May Property sales were 108, up 3.8% from 104 in May of 2010 and 18.7% higher than the 91 sales last month. May 2011 sales were at their highest level compared to May of 2010 and 2009. May YTD sales of 430 are running 1.1% behind last year's year-to-date sales of 435.
The Median Sales Price in May was $785,189, down 14% from $912,500 in May of 2010 and down 11.3% from $885,000 last month. 
The total inventory of properties available for sale as of May was 817, up 1.2% from 807 last month and down 14% from 950 in May of last year. May 2011 inventory was at its lowest level compared with May of 2010 and 2009.
A comparatively lower month's supply of inventory is more beneficial for sellers while a higher month's supply of inventory if better for buyers. the May 2011 month's supply of inventory of 7.6 months was at its lowest level compared with May of 2010 and 2009.
In sum, prices have fallen for both homes and condos and we are behind last year as far as units sold. A bright spot in the May numbers is the increase in the number of escrows opened, but our fallout rate is almost twice that from this time last year. According to Gary Woods, most of these fallouts are because of lender issues. If we can get more of these escrows to stick, sales will increase and pricing may stabilize.
Information in this report was gathered from the Santa Barbara Multiple listing service, and does not reflect all relevant real estate activity.
Please contact me with any questions and/or feedback.
Comments(0)