April Real Estate Market Update

As we start to leave winter behind, a relative term here in Santa Barbara California real estate, and temperatures start to rise so does the real estate market with homes in all price ranges starting to see increased activity with April sales up 21.7% ,versus April 2011, with 112 closings and year to date sales are 21.5% ahead of last years pace with 404 sales through April 2012.
These figures are further supported by the Total Inventory (TI) and Month’s Supply of Inventory (MSI) with the TI of properties available at 614, down 3% from 633 last month and down 26.2% from April 2011. A comparatively lower MSI is more beneficial for sellers while a higher MSI is better for buyers. The April 2012 MSI of 5.5 months was at its lowest levels when compared with April of 2011 & 2010.
If this has not convinced you of a solidification in the Montecito estate market place one need only look to the Market Time analysis when comparing the “Average Days on Market” (DOM) statistics which show the DOM for April was 71 days, down 24.5% from March of 2012 and down 7.8% from April 2011. A downward trend in DOM indicates a movement towards a sellers market while an upward trend indicates a trend towards a buyers market.
If you are not already in the market place and need to look for real estate in Santa Barbara  please feel free to contact Cristal@montecito-estate.com and be sure to follow Cristal on her blog for regular updates.