April sales are in.
There is a tale of two markets -
and the the National Market
All real estate is local. Nationally, markets are mixed. Some markets are experiencing price drops. We are not experiencing an across the board price decrease. Our median sales price has dropped a little year over year, but it is dropping because we are seeing fewer high end sales, not because we are seeing prices come down.
Montecito sales volume is down 57% YTD.
Sales remain light.
Active inventory remains light.
Interest rates remain above 6% and
for a week in May over 7%.
April is the seventh month in a row with fewer than 100 sales. The drop in sales isn't directly correlated to price, and it isn't simply interest rates. The drop to this level is the lack of inventory. Inventory is up slightly from this time last year but well below historical norms.
There are still more buyers than sellers. Properties priced strategically are regularly selling quickly with multiple offers. The homes that successfully sold in April were on the market a median 11 days. That continues a quickened pace we've seen for the last couple of years.
It seems some of the buyer market is adjusting to higher interest rates, but some would be sellers are not so quick to embrace the higher rates. If you currently have a 3% mortgage, what's the catalyst to sell? If you sell, can you go where you want to go?
The lack of inventory is the absence of sellers.
Some parts of the country seem to be comfortable with 6% mortgage rates. It feels like Santa Barbara is begrudgingly comfortable with rates in the 5's. If national averages are in the 6's, a top tier buyer generally can find rates in the 5's here.
Compass CEO: Homebuyers have accepted 6% mortgage rates as the new normal.
Robert Reffkin, Compass co-founder and CEO, joins ‘Squawk on the Street’ to discuss the data behind Compass’ quarterly earnings results, if there’s been movement in home prices, and more.
THU, APR 20 202310:49 AM EDT
