2023 Carpinteria Real Estate Update and Year in Review

The year of 2023 was notable in Carpinteria real estate. We experienced one of the lowest sales volume years on record, with only 90 homes and condos sold in the 93013-zip code. Comparing this only to 2022 does not feel as dramatic of a shift – with only a 20% drop in sales – but it is quite significant compared to the high of 2021 with 180 sales. A more realistic comparison would be to look at our 12-year average of 141 sales; by that measure, sales were down 36% in 2023.

This phenomenon was not unique to Carpinteria or even the greater Santa Barbara area – 2023 was the lowest sales volume in the United States in the last 28 years.

There are several reasons for this. First and foremost, we are coming off of one of the most active markets in recent history. Our sales volume was extremely high, with so many buyers purchasing homes it is easy to see why sales dropped – that simply can only last so long. 

Second, the rapid rise in interest rates by 5% over 16 months greatly affected mortgage interest rates and has raised the cost of borrowing dramatically. Lastly, not only has the rise in interest rates caused buyers to think twice, but would-be sellers are a lot less open to selling when their current interest rates are below 4%. If they were to buy again, they would be looking to replace it with a loan in the 7% range.  We simply did not have many houses to sell. All this has put the brakes on our market.

However, with all this slowdown, one thing did not happen in Carpinteria real estate: prices did not drop. In 2023, our combined median sales price for homes and condos was $1,257,500 up from the 2022 median of $1,200,000. Interestingly, Carpinteria experienced a 5% increase in median sales price, but our overall median price between Carpinteria to Goleta stayed flat in 2023. This makes sense though; the overall median price climbed a little slower in Carpinteria in 2021 and then caught up.

Carpinteria had some notable sales in 2023. Our traditional neighborhoods saw a great range in sales prices with single-family homes selling from around $1.1m (only six under $1.3m) to as high as $2.5m. Down on Sandyland between Ash and Linden avenues, a new highwater mark was set last year with a beautiful beachfront home sold for $8.1m. Overall, our small beach town is very sought after.  

As we enter 2024, the market has welcomed news from the Fed. They expect to drop rates at least three times this year. With this news in December, the average conforming 30-year fixed mortgage rate dropped into the mid-6% range – an encouraging sign and one that will help our market.

We love what we do and if you need any assistance or would like to discuss our real estate market, please feel free to reach out.

The highs & lows sales for Carpinteria for 2023 are:  

High Sale | 3165 Padaro Ln. for $46,892,249 | 7 Bed 11 Bath, 1.95 acre, 9,384 Sq Ft

Low Sale Home | 1082 Elm Lane for $950,000 | 2 Bed 1 Bath, 0.06 acre, 1,129 Sq Ft

High Condo Sale | 4975 Sandyland Road 105 for $2,550,000 | 2 Bed 1 Bath, 683 Sq Ft

Low Condo Sale | 5926 Hickory Street 3 for $515,000 | 2 Bed 1 Bath 840 Sq Ft