Looking at Homes and Estates and Planned Unit Developments for 2005 in Carpinteria versus 2004 it was a combination of the best of times and the not so good times. The real questions are, was 2004 a particularly good year and 2005 a not so great year, or what? Well lets look at some of the numbers and see.

In 2004 71 single family dwellings changed hands. Compare that to 2005 when only 55 properties moved. This translates to a decrease of about -24% in the number of properties sold.

So what about the List price of these properties? In 2004 the Median List price which is the one right in the middle of those 71 properties went on the market for $949,000. In 2005 the Median List price was $1,275,000 for a 34% increase in one year. An even more amazing number was the increase in Average List price. For 2004 the Average price was $1,852,268 but in 2005 it went to $2,479,555 also a 34% increase. Now thats a pretty high average!!!

Okay, the list prices were way up in 2005 but as someone once said, howd ya come out? The only thing that truly matters is what the houses eventually sold for. Well the Median Sold price for 2004 was $922,500 and in 2005 it went to $1,278,500 for a 38% increase even above the number of the Median List price. In the words of Mel Allen How About That? The average price also increased greatly with 2004 coming in at $1,764,522 and 2005 showing up at $2,374,601 for another 34% increase.

So for the first part of our questions about the best of times and the not so good times the answer is that there were fewer properties that sold in 2005 but the selling price of those properties that did sell increased substantially.

Digging deeper into the numbers we find a few more, uh differences. In 2004 82 properties came on the market but in 2005 95 came on. Ummmm, so more came on the market in 2005, but fewer sold. So what happened to all of those properties that didnt sell?

Well, in 05 14 got withdrawn as opposed to 7 for 04. 13 Cancelled in 05 vs. 6 for 04, and 14 expired in 05 as opposed to 19 in 04. Basically at this time in the Carpinteria Real Estate market weve got an increased expectation on the part of sellers that their house is going to sell for a lot of money. And when it doesnt they take their ball and go home.

Alright thats Homes and Estates and PUDs. What happened in the Condo market? Just like single family homes the number of sales in the Condo market was down in 2005. In 04 there were 94 properties that sold and in 05 there were 67. That translates to a -29% decrease in homes that sold, an even greater number than single family dwellings. This was interesting because in the rest of the Santa Barbara area Condo sales from 04 to 05 were pretty much flat.

So what about the list prices? In 2004 the Median List price was $549,000, but in 2005 it went to $659,000 for a 20% increase. And the Average List price went from $625,660 to $673,018 for a 7.5% increase.

Okay, so the List Price went up. What about the sales price? In 2004 the Median Sales price was $549,000 and in 2005 it was $658,500 for a 20% increase. Not a bad return on your investment. And the Average Sales price went from $616,751 in 2004 to $665,848 in 2004 for an 8% increase.

Again, lets look a little deeper at the numbers. 118 Condos came on the market in Carpinteria in 05 vs. only 99 for 04. 19 got withdraw in 05 as opposed to 8 in 04. 17 cancelled in 05 vs. 9 in 04 and 15 expired in 05 vs. 8 in 04.

So just like single family homes the number of sales was down 05 vs.04 but the sales price was up about 20%. I guess the real question is what does that mean for the future? Well, all the economic blocks are still in a line. Weve got a pretty low inventory of homes to sell, but there are a substantial number of people looking to get into the market. Combine that will still very low interest rates and things look pretty good. If youve got a piece of paradise Id hold on to it, if youre looking to buy in the Carpinteria area Id recommend sooner rather than later.

Well thats about it for Carpinteria Real Estate...