Santa Barbara Area Market Report
SANTA BARBARA AREA REAL ESTATE THROUGH MARCH 2025 featured property 1360 EAST MOUNTAIN DRIVE
SALES
(+14% over 2024)
Review in Numbers
SOUTH SANTA BARBARA COUNTY
MARCH 2025 YTD
SINGLE FAMILY
RESIDENCE SALES 225 (+17% over 2024)
CONDOMINIUM SALES
(+6% over 2024)
Greetings, and thank you for delving into our First Quarter 2025 Market Report.
The year began with a stark reminder of how events in one region can impact another. As devastating fires swept through the Los Angeles area, our local market experienced an unexpected shift. While a majority of our buyer base remains local, the consistent flow of interest from the LA market took an interesting turn. We experienced an influx of displaced residents actively seeking both purchase and rental options. This dynamic appeared to nudge some local buyers off the fence, a proactive response to the anticipated increase in competition.
Examining the data from South Santa Barbara County, the first quarter of 2025 clearly marks a shift compared to the same period last year. We recorded a notable 14% increase in the number of sales, accompanied by an 18% rise in median price. This momentum translated into a substantial 24% growth in overall closed sales volume, signaling a distinct upswing in market activity and confidence, particularly within higher price tiers.
More recently, the global financial markets have experienced heightened volatility. So far, we have not seen any material change to our real estate market, and we are actively monitoring any potential impacts. Established in 1996, Village Properties has navigated numerous economic cycles – from the dot-com era, the Great Financial Crisis, Covid, and beyond. Many within our firm have even witnessed these shifts since the 1970s and 80s. It’s precisely during these periods of disruption that significant opportunities can emerge, and our team is strategically positioned to capitalize on them for you, as we have consistently done in the past.
We trust this report provides valuable context. However, the nuances of each neighborhood and property are unique. Should you have specific inquiries about your market segment or an individual property, please do not hesitate to connect with us. The entire Village Properties team is dedicated to providing you with tailored insights and exceptional service.
Best regards,
Renee Grubb
S ingle Family
SOUTH SANTA BARBARA COUNTY
MARCH 2025 YTD
AVERAGE SALES PRICE • YTD
$4,196,362
+25% change from 2024
MEDIAN SALES PRICE • YTD
$2,795,000
+27% change from 2024
SOUTH SANTA BARBARA COUNTY MARCH 2025 YTD
AVERAGE SALES PRICE • YTD
$1,474,947 +40% change from 2024
MEDIAN SALES PRICE • YTD
$1,197,500 +32% change from 2024
SALES & INVENTORY
In the First Quarter, there were 311 closings across the South County, an increase of 14% from Q1 2024 (vs. 274), and a small 3% increase from Q4. As we mentioned in our Q4 Report, our market continues to show signs of becoming more balanced as we continue to see Months of Supply inch back to supply/ demand inch back to equilibrium.
However, it is important to note this increase can largely be attributed to Montecito making up 22% of sales this quarter, compared to 15% in Q1 2024. The strength of the Montecito market noticeably impacted overall South County results. Santa Barbara market share declined from 45% to 41%, and Goleta declined from 30% to 23%, which are notable changes.
Santa Barbara Area real estate market
SOUTH SANTA BARBARA COUNTY · THROUGH MARCH 2025
PRICING
As a result of our long-term undersupplied market, pricing continues to appreciate and reached an all time quarterly high of just over $2,000,000. Median Price rose 18% in Q1 compared to Q1 2024. For the first time, nearly 90% of sales in the quarter were for $1MM or more. As previously mentioned, however, this jump was largely fueled by the increase in the Montecito market as well as pricing in the Santa Barbara market. As always though, performance should be more closely analyzed by submarket.
Carpinteria
$1,015,000 -8% change from 2024 MARCH 2025
7 AVERAGE SALES PRICE
$2,659,857 +141% change from 2024
TOTAL SALES · YEAR TO DATE
12 AVERAGE SALES PRICE · YTD
$3,928,334 MEDIAN SALES PRICE · YTD $1,990,000 TOTAL SALES · YEAR TO DATE
17 AVERAGE SALES PRICE · YTD
$1,045,515
SALES PRICE · YTD $808,000
Carpinteria
This was the fourth straight quarter where there were ~30 closed sales in Carp (29 in Q1, +25% from Q1 2024). While down from Q4, Median Price increased 58% from Q1 2024, to $1.4MM. The most notable sale this quarter was 6858 Casitas Pass Rd for $14MM.
