Market Statistics and Valuable Marketing Tool
The month of May was an unusually sunny month; we rarely had a May-Gray Day. With the
great weather, the buyers continued their quest for their dream homes. The market is as
energetic as ever!
The number of closed escrows of homes and PUDs (houses) was higher this month compared to
last May. Reviewing the year-to-date data, more homes have sold so far this year than they have
for the last decade in the same time frame. There is a 10% increase in the number of houses sold
compared to last year’s year-to-date data.
The condominium market has also seen increases. Comparing to last May, there is over 4%
increase in sales for the month. The current year-to-date number of condos sold is 177, which is
the highest since 2005 when there were 189. There is an 18% increase in sales compared to last
year at this time.
So far this year, 231 houses sold that are over $1,000,000 price range. This is almost a 41%
increase over the number sold last year by the end of May. Looking at the over $10,000,000
range, there have been five sales this year which is comparable to last year at this time. Two
years ago, however, there were none.
Very comparable to last year, there have been 10 condo sales of $1,000,000 or higher. The
highest condo sale was for $2,250,000.
Median price for houses is $879,500 for the month of May. It is a bit down from last month but
is 10% higher than last May. From a year-to-date standpoint, the median price is $890,000
which is over 13% higher than a year ago. Looking at our median price graph, you can see that
the current median is somewhere between the 2003 and 2004 ranges. There is a definite upward
trend compared to the last few years.
For condos, the median price is $470,000 for the month of May. This is also down from a month
ago, but it is almost 4% higher than last May.
Multiple offers are still prevalent in this market. An incredible 38% of the closed house listings
sold over their list price at the time of sale. Typically over-asking prices occur when a multiple
offer situation exists. Another interesting note is that 17% of the closed listings sold at asking
price. Overall, the percentage of sold price to list price is over 97% for the month of May.
For condos, 26% of the closed listings in May were sold over the list price and 36% of the
listings sold at list price. The percentage of sold price to list price for condos is over 98%.
The lack of inventory is still an issue. A year ago, there were 390 houses available for sale,
which was considered low at that time. Now there are only 299. With this low amount, there
are only 2.2 months of inventory, which means it would take that amount of time to sell the
available inventory. Last year, there were 107 condos available for sale at the end of May; now
there are 56 and that represents only 1.1 months of inventory for condos. Looking further at the
chart, note that the area around Goleta has actually less than a month’s worth of inventory.
For the last few years, distressed properties have dominated the real estate news and were a good
portion of the inventory. It appears that this tide has turned. In May, only 12% of the closed
sales on houses were distressed properties compared to a year ago in which it was closer to 33%.
For condos in May, there were only two short sales and no bank-owned properties sold.
Of the current available houses, only five are short sales and four are bank-owned properties. For
available condos, three are short sales and one is bank-owned that are available. Reviewing the
current pending house sales (those that are in escrow), 12% of these are short sales and less than
4% are bank-owned properties. For pending condo sales, 6% are short sales and 6% are bankowned
properties.
A Valuable Marketing Tool for Sellers
If you should list your property for sale, you should understand that one of the best tools real
estate agents have for getting the highest and best price is by having them put the information in
the local Multiple Listing Service (MLS). This is an excellent way to get broad exposure for
your property. Listing a property in the MLS exposes it to all real estate agents who participate in
that MLS, which exposes it to all of their current and potential clients. The seller has the option
to allow that information to be disseminated on the Internet so it will appear on multiple sites:
local, national and international. Many properties have been sold based on the information found
on the Internet and most of today’s buyers search the Internet for available properties.
The choice to list your house on the MLS and the Internet are choices you as the seller should
make. If a seller chooses not to put their house in the MLS, it is important that they understand
the potential ramifications of that choice. First, it will drastically lower the exposure the house
will receive. It may result in a longer time frame for the potential sale. Additionally, it may sell
for a lower price than if it had been more widely exposed.
Some of the reasons why a seller may not to want to have their properties on the MLS are valid,
but there may be options in which the property can still be put in the MLS. One of the reasons is
privacy. Sellers may not want people to see the inside of their house. If this is the case, the
seller can indicate that they do not want pictures published in the MLS. They can also control
ways in which their home will be shown. But by placing it in the Multiple Listing Service they
will have insured that all agents with prospective buyers will know about their property.
If a seller has tenants in the property but does not want them to be disturbed, there are a number
of things that can be done. A “Do Not Disturb Occupant” rider can be added to the For Sale
sign. The agent can also state in the public and private remarks that no one should go on the
property without the listing agent.
Some sellers may not want to have their home in the MLS because they may not want their
neighbors to know that they are moving. Once the home is in the Multiple Listing Service,
neighbors will definitely notice a lot of extra activity around the seller’s house. At the same
time, the address can be left out of the Internet submission.
There are other reasons that may affect a seller’s decision to withhold their property from the
MLS, and the seller should discuss their reasoning with their real estate agent. No agent should
ever make that decision for a seller, nor should an agent advise a seller to keep a property out of
the MLS unless it is clearly in the best interest of the owners of the home.
Once you have decided to sell your home, meet with your REALTOR® and discuss what the
best option is for you. Make an informed decision that insures the best possible price for you in
your current circumstances.
If you are a planning to either buy or sell a property, it would be prudent to call a local
REALTOR® to assist you through the process.
