Santa Barbara Real Estate Articles

The dream of owning a home is still alive for many individuals and families, especially for those who live in Santa Barbara. However, the high cost of housing can be a major obstacle to achieving this goal. Fortunately, the California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) just launched a new program that can help first-time homebuyers overcome…

The Santa Barbara Music Academy (SBMA) is a non-profit organization that has been providing music education to the community of Santa Barbara for over 50 years. The school’s mission is to provide high-quality music instruction to students of all ages and skill levels, while fostering a love of music and the arts. The SBMA was…

Zillow’s “Zestimate” feature, which uses complex algorithms to estimate the value of a home, has been the subject of much debate and controversy. Some homeowners have praised the feature for providing valuable insights into the value of their homes, while others have criticized it for being inaccurate and unreliable. So, what is the real truth…

If you’re planning on selling your home, you want to make sure you’re getting the best price possible. But, how do you make your home stand out and attract more potential buyers? Here are 10 tips to help you prepare your home to sell for more money. Start with curb appeal. A well-maintained lawn, fresh…

Right now, the housing market is full of outstanding opportunities for both buyers and sellers. Whether you’re thinking of buying your first home, moving up to a bigger one, or selling so you can downsize this spring, there are perks today that are powering big moves for residents of Santa Barbara. Here are the top…

Spring is in the air, and Santa Barbara residents are looking to buy homes at an unprecedented rate. If you are having thoughts of selling your home, this may be the best opportunity we’ve seen in modern history to sell. One of the key questions every Santa Barbara home seller asks is: How can I…

When selling a house in Santa Barbara, most homeowners hope for a quick and profitable transaction that puts them in a position to make a great move. If you’re waiting for the best time to win as a seller, the market is calling your name this spring. Here are five reasons why this is the…

2020 will be known for a lot of things, and a record-breaking year for real estate will certainly be one of its more unexpected legacies,” prominent economist Daryl Fairweather said. And he’s right: most of us would have expected the housing market to suffer from circumstances like a once-in-a-hundred-years pandemic and historic inventory shortages. But,…

Some people are under the impression that you must have impeccable credit in order to buy a house in Santa Barbara. That’s truly not the case — there are plenty of opportunities for people with poor credit to start on the journey toward homeownership and end with a set of keys to their very own home…

Buying a home in Santa Barbara is one of the most rewarding — and expensive — decisions any of us will make. Before you put out the welcome mat declaring “Home Sweet Home,” you’ll want to ensure that your home and your home loan, are sound both legally and financially. This article covers the basic…

It is the season of giving here in Santa Barbara, and this year our community has more needs than ever. With Santa Barbara now entering yet another mandatory lockdown, we felt this was a good time to highlight 5 organizations that are making a difference in the lives of our most vulnerable residents. Each of…

Selling your house in Santa Barbara can be an intensely emotional experience in any market, but it’s particularly nerve-wracking when it seems like other homes are going under contract in a matter of days while your listing lingers. In that situation, sellers can’t help but wonder if there might be something wrong with their place.…

Anyone who’s bought or sold a house before is already aware that choosing the right Santa Barbara real estate agent can make a big difference in your experience. But what about the brokerage where the agent is affiliated — does the brokerage involved in your home transaction really affect you as a consumer? Brokerages can…

Many buyers are understandably nervous about buying a foreclosed home in Santa Barbara, also known as a distressed sale. There are many horror stories about people purchasing a foreclosure and regretting it, but buying a foreclosure isn’t necessarily the nightmare that some people portray it to be. However, there are some things you need to…

Around this time each year, many homeowners decide to wait until after the holidays to sell their houses. Similarly, others who already have their homes on the market remove their listings until the spring. Let’s unpack the top reasons why selling your house now, or keeping it on the market this season, is the best…

The city of Santa Barbara and its surrounding residential neighborhoods from Carpinteria to Goleta are located along one of the most breathtaking and pristine stretches of coastline in California. Nestled between the rugged foothills of the Santa Ynez Mountains and the vast expanse of the glittering Pacific Ocean, these oceanfront communities are sustained year-round by…

As you have been hearing from Zia Group recently, the Santa Barbara real estate market continues to be extremely active. As of now, most Zia Group listings are generating multiple offers and extraordinary results for home sellers. In part, this has to do with an ever-increasing number of “work from home” buyers leave urban cities…

This week, Americans will decide our President for the next four years. That decision will have a major impact on many aspects of life in this country, but the residential real estate market will not be one of them. Analysts will try to measure the impact feasible changes in regulations might have on housing, the…

Equity continues to rise, helping Santa Barbara homeowners secure a much more stable financial future. According to the most recent data from CoreLogic, the average homeowner (nationally) gained $9,800 in equity over the past year. In addition, experts project 2021 home prices to continue rising. With prices going up, equity gains will also keep accelerating.…

It’s stressful being a landlord at the best of times, but when the time comes for you to sell your investment property and move on, the stress can feel palpable. You’ve probably spent time getting to know your tenants and have built a relationship with them, and most humans don’t deal with change all that…

The travel industry is one of the major sectors that’s been hit extremely hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, it’s hard to know how long it will take for summer travelers to be back in action and for the industry to fully recover. Homeowners who rent their secondary properties on their own or through programs…

Real estate investment can be tricky. We’ve all heard horror stories about renters who don’t pay on time, or damage property. So how do you find good tenants for your rental property and ensure your tenants will keep your investment secure? Avoiding potential damage to your rental property can be as simple as taking the…

Ten million Americans lost their jobs over the last two weeks. The next announced unemployment rate on May 8th is expected to be in the double digits. Because the health crisis brought the economy to a screeching halt, many are feeling a personal financial crisis. James Bullard, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, explained that the…

Executive order banning eviction orders Governor Gavin Newsom today issued an executive order banning the enforcement of eviction orders for renters affected by COVID-19 through May 31, 2020. The order prohibits landlords from evicting tenants for nonpayment of rent and prohibits enforcement of evictions by law enforcement or courts. It also requires tenants to declare…

The U.S. Small Business Administration is offering designated states and territories low-interest federal disaster loans for working capital to small businesses suffering substantial economic injury as a result of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). Upon a request received from a state’s or territory’s Governor, SBA will issue under its own authority, as provided by the Coronavirus Preparedness…

In times of uncertainty, one of the best things we can do to ease our fears is to educate ourselