There are some promising data points in the first three months of 2024 that hopefully will become ongoing trends for the year. In the Riviera/Eucalyptus Hill/El Cielito neighborhoods there was a total of 21 sales with a median price of $3,075,000. This represents a 5% increase in the median price over last year, but more significantly it is the most sales recorded in one quarter since 2022.

 

The Santa Barbara luxury real estate market segment started off the year slowly as there was only one recorded sale above $6 million. However, the balance of the market revealed a healthy mix of sales in various price ranges, as there were an equal number of sales in the $1 - $3 million range along with the $3 - $6 million range. A closer look at the data reveals an interesting dichotomy in the marketplace in which about half of the sales were homes that originally came on the market in 2023 and lingered for months before finally selling well below the original asking price. On the other side of the equation, the listings that have come on the market since the beginning of the year all sold very quickly, including five properties that had multiple offers and were bid up in price. The most extreme example of the demand for a well-priced quality Riviera home is one that came on the market in February at $3.9 million and closed escrow in March at $4,950,000!

 

As we enter the busy spring and summer months, I am hopeful that the inventory continues to come on the market at a healthy pace, and I would expect sellers to still hold the upper hand in negotiations. As evidenced by the performance of the listings that have come to market so far in 2024, the next several months are an ideal time to sell your Santa Barbara home for a premium price in a short period of time.