Second Quarter, 2003
South County
The statistics for the first quarter show a decrease in the number of
sales, but an increase in both average and median prices for all areas of the South County. With only 450 transactions, the number of sales declined over 29%. However, median prices increased 28% to $699,750 and average prices increased 33% to $1,067,508! The number of sales over a million dollars is up 9% to 121 (so now more than one out of every four sales is over a million dollars).
Montecito
In Montecito, the statistics are as follows: the number of sales (51) is down 31%; the average price ($2,356,723) is up 7%; and the median price ($1,600,000) is down 2%.
An Interesting Prediction
As attractive as recent interest rates have been for homeowners, I feel that a long-term consequence of these historical low rates is going to be a significant decline in homes offered for sale. People have locked-in to rates that are so good, that it will be difficult for them to afford to sell and then re-buy again. This will be more noticeable for lower-priced properties, which tend to be more interest-rate sensitive. |