Santa Ynez Valley Real Estate Update

Real Estate over the past two years has been a rough ride, and an upredictable one. Amid the short sales, foreclosures and homeowers trying to unload their debt, real estate, it would seem, has almost come to a stand still, maybe. While it is certianly a different market, its not a dead one. Always the optimist, I have this annoying ability to find the silver lining in almost anything. So, here are our most recent numbers, but take heed, the market as we know it is not dead, it's just slowed down a bit, remember, it could ALWAYS be worse.

With all of this recession talk, job losses and the like, I thought I’d actually find out what’s really going on in our area. All other markets aside, here is a look at the numbers from the Real Estate side of things.

According to the National Association of Realtors
The Number of Residential Home Sales-Homes that Have Closed Escrow
From Feb ‘08 through Feb ‘09

Down 4.7% Nationally

Up 30.4% For the Western US

The Median Home Sales Price—From Feb ‘08 through Feb ‘09

Down 15.5% Nationally

Down 30% For the Western US

According to the California Association of Realtors
The total closed sales for California in the fourth quarter of ‘08 were
UP 84.7% from the year before.

In Santa Barbara County year to date from ‘07 to ‘08 the median

home price fell 52%

From $808,990 to $387,940

However the closed sales rose 20.4% in the same time period.

A little historical data: From 1973 to 2008

Percentage of residential loans that were adjustable nationally:
High: In1984 -64% of loans had adjustable interest rates
Low: In 2008-8% of loans had adjustable interest rates

High: In 1982 the initial interest rate for a loan was 14.78% + fees/charges of 2.55% for an effective interest rate of 15.33%!
Low: In 2003 The Initial interest rate for a loan was 5.67% +fees/charges of .32%for an effective interest rate of 5.72%!

So, while our plight might seem terrible and our prices may be down considerably it is good to know our volume has increased throughout the county. The fact that prices have come down so far and now our interest rates are hovering around the 5% mark, makes it a perfect time for those who were previously unable to purchase, now able to purchase.

However this also affects current home ownership. For those who may now be facing a hardship due to the market and economic conditions, there are several avenues to pursue for financial aid advice. There are federal government programs and some general good advice to be had try these web sites to start, http://www.ftc.gov/ or http://www.yourhome.ca.gov/ for more information.