North County home prices jump

3/26/02
By MARIA ZATE
NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

The median home price in the northern part of Santa Barbara County rose more than 30 percent in February compared to a year ago -- the highest price increase in the state, a real estate group reported Monday.

In February, the North County's median price for an existing home was $229,850, according to the California Association of Realtors. That's a 32 percent increase from the North County's median price in February a year ago, which was $174,000.

Median price is the point at which half the homes on the market sell for more and half sell for less.

Existing home sales and the median price soared to record levels in California last month, even as the nation saw its sales dip a bit.

Home sales were up more than 25 percent in California over the period from February 2001 to February 2002, and the median price rose nearly 20 percent to $289,550 last month.

In the North County, which includes the Santa Ynez Valley, Lompoc and Santa Maria, the 32 percent jump in median home price over that same time was accompanied by a 28 percent increase in sales.

The North County's recent real estate sales for February and January have been the highest in six years for those months, said Jim Witmer, chairman of the Santa Barbara Multiple Listing Service and also a partner in Computer Oriented Real Estate Technology, a research firm.

Growth in the North County is being fueled by thousands of commuters, he said. A large percentage of those who are part of the South County workforce commute from homes in the north.

With a median price of $551,790 in February, the South Coast is simply out of reach for many of those in the market for a home. The recent price reflects only a 1.3 percent increase from the year-ago price of $544,640, but it's still too high for many.

"It's all part of the housing shortage on the South Coast," Mr. Witmer said. "We still have a shortage of supply of homes here, and it looks like we'll have another Seller's market this year."

The small number of homes for sale on the South Coast and in many areas of the state is driving up the median price and making it harder for people to afford a home, said Robert Bailey, president of CAR.

"The dearth of homes for sale in many regions of the state is ... making it increasingly difficult for many California families to get onto the first rung of the home-ownership ladder," he said.

Lower home prices in the North County allow many to realize the dream of home ownership even if it means commuting more than a hundred miles round-trip to jobs on the South Coast.

Lompoc offers some of the lowest-priced homes in the county and is a big part of the North County's home sales surge, said Kevin O'Keeffe, owner of Real Homes Realty in Lompoc.

At a median price of around $225,000, Buyers can expect to find a three-bedroom, two-bathroom home in Lompoc with roughly 1,500 square feet of living space, he said.

"That's a big reason why about 9,000 commuters go into Santa Barbara every day from the Lompoc area," he added.