Q3 2018 Market Report

The South Coast sales market has recovered much of its momentum since the natural disasters of last December and January. Transactions during the past two quarters are trending only 10% below the prior 5-year average. However, the current inventory of 74 properties for sale is the largest in recent memory and represents an 80% expansion since the beginning of the year. With demand from investors still recovering, there do not appear to be sufficient buyers to address current supply. To date, Santa Barbara has produced 44 sales valued at $209 million. In the South Coast’s largest sale to date, the 200-key Hyatt Centric hotel at 1111 E Cabrillo Blvd sold for $87.5 million in Q3. Otherwise, sales in Santa Barbara have been relatively quiet since Q1 when the Saks building at 1001 State St sold for $18.5 million and the Macy’s building at 701 State St sold for approximately $12 million. The third quarter brought one of the few Santa Barbara office sales as an owner-user purchased the 9,673 SF office/R&D building at 819 Reddick St for $3.5 million. Land deals have been unusually prodigious in Santa Barbara, and five of the nine land sales to date were in the “Lagoon District”/ Eastside neighborhood, which is currently a hot spot for transactions. Continue reading here.