Are Home Prices Rising? The real estate market here in Santa Barbara continues to remain buoyant even with high interest rates. As the year progresses our unique coastal community continues to attract interest and investment in Santa Barbara real estate.
Keep in mind that all real estate is local. What may be happening somewhere else in California could be completely different from what you’re experiencing.
Click Read More Below for the whole post.
May 20, 2024 – Mortgage rates moderated further last week before inching up in the past couple of days, as the latest economic reports suggest that consumer inflation resumed its downward trend, while retail spending cooled more than expected. It will take more than just a couple of reports to justify rate cuts for the Fed, but the new numbers offer hope that the central bank could still lower rates in their upcoming July or September meeting.
The California housing market, meanwhile, kicked off the spring homebuying season with an encouraging start. April home sales at the state level improved moderately from last month and were up from the same month of last year, while the statewide median price soared to the highest level on record. Housing supply continued to improve, with new active listings surging by double-digits from a year ago for the fourth consecutive month. Source: California Association of Realtors.
Click Read more for Santa Barbara real estate market trends, statistics, and video.
Don’t wait! Mortgage Rates remain high and it is unlikely rates will drop this year. Real Estate experts are urging home buyers not to wait as home prices are expected to rise. It’s a challenging market for buyers and Fannie Mae is predicting an increase in home prices through 2025. Don’t wait
Rising costs aren’t the only obstacle for buyers as low inventory is also impacting the market’s dynamics.
If Baby Boomers ever decide to move/downsize some experts believe that will put 9 million homes on the market over the next 10 years. Wait and see? Don’t wait.
Click Read More below for mortgage rate update and videos.
The southern Santa Barbara real estate market remains vibrant with increased sales activity even as mortgage rates rise. Despite the increase of inventory compared to last year it still doesn’t meet the current demand. The market may be in transition if the inventory continues to increase and the supply is gradually aligning with the demand.
Click Read More below for more information and sales statistics for March 2024.
Prospective homeowners are struggling with their desire to buy a home and whether or not now is the best time to buy. Mortgage rates have dropped to around 7 percent but the inventory of homes for sale is still limited and challenging. Shark Tank personality and Realtor Barbara Corcoran thinks that homes will be going up in value this year which might not bode well for buyers sitting on the fence waiting for rates to drop and available homes for sale to improve.
It’s always hard to time the market. If mortgage rates drop and more buyers enter an already competitive market home prices will rise. There’s an expression in real estate, “Marry the house and date the rate.” In other words, buy now if you find the right house because you can always refinance later.
When is the best time of the year to buy a home in California? Traditionally most homes are listed for sale in the spring and summer. This allows families to get situated before the new school year begins in the fall. This pattern continues to evolve as buyers know they can find their dream home at any time of the year. Sometimes to get the right house you have to make tradeoffs that might be uncomfortable in the moment but more times than not pay off over time.
Buying a house right now might be overwhelming, but waiting too long can present challenges. Review your finances and think about how much you’re able to pay upfront as a down payment. Try to take the pulse of the real estate market where you’d like to live. Then, talk with an experienced local real estate professional who can assist you with whether or not you should buy now or wait. Good luck out there.
Click Read More below for more information and videos.
In today’s real estate market, buyers know that being pre-approved for financing can make all the difference when making an offer. Another factor for buyers to take into consideration when buying a home is homeowner’s insurance now that only a handful of Insurance Companies are offering coverage in California. After having their offer accepted the norm for buyers had been to order inspections, review Title Company documentation, and Public Records, and then look into homeowner’s insurance. Today it’s inherent upon the buyer’s representation and the buyer to look into homeowner’s Insurance as soon as possible. Why the concern? Not only are there fewer insurance companies offering home insurance in California but home insurance has become more expensive.
Why is this happening? Experts say that the expensive wildfires of recent years are not the only reason to get and keep homeowner’s insurance has become more difficult. Other concerns are increasingly intense storms due to climate change. Technology advances, from aerial drone photos of properties to risk estimating algorithms and high insurance rates,
For more information click Read More below.
The NAR settled a lawsuit without acknowledging they or the membership had done anything wrong. The lawyers, real estate disruptors, and the buyers who brought the suit have done more to confuse the process than help anyone other than themselves. It’s not a win for buyers or sellers. The major news outlets continue to misinterpret what this settlement means.
This post will help explain how the lawsuit will impact the real estate industry. There are two excellent videos here plus some opinions on the potential possibility of a tidal wave of dual agency transactions. Click Read More below for the whole post.
Despite a recent uptick in mortgage rates, the California’s housing market continued to demonstrate resilience in February, reaching sales levels not seen since September 2022, according to the California Association of Realtors on March 19, 2024.
February’s sales pace jumped 12.8 percent higher from the revised 257,040 homes sold in January and rose 1.3 percent from a year ago, when a revised 286,290 homes were sold on an annualized basis. The monthly sales increase was the second straight month of double-digit gains for California. It was also the second consecutive month of year-over-year gains, but the improvement was mild. The sales pace remained below the 300,000 threshold for the 17th consecutive month. While it is likely that sales will stay below this level in the first quarter of 2024, statewide home sales on a year-to-date basis remained positive with an increase of 3.4 percent, suggesting a better spring home buying season than that experienced last year.
Click Read More below for the whole post, Santa Barbara real estate statistics, and video.
It’s a fact of life: homes come with far more emotional weight than any other investment we make…Ever wonder how our emotions influence the homes we choose and the prices we pay? A home is a refuge from the world, a place to raise a family and, for some people, an investment they hope will go up in value down the road. We fall in love with houses in a way that we never fall in love with a portfolio of stocks and bonds.
All too often, though, we don’t realize that how we feel about homes blinds us when it comes time to buy or sell. We let our emotions blind us to cold facts about the market or the realities of ownership. Or we prioritize one set of emotional needs over others that are just strong but may not be evident at first. And ignoring them can lead us to make bad financial decisions that can affect us for decades to come.
The home-selling side of the equation brings its own set of thorny issues. Homeowners often have an overly rosy view of their home and expect it to increase in value far beyond reasonable expectations. And when they put it on the market, they often stubbornly cling to their asking price—even if it means leaving it up for sale far longer than they planned and risking the possibility of not selling it at all. Here’s a closer look at some psychological missteps that buyers and sellers often make as they wade into the housing market.
Click Read More below for the whole post.
The median price and active listings data depicted in the graphics in this post are generated from a survey of more than 90 associations of REALTORS® throughout the state and represent statistics of existing single-family detached homes.
Sales data are not adjusted to account for seasonal factors that can influence home sales.
Movements in sales prices should not be interpreted as changes in the cost of a standard home. The median price is where half sold for more and half sold for less; medians are more typical than average prices, which are skewed by a relatively small share of transactions at either the lower end or the upper end. Median prices can be influenced by changes in cost, as well as changes in the characteristics and the size of homes sold. The change in median prices should not be construed as actual price changes in specific homes.
Click Read More Below for more information, sales data, and video.
This website is not the official website of Sun Coast Real Estate. Sun Coast Real Estate does not make any representation or warranty regarding any information, including without limitation its accuracy or completeness, contained on this website. Real Agents affiliated with Sun Coast Real Estate are independent contractors and not employees.
3112 State Street, Santa Barbara, California 93105
Mark Lomas BRE 00898298
Kirsten Wolfe BRE 01309570
© 2024 · Your Website. Theme by HB-Themes.