Santa Barbara 2nd Quarter Review: Buying and Selling in the Covid Era
Since my last newsletter, everything has changed, in the world and in real estate. There are new ways to view, buy, and sell homes. No in-person open houses, no brokers’ caravans, no “just looking.” Serious buyers and sellers are the norm in the market. And if you go look at a home on the market, you’ll run into this:
“All visitors must abide by CAR Mandatory Government Showing Requirements & Best Practices Guidelines & Prevention Plan (BPPP). Prior to showing, please send electronically to listing agent, CAR PEAD-V form signed by all visitors. Visitors to property must agree to the Posted Rules for Entry (PRE) included in the MLS supplements. Masks and sanitizers are required.”
These are the posted requirements for every listing and showing. Yet houses are selling! And quickly! Brave owners and sellers are putting their homes on the market and getting multiple offers.
The easiest homes to sell and view are vacant, the next easiest is owner-occupied and the most difficult are tenant occupied. Tenants, understandably, are rarely happy to have their home sold. In the Covid-19 environment they are refusing, again understandably, to allow strangers into their home. Owners are learning that with eviction moratoriums and rent forgiveness being enacted this can be a challenging time to sell rental properties. But with patience and understanding, rentals are still selling.
Current Best Buys
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| Dorrie Powel’s new listing at 460 San Ysidro G MONTECITO, CA 93108 It is a 3-bedroom, 2-bath condo listed for $1,295,000 | Ben Rivera’s new listing at 5105 La Ramada Drive Santa Barbara, CA This is a 4-bedroom, 2-bath home listed for $940,000 Excellent opportunity to acquire a 4-bedroom home in Foothill School District. |
Santa Barbara Residential Statistics:
Year to Date (YTD) through June 2020
Here are 4 graphs comparing year to date sales with previous years. Active listings are YTD down almost 25%. Pending sales are down 13%. Closed Sales are down 18% and Median sale price (half the homes sold for more and half the homes sold for less) is virtually the same as 2019.
Inventory is limited and going quickly. Prices are staying firm at this time. Interest rates for loans are at historical lows, below 3% for the 30-year fixed. Getting a loan is slightly harder. The underwriters will check job status until the day the loan is funded. Plus buyers need to have strong credit to obtain the best loan.
I proudly received my 25 year recognition pin and certificate for being in the Santa Barbara Association of Realtors since 1995. Remember “realtors never retire, we just sale away!”
Call me, 805-252-7093, for more information on the Santa Barbara housing market. Look for my third-quarter review in October 2020.