EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

MONTECITO | SANTA BARBARA | HOPE RANCH

DESPITE CURRENT ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY, THE MONTECITO AND HOPE RANCH MARKETS CONTINUE TO EXHIBIT STEADY RESILIENCE. WITH CONSISTENT BUYER DEMAND AND LOW INVENTORY, WE ARE STILL EXPERIENCING A STRONG SELLER’S MARKET. THE IMPACT OF ESCALATING INTEREST RATES HAS BEEN MINIMAL, WITH A LARGE PROPORTION OF BUYERS MAKING ALL-CASH OFFERS INSTEAD OF OPTING FOR CONVENTIONAL FINANCING METHODS. ADDITIONALLY, REAL ESTATE CONTINUES TO BE A PREFERRED INFLATION HEDGE FOR HIGH-NET-WORTH INDIVIDUALS.

BOTH MONTECITO AND HOPE RANCH WITNESSED A SURGE IN MARKET ACTIVITY DURING Q1 OF 2023 MARKING A REBOUND FROM THE LESS ACTIVE PREVIOUS QUARTER. IN MONTECITO, THERE WAS A NOTABLE UPTICK OF 10% IN THE TOTAL NUMBER OF TRANSACTIONS, WHILE HOPE RANCH EXPERIENCED A 600% SURGE IN THE SAME PERIOD (FROM 1 TO 7 TRANSACTIONS).

THE HIGHER END OF THE MARKET EXPERIENCED AN UPTICK DURING Q1 OF 2023, WITH 8 TRANSACTIONS EXCEEDING THE $10 MILLION MARK, A NOTABLE INCREASE OF 14.29% FROM THE PREVIOUS QUARTER. THE HIGHEST SALE RECORDED IN SANTA BARBARA COUNTY DURING Q1 OF 2023 WAS AN OFF-MARKET TRANSACTION FOR $21,000,000 IN THE MONTECITO ENCLAVE OF ENNISBROOK. THIS MARKED THE FOURTH TIME THE PROPERTY HAS TRADED HANDS SINCE 2017, EACH TRANSACTION AT A HIGHER SALE PRICE.

THE MARKET CONTINUES TO ENCOUNTER A SIGNIFICANT SHORTAGE OF HOMES FOR SALE. THE NUMBER OF NEWLY LISTED PROPERTIES DECREASED BY 30% IN COMPARISON TO LAST YEAR’S ALREADY SCANT INVENTORY. ADDITIONALLY, THESE CURRENT FIGURES CONTINUE TO LAG SIGNIFICANTLY BEHIND PRE-PANDEMIC INVENTORY LEVELS. IN Q1 2023, A MEAGER 323 NEW LISTINGS HAVE BECOME AVAILABLE FROM GOLETA TO CARPINTERIA, ALMOST HALVING THE 612 NEW LISTINGS THAT APPEARED DURING Q1 2019.

CONTACT US IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CURRENT STATE OF THE MARKET.