Looking at Homes and Estates and Planned Unit Developments for 2005 in Summerland versus 2004, lets look at some of the numbers and see.

In 2004 15 single family dwellings changed hands. Compare that to 2005 when 13 properties moved. This translates to a decrease of about -15% in the number of properties sold. An interesting number but not where near what happened in Carpinteria.

So what about the List price of these properties? In 2004 the Median List price which is the one right in the middle of those 14 properties went on the market for $1,295,000 and in 2005 the Median List price was $1,655,000 for a 27% increase in one year. For 2004 the Average price was $1,619,466 but in 2005 it went to $1,742,384 a 7% increase. This is an interesting phenomenon where the average list price and median list price are percentage wise so much different. It looks like in 04 there were fewer expensive properties listed whereas in 05 most of the properties have come in at about the same list price.

Okay, the list prices were up in 2005 but what about the actual Sold Prices? The Median Sold price for 2004 was $1,259,375 and in 2005 it went to $1,600,000 for a 27% right at the percentage increase of Median List Price. The average price also increased greatly with 2004 coming in at $1,533,778 and 2005 showing up at $1,664,384 for an 8.5% increase slightly in front of the 7% increase in the Average List price.

So, sales are down about 15% but the Median Sales price continues to surge up 27% for the area.

Digging deeper into the numbers we find some other interesting developments. In 2004 16 properties came on the market but in 2005 32 came on. So double the amount of properties came on the market in 2005, but fewer sold. So what happened to all of those properties that didnt sell?

Well, in 05 5 got withdrawn as opposed to 4 for 04. 5 Cancelled in 05 vs. 0 for 04, and 9 expired in 05 as opposed to 6 in 05. Currently in the Summerland Real Estate just like the Carpinteria market weve got an increased expectation on the part of sellers that their house is going to sell for a lot of money. Then if the property doesnt sell they withdraw or let the listing expire.

So what happened in the Condo market? Just like single family homes the number of sales in the Condo market was down in 2005. In 04 there were 5 properties that sold and in 05 there were 3. That translates to a -40% decrease in homes that sold, an even greater number than single family dwellings. But when dealing with such small numbers percentages mean less than when you have a larger sample.

So what about the list prices? In 2004 the Median List price was $819,000, but in 2005 it went to $995,000 for a 21% increase. And the Average List price went from $798,100 to $998,333 for a 25% increase.

Okay, so the List Price went up. What about the sales price? In 2004 the Median Sales price was $549,000 and in 2005 it was $658,500 for a 20% increase. Not a bad return on your investment. And the Average Sales price went from $616,751 in 2004 to $665,848 in 2004 for an 8% increase.

Again, lets look a little deeper at the numbers. 4 Condos came on the market in Summerland Real Estate in 05 vs.7 for 04. 1 got withdraw in 05 as opposed to 0 in 04. 1 cancelled in 05 vs. 1 in 04 and 1 expired in 05 vs. 0 in 04.

So just like single family homes the number of sales was down 05 vs.04 but the sales price was up about 20%. I guess the real question is what does that mean for the future? Well, all the economic blocks are still in a line. Weve got a pretty low inventory of homes to sell, but there are a substantial number of people looking to get into the market. Combine that will still very low interest rates and things look pretty good. If youve got a piece of paradise Id hold on to it, if youre looking to buy in the Summerland area Id recommend sooner rather than later.

Well thats about it for Summerland Real Estate...