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Category Archives: Central Coast
New Home Sales in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo County Pick Up The Pace!
New Home Closings in San Luis Obispo Climb According to Newest Data, Prices Steady
Posted on: Mar 07, 2013 07:33:55 AM
In the San Luis Obispo, CA market, closings of new homes jumped year-over-year in December, and the increase was greater than November 2012. New home closings moved from 12 a year earlier to 52 after the figure moved from eight in November 2011 to 15 in November 2012.
A total of 154 new homes were sold during the 12 months that ended in December, up from 114 for the year that ended in November.
New home closings were 52 out of 420 total closings, making up 12.4%. This is up on a percentage basis from 12 of 366 a year earlier. Following a year-over-year increase in November, closings of new and existing homes also rose year-over-year in December.
Pricing and Mortgage Trends
The average per-unit price of new homes was $442,185 in December 2012, unchanged from a year ago. This came after a 5.0% decline in November from a year earlier.
Average mortgage size on new homes fell from $339,237 to $287,378. Average mortgage size on new homes went from $290,161 in November 2011 to $379,406 in November 2012. For new home closings, the percentage of the sale price that was being financed slid 11.7 percentage points year-over-year to 65.0% in December 2012. In November 2012, there was a 23.3 percentage point surge from a year earlier.
Other Market Trends
The share of new home closings made up by attached units has risen while the share belonging to single-family homes has fallen. Attached closings made up six of 52 new home closings after accounting for one of 12 a year earlier. Meanwhile, single-family homes made up 46 of 52 new home closings after making up 11 of 12 a year earlier.
The average unit size of newly sold homes fell from 2,069 square feet a year earlier to 1,767 square feet.
Foreclosures and real estate owned (REO) closings continued to drop from a year earlier in December, but did not appear to be dragging the market. Out of all existing home closings, foreclosures combined with REO closings accounted for 23.1% of closings, below 48.3% a year earlier. The percentage of existing home closings involving foreclosures dipped to 9.5% in December from 17.8% a year earlier while REO closings as a percentage of existing home closings declined to 13.6% from 30.5% a year earlier.
Source: Housing Intelligence
New Home Sales and Prices Both Increase in Santa Barbara According to Recent Data
Posted on: Mar 07, 2013 07:34:03 AM
The Santa Barbara, CA market saw a rise in new home closings in December year-over-year, and the increase was greater than November 2012. New home closings moved from six a year earlier to 40 after the figure moved from nine in November 2011 to 19 in November 2012.
A total of 192 new homes were sold during the 12 months that ended in December, up from 158 for the year that ended in November.
New home closings were 40 of the 419 total closings, up on a percentage basis from six of 429 a year earlier. Following a year-over-year rise in November, closings of new and existing homes slipped year-over-year in December.
Pricing and Mortgage Trends
The average per-unit price of new homes was $642,463 in December 2012, up from $635,250 a year ago. This followed a 34.9% decline in November from a year earlier.
Average mortgage size on new homes increased to $434,179 from $417,104 last year. It went from $353,984 to $350,950 from November 2011 to November 2012. Of the overall sale price, the percentage that was being financed rose 1.9 percentage points year-over-year to 67.6% in December 2012. This was another boost after November 2012 when there was a 28.1 percentage point rise from a year earlier.
Other Market Trends
As a share of new home closings, single-family home closings have risen from last year while the share belonging to attached units has fallen. Single-family home closings made up 39 of 40 new home closings after accounting for five of six a year earlier. Meanwhile, attached units made up one of 40 new home closings after making up one of six closings a year earlier.
Foreclosures and real estate owned (REO) closings fell in December from a year earlier, but remained a drag on the market. Together, foreclosures plus REO closings made up 30.6% of existing home closings, down from 49.6% a year earlier. The percentage of existing home closings involving foreclosures dropped to 11.3% in December from 26.0% a year earlier while REO closings as a percentage of existing home closings fell to 19.3% from 23.6% a year earlier.
Source: Housing Intelligence
Source: Matt Power, Senior Marketing Consultant, (805) 845.2660
California Division: 2012 Year in Review
Source: Tom Reimers, President, (949) 852-8288 x28
Central Coast Sales are Climbing!
The Central Coast’s South Santa Barbara County 
submarket, which includes Carpinteria, Santa Barbara and Goleta, has seen a surge in sales volume to date with 199 closed transactions this past October. Sales volume is WAY up and our trend line has now officially bounced above our 2005 sales volume numbers. With all of this activity our current median price of $620,000 has also bumped up 2% from this time last year leaving us with one question … Where is the future inventory going to come from? With thinning resale opportunities and virtually no foreclosed homes on the market prices are sure to jump again over the next six months.
