She takes a deep breath and exhales slowly, much like the market as of late. Morr smiles broadly. It is as much a relief to those in her profession as it is to the homeowners looking to sell. The trend in real estate sales is heading into positive territory.
For the most part it is still a buyer’s market – except perhaps if you’re looking for a condominium. There the inventory is lower than the demand. “On the lower end of the market – under a million – it is very, very competitive,” said real estate agent Robert Etling.
Houses under $400,000 are seeing multiple offers and quickly disappear from sales lists. “But, between 400 and a million, it is still going to go pretty fast,” he said.
An overall waning of the inventory list along with an increased interest by lending institutions to loosen their grip spells good news for the local economy, Morr said last week. “I have seen an extreme pick up in the last few months.”
Judy Crawford agrees. “The Santa Ynez Valley is experiencing a surge in real estate sales for 2012.” For the period covering Jan. 1 to May 31, 207 properties were placed in escrow Valley-wide.
“We are on a record pace for sales and could double the number of sales in 2012 as compared to 2011,” she said.
In 2011, for the months of April and May, 53 houses entered escrow. For the same period in 2012, there was a better than 85% rise with a total 99 properties slated to head to closings.
It is primarily the houses with a price tag under a million that are beginning to move said Morr. But the high-end properties are on their way. “It started in Montecito, then moved to Santa Barbara,” she said of increased sales of high-end homes. They expect the trend to make its way to the Valley next.
“Oh gosh, absolutely,” says Etling as he relays a story of how Joe Olla recently resold a property for $5.1 million that he previously sold in 2007 for $5 million. “To see larger parcels like that holding on to their property values is really incredible.”
But things are looking better for troubled property owners as well. The County Assessor’s website shows the number of Trustee’s deeds issued on a month-to-month basis. Those are the homes going back to the lender, explains Etling.
In June 2011, there were 148 – which represents the all-time high. “So far this month, it looks like we’ll barely break 60,” Etling said. Compared to the total of 16 in July 2010, it is still a lot, but a trend in the right direction.
“People are buying,” said Morr. “We have people who are coming out to buy now because of the interest rates,” which are low – but for how long no one is certain. With rental prices high, many are finding it cheaper to buy.
“For instance, my best friend moved back into town. They got a bank-owned property that is beautiful,” she said. The couple planned to rent until Morr laid out the costs for them. “It just made sense to make that move to purchase, rather than rent.”
It frustrates Morr that so many banks hired out-of-area realtors who set property prices too low, damaging the market for locals. “Stick with your local realtors,” she warns. Morr has been working with a number of investors and the rolls of bank-owned homes is quickly diminishing.
“Our inventory is at a record-low, with 157 properties currently available Valley-wide in all price ranges including condominiums,” said Crawford. “In addition, there are currently only 23 single family/condominiums properties available priced under $1,000,000, which is a record low.”
Morr said that people wanting to take advantage of the last of the low-priced houses should go to their lending institutions to be pre-approved. “VA loans are back and AG loans are on their way back too, now.” Your local realtor can steer you to an appropriate lender, if you need help, she said.
If you are planning to stay put, and a refinancing would net you a 1% decrease or more, then it makes sense to do that now while rates are low, Morr advises. “But don’t use your house as an ATM.” Refinancing is one thing; taking money out is an altogether different proposition.
There is still a long way left to go, but for the moment says Crawford: “It appears the light switch has been turned on for our local Santa Ynez Valley real estate community.”