Summerland
Summerland had six closed sales this quarter compared to one in Q1 2024. Median Price for the quarter was $2.4MM. The notable sale was 2322 Whitney Ave for $3.14MM.
$2,559,000 n/a change from 2024 MARCH 2025
3
$2,537,000 n/a change from 2024
· YEAR TO DATE
4
SALES · YEAR TO DATE
2
$2,587,750
SALES PRICE · YTD $2,792,000
$1,871,000
$5,550,000 +8% change from 2024 MARCH 2025
22
57
$6,148,568 -6% change from 2024
SALES · YEAR TO DATE 11
$2,969,762
Montecito
Montecito sales ripped in Q1 with 68 closings, a 66% increase from Q1 2024 and the highest quarterly figure since Q1 2022. Median Price rose 10% to $5.7MM, a quarterly record. It’s worth noting there were 11 sales over $10MM this quarter, with six of those over $20MM, the most notable of which was 956 Mariposa Ln for $30MM.
Santa Barbara
At 129 closed sales, while Santa Barbara activity increased slightly by 4% in the quarter (compared to Q1 2024), Median Price increased substantially by 24% to $2.15MM, a quarterly record. There were seven sales over $5MM in the quarter with the most notable being 845 Sea Ranch Dr for $23MM.
Santa Barbara
$2,083,000 +16% change from 2024 MARCH 2025
$2,818,635 +31% change from 2024
93
SALES · YEAR TO DATE
36
$2,983,176
SALES PRICE · YTD $2,655,000
$1,444,758
change from 2024 MARCH 2025
4
$7,563,750
SALES PRICE · YTD $6,775,000
$8,287,500
Hope Ranch
With few sales over the past two quarters, we finally saw a jump in Hope Ranch activity with 8 closed, up from 3 in Q1 2024. While skewed due to the low number of sales, Median Price rose 20% to $7.4MM, with the most notable sale being 4187 Cresta Ave for $18.4MM.
4045 LAGO DRIVE
Goleta
After several strong quarters, the Goleta market took a bit of a breather. There were 71 closed sales (-13% from Q1 2024) while Median Price rose a mild 2%, to $1.4MM. While located in Gaviota (not technically in Goleta proper), the most notable sale was 13600 Calle Real for $18MM.
$1,365,000 -10% change from 2024 MARCH 2025
32
$2,048,480 +26% change from 2024
· YEAR TO DATE
$2,022,460
SALES PRICE · YTD $1,525,000
SALES · YEAR TO DATE
20
SALES PRICE · YTD
$1,032,550
Santa Ynez Valley Review in Numbers
SANTA YNEZ VALLEY
MARCH 2025 YTD
TOTAL SALES
40 (+11% over 2024)
SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENCE SALES
33 (+22% over 2024)
CONDOMINIUM SALES
7 (-30% over 2024)
S ingle Family
SANTA YNEZ VALLEY
MARCH 2025 YTD
AVERAGE SALES PRICE • YTD
$2,250,452 -8% change from 2024
MEDIAN SALES PRICE • YTD
$1,820,000 +17% change from 2024
SANTA YNEZ VALLEY MARCH 2025 YTD
AVERAGE SALES PRICE • YTD
$782,057
+6% change from 2024
MEDIAN SALES PRICE • YTD
$719,900
+5% change from 2024
TOTAL SALES · YEAR TO DATE
6
AVERAGE SALES PRICE · YTD $1,137,574
MEDIAN SALES PRICE · YTD
$1,180,000
Solvang and Ballard
TOTAL SALES · YEAR TO DATE
12
AVERAGE SALES PRICE · YTD
$1,972,958
MEDIAN SALES PRICE · YTD $1,800,000
3 AVERAGE SALES PRICE · YTD $694,133
MEDIAN SALES PRICE · YTD $719,900
TOTAL SALES · YEAR TO DATE
4 AVERAGE SALES PRICE · YTD
$848,000
MEDIAN SALES PRICE · YTD $785,000 TOTAL SALES · YEAR TO DATE
Los Olivos & Santa Ynez
Santa Ynez
SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENCES • YTD
TOTAL SALES · YEAR TO DATE
1 AVERAGE SALES PRICE · YTD $1,820,000
MEDIAN SALES PRICE · YTD $1,820,000 SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENCES
YTD
TOTAL SALES · YEAR TO DATE
14
AVERAGE SALES PRICE · YTD
$2,996,000
MEDIAN SALES PRICE · YTD
$2,522,500
224 VISTA DE LA CUMBRE, SANTA BARBARA
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