So what does this mean for Central Coast home builders looking for land opportunities along the Central Coast? Finding the right land position has traditionally been very difficult in this supply constrained market so if you are a home builder looking to build along the Central Coast, please contact Matt Power at Land Advisors Organization’s Santa Barbara office at 805.845.2660.
Source: Matt Power, Senior Marketing Consultant, (805) 845.2660
New 360 Acre Development Coming to Monterey County
City of Del Rey Oaks and Brandenburg Properties are preparing to team up to develop 360 acres of undeveloped Fort Ord land. The City would like to see a low-density residential development and a hotel with condominium units and they would like to see “green, sustainable” development, including the use of cisterns to help with water supplies. The Del Rey Oaks land is generally located north of South Boundary Road and east of General Jim Moore Boulevard. Part of the project lies next to Fort Ord acreage the city of Monterey has planned for eventual development. FULL STORY
New Monterey County listing hits LAO
The Central Coast Team of the Land Advisors Organization is pleased to present Parcels D & E featuring 13.51 multi-family acres for ±378 apartment units. The subject sites are located in Monterey County along scenic U.S. Highway 101, within the northerly reach of California’s Central Coast and in the heart of the famed Salinas Valley. Soledad is known for its natural beauty, moderate climate, and abundant agricultural products. Soledad is now home to more than 17,000 residents with a mix of early 20th century architecture with a charming historic downtown commercial district and vibrant new residential neighborhoods.
Contact: Matt Power at (805) 845-2660 or Jim Radler at (916) 784-3329 for more information on Parcels D & E.
Source: Matt Power, Senior Marketing Consultant, (805) 845-2660
Central Coast: Full Sails Again for Santa Barbara Realtors
Spring flowers are blooming, the Pacific Ocean breeze is blowing, and South Santa Barbara home sales activity is picking up! Central Coast resale agents are finding themselves busy again. Traffic, escrows, listings and pricing in certain areas are all up, kicking the Central Coast’s spring selling season into gear.
The Beautiful Santa Barbara Real Estate Blog reported… Santa Barbara Real Estate through the end of March ‘12 for Montecito, Hope Ranch, Santa Barbara, Goleta, Carpinteria and Summerland: Comparing the first 3 months of 2011 with the same period in 2012, sales are up about 35% with escrows up over 50% and the median sales price is up bit while the average sales prices is down a bit. Year-over-year the Sales Price to Original Price ratio is within 2% of where it was last year and the Days on the Market for sold properties is within 12 days of where it was in 2011.
An example of the Central Coast’s uplifting sales activity is City Ventures’ East Beach Collection in Santa Barbara. The 48-unit attached townhome project is seeing impressive sales, with only 5 more to go before completion. The project has sold 15 homes in 2012 (5 per month!). The City Ventures marketing team attributes the strong homebuyer interest to the project’s unique location, quality product and the limited supply of new product currently available in the marketplace. The East Beach Collection is four blocks from Santa Barbara’s famous State Street and four blocks to the ocean. With no amenities and surrounded mostly by office buildings, the project is in the new hip, up-and-coming area (also referred to as the “funk zone”).
Source: Matt Power, Senior Marketing Consultant, (805) 845-2660
Central Coast Team Sells 28-Unit Apartment Project within San Luis Obispo Mixed-Use Development
Land Advisors Organization – California Division is pleased to announce the closing of Village at Broad Street (Parcel II), where Presidio Capital Partners, Inc. with Fuller Apartment Homes, Inc. purchased 28 for-rent apartment units from H&D Maymont, LLC for an undisclosed amount.
The ±1.41-acre Parcel II was the last remaining parcel available for sale within The Village at Broad Street. The project is located in close proximity to downtown San Luis Obispo, east of Emily Street between Roadhouse Avenue and South Street. The Village at Broad Street is a mixed-use development that includes a newly opened Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market and 42 multi-family affordable apartments. ROEM Corporation developed the affordable living component and finished construction in January 2012.
“The downtown area of San Luis Obispo has always been a very desirable location, and The Village at Broad Street project further enhances the quality and vitality of the area,” stated Land Advisors’ Senior Marketing Consultant Matt Power, who has been tracking residential land activity in the Central Coast region of California for about ten years. “San Luis Obispo is a unique submarket and continues to draw interest from the building community.”
Santa Maria… Where are the builders?
A few weeks ago, the City of Santa Maria, Community Development Department (CDD) released its list of residential projects in the development process with the number of building permits issued by the City from July 1, 2011 through December 31, 2011.
As you can see from the chart below, the Santa Maria CDD shows there are 669 future single family dwelling units and 633 multifamily condominium units that are either approved or pending approval, for future development.
One new home community by the Towbes Group is actively selling new single family homes with floor plans ranging in size from 1,208 to 2,043 square feet. “Lavigna” is a well-amenitized gated community with a pool and recreational area.
