Carpinteria

2008 Feb 5th

Any Great Deals on Homes in Foreclosure in Santa Barbara?

Categories: Buyer's Resources, Carpinteria, First-time Home Buyers, Foreclosures - Bank Owned, Goleta, Santa Barbara

Foreclosure This seems to be a common question I get here lately in Santa Barbara and Montecito, mainly from first-time home buyers and investors. Like many things in life though, it simply depends.

The common myth out there seems to universally be that homes in foreclosure must be the best opportunities to buy a cheaper home or get a “great deal”. Here is the big problem with this line of thought, at least in a town such as Santa Barbara or Montecito.

First, when you see statistics in the newspapers or online about foreclosures in the Santa Barbara area, it almost always refers to Santa Barbara County which includes the areas of Lompoc and Santa Maria. Both the Lompoc and Santa Maria areas are extremely different than Santa Barbara proper and really have little to do with the Real Estate market here. For almost everyone, when you talk about Santa Barbara on a Real Estate scale, you are talking about Santa Barbara, Montecito, Hope Ranch, Carpinteria, Summerland and Goleta. All of these towns are one continuous area stretching about 24 miles from Carpinteria in the south to Goleta in the north. Santa Maria and Lompoc on the other-hand are both roughly another 55 minute drive north of Goleta and represent an entirely different Real Estate scale. So when you see statistics about this area and possibly a listing for a nicer single family 3 bedroom 2 bath home, just needing a little buyer’s vision in foreclosure for $475,000, we are not talking about Santa Barbara proper.

Most of the foreclosures I have seen in Santa Barbara have arisen in the last 18 months and have been at the lower end of the price scale represented mainly by condos from about $300,000 to $600,000, as well as some single family homes from roughly $650,000 to $1.2 Million (based on the MLS listings). The problem with these foreclosures is that many of these homes were bought at the height of the market and now the previous owners have walked away from their mortgage payments as the market has dipped. Many of these buyers also bought with very little to no money down and therefore banks now mostly have larger expenses on these properties than what the market will bare. The banks still need to sell these properties to recoup some expenses, but their “discounted” price is often just today’s market price.

So are there any deals on homes in Foreclosure here in Santa Barbara?

Yes, but not that often and you have to be quick. I have personally seen about 15-20 foreclosures that I feel are “good deals” since early 2007 and these have all been in escrow within a few days. As a buyer or an investor here in the Santa Barbara and Montecito areas, the best thing to do is to work with an experienced full-time Realtor that knows the pulse of the market and knows what you are looking for. Who owns the property should be one of the least important factors of your decision process. The best is to simply look with your Realtor at what homes are available and make comparisons of the properties based on location, price and other important personal factors and then decide what is best for you, not what is in foreclosure.

Any thoughts or comments on what you have seen personally?

View: Current Listings of Homes in Foreclosure in Santa Barbara CA.

Further Reading: Potential Negatives to Buying Santa Barbara Homes in Foreclosure, Strategies to Buying a Home in Foreclosure Here in Santa Barbara CA.

Kevin Schmidtchen - Thank you for reading. I hope you find Santa Barbara Real Estate Voice informative. Please feel free to comment below with any thoughts.

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Santa Barbara Real Estate Market Update for the Carpinteria / Summerland Areas - Overall Yearly Sales Statistics for 2007

Categories: Carpinteria, Market Statistics / Updates, Summerland

Carpinteria and Summerland Real Estate areas for January 1, 2007 - December 31st, 2007

I have summarized below an easy to look at brief outline of the overall statistics for the Santa Barbara Real Estate market for the Carpinteria and Summerland Real Estate areas for 2007:

The total number of single family homes sold was 65. Overall the average sales price in 2007 was at $2,553,336. The average days on the market were 111 in 2007.
The total number of condos / townhomes sold was 55. Overall the average sales price in 2007 was at $574,305. The average days on the market were 105 in 2007.
The total number of PUDs sold was 3. Overall the average sales price in 2007 was at $751,667. The average days on the market were 37 in 2007.

The highest reported sale in the Carpinteria and Summerland area was on Padaro Lane for $35 Million. The lowest reported sale in the Carpinteria and Summerland area was $370,000.

These numbers were broken down into sales for single family homes, condos / townhomes and PUDs (Planned Unit Developments). Please feel free to contact me with any questions that you may have about these statistics, the specific Santa Barbara areas or the market in general for the Santa Barbara Real Estate area.

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