Written by KEY News Staff
Existing home prices and new construction may be on the rise across the country, but here in
Santa Barbara, some realtors say the local market does not mirror the national trend.
Santa Barbara, some realtors say the local market does not mirror the national trend.
A new report out Wednesday shows home prices nationwide are up 9.5% from last year, following a steady six month climb–a sign the troubled housing market may finally be improving. But according to some realtors Santa Barbara home prices have remained stagnant.
More people are taking advantage of record low interest rates and looking to buy, but fewer people are selling. Harlan Green of Bankers Pacific Mortgage explains, “very few single family homes, and scarcity breeds price increases.”
But, that doesn’t seem to be the case locally, where some realtors say home prices seem to be at a stand still.
“We’re not going up, we’re not going down,” says James Caldwell, President of the Santa Barbara Association of Realtors.
“I’m a strong believer in supply and demand, but supply and demand hasn’t quite kicked in yet in this market.”
Caldwell says depressed consumer confidence could be one reason for the lag. A second reason: Santa Barbara differs from most other markets.
“We never took the huge dip, like the rest of the country did. Our drop, when the market fell, was much less that what you see in other places. So that would have some sense that our climb may be a little slower, because there isn’t as much to climb back.”
Still, many remain cautious about the future.
“I think you will see prices appreciate, but I can’t tell you exactly when.”
According to the report from the National Association of Realtors, the last time there were six back-to-back monthly price increases from a year earlier, was between 2005 and 2006.
Video posted to the SBAOR Video player.