To date, Lavigna is the only new home product currently available within the City of Santa Maria. But even with Lavigna, the ample lot inventory indicates that Santa Maria still has room for another builder.
This leaves us scratching our heads…. When are all these units going to be built? And who is going to build them?
Other News from the Central Coast
Via TheBusinessJournal.com: Visalia-based Mangano Homes, Inc. is developing the mixed-use Marsh Street Commons project in the heart of San Luis Obispo. Though the recession took a toll on the San Luis Obispo market as it did in the Valley, the Central Coast town has shown a certain tenacity in the past. Read complete article.
Via RENTV.com: The Village at Broad Street Family Apartments, a new 42-unit affordable housing project in San Luis Obispo, just celebrated its grand opening to the public. Developed by ROEM Corporation, the project is located at 2240 Emily St. Read complete article.
The Village at Broad Street also recently held its grand opening for the new Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market which turned out to be a huge success.
Source: Matt Power, Senior Marketing Consultant, (805) 845-2660
Two Steps Forward, One Step Back on the Central Coast…
As the New Year begins, the California Central Coast is preparing for homebuilding activity in some areas, and inactivity in others. The good news is that this sub-market will see two new home communities open this year.
The first to open is Lagunitas, in the quaint beach side town of Carpinteria, one of south Santa Barbara County’s most desirable areas. Lagunitas is located adjacent to the north side of Highway 101 and is within close proximity to the beach and shopping opportunities. The master plan will offer three different product types, ranging from 1,360 to 2,421 sq. ft., aimed at appealing to a wide range of home buyers. Private homebuilder MD2 Communities has already broken ground and is currently forming an interest list.
The second new home community opening in 2012 along the Central Coast is the first component of the Margarita Specific Plan in the City of San Luis Obispo. MD2 Communities will bring 177 single family homes, an affordable housing site and 16 small-scale commercial opportunities to fruition. The new homes are planned to range from approximately 1,500 to 2,000 sq. ft., with the majority of the product types consisting of single story plans. Model homes should be completed in the first quarter of 2012.
Other parts of the Central Coast are not seeing as much forward progress. In September, Goleta’s City Council rejected a zoning change for the controversial Bishop Ranch housing project. Bishop Ranch was initially proposed for 1,200 homes, 90,000 feet of commercial space and 67 acres of park land, but the developer withdrew the application at the last minute. The second attempt with the City, which was unanimously rejected, was a request for the zoning designation to be changed from Agricultural to Mixed Use Urban. Either way, it looks like the plans for Bishop Ranch are one step back for the moment.
Overall, the Central Coast in 2012 will provide superb opportunities for homebuilders, developers and investors to pick up strategic land positions in a traditionally supply-constrained market in anticipation of what is broadly expected to be a rising new home market in the next few years.
Source: Matt Power, Senior Marketing Consultant, (805) 845-2660
Big Waves in the Central Coast
Just south of San Luis Obispo, along Central California’s picturesque coastline, lies the area known as the “Five Cities,” which includes the Cities of Arroyo Grande, Pismo Beach, Grover Beach, Oceano and Shell Beach. Wedged between the beach and Highway 101, this area is one of the most desirable and highly sought after among Central Coast homeowners. However, it is also extremely supply constrained in terms of residential land and new home inventory. Even though the Five Cities area does currently have a good amount of commercially zoned land, residential land opportunities have been harder to come by.
Five Cities Residential Lot Inventory (as of 2nd Quarter, 2011)*:
- Vacant Developed Lots (Detached Product) = 200
- Vacant Developed Lots (Attached Product) = 15
- Future Lot Supply (Detached Product) = 406
- Future Lot Supply (Attached Product) = 246
*Source: Metrostudy (Q2 ’11) and Land Advisors Organization Research
Source: Matt Power, Senior Marketing Consultant, (805) 845-2660
Central Coast: SLO at the Top of Land Wish Lists
California’s Central Coast is seeing an uptick in investment and development activity as developers and builders find pockets of opportunity with residential land projects emerging from distressed situations. Notorious for its high barriers to entry, the Central Coast sub-markets in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Monterey Counties remain supply-constrained.
Several newly acquired land projects have either broken or are breaking ground in the coastal towns of Carpinteria and Santa Barbara, while a robust student-housing and rental market keeps San Luis Obispo (SLO) at the top of land wish lists. These projects will bring the first new home product to this sub-market in several years.
Other markets from Paso Robles to Salinas continue to attract investment attention as well.
Source: Matt Power, Senior Marketing Consultant for California’s Central Coast sub-market. For more information on land activity in this area, you can reach Matt at Land Advisors’ Santa Barbara Office at (805) 845-2660.
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