I wanted to share this article from the LA Times with you because it accurately reflects our local market here along the Santa Barbara Coast. On a personal note: Just last week I was speaking with a client who asked me how the market here was doing. I responded by sharing that Santa Barbara hit bottom late last year; it's been doing quite well. Since this client lives in Florida, she thought I may have been indicating that the entire state was recovering. I was not. The truth is that as a whole, California and the rest of the nation still have a ways to go. But the Santa Barbara coast is a phenom in real estate terms.
Santa Barbara and its sister cities of Carpinteria, Summerland, Montecito, Hope Ranch and Goleta are where investors purchase nearly as much as those who reside full time. So what happens when there is effectively only enough inventory for one or the other? I have seen it play out over and over again during the last 7 months. Bobby home buyer has been waiting until the bottom of the market to purchase and has finally found the perfect home. But, he has to overbid because there are multiple offers and his loan contingency is less favorable than the other cash offers. So he asks me, "How can I pay too much for a house?! This is supposed to be a horrible market."
This was a horrible market, but signs of recovery have investors back to the closing table. The bottom of the market is slipping away with huge bursts of activity. So what's my advice for the next Bobby home buyer? Find an agent you feel you can trust. If it happens to be me, my biggest concern is that you are able to pull the trigger with confidence and then know your outs.
My crystal ball is foggy, but if you're in the market for a good deal you should cut yourself a piece of Santa Barbara paradise pie before the rest of the nation heats up.car loans for bad credit rating