see Montecito sales pick up, too. The area reported six sales in February and eight in March.
With the new conforming loan limit back up to $729,750 and interest rates below 5 percent, buyers are moving and making offers now. They realize this may be the only time we see the rates this low and have plenty of inventory from which to choose. The market in Santa Barbara is healthy. We have three homes a day going into escrow because people need to buy and sell every day for one reason or another.
— Elaine Abercrombie, a broker with Village Properties Realtors, is vice president of the Santa Barbara Association of Realtors. She can be contacted at elaine@villagesite.com.