Santa Barbara’s Median Sale Price Up 31 Percent In December

California appears to have been the bright spot in an otherwise slow December when it comes to real estate across the U.S.

While the Golden State has a whole saw monthly sales increase by 1.1 percent, according to the California Association of Realtors, the annual numbers are a bit harder to swallow. Regionally speaking, the Central Coast had a softer December than a number of other regions across California. However, it appears a few big-ticket sales may have helped to soften the blow.

Santa Barbara, in particular, managed to boost its median sale price by 31.9 percent month-over-month to $1,055,000 in December. Sales, however, slid 15.8 percent compared to November 2022 and were down some 40.9 percent annually.

Existing-home sales in San Luis Obispo fell 6.3 percent month-over-month, while the median sale price dipped 6.3 percent to $830,000. In Monterey, home sales were down 9 percent as the median sale price slid 5.4 percent.

Finally, in Santa Cruz, existing-home sales were down just 3.5 percent compared to the month prior. The median sale price in the county fell 5.6 percent to $1,175,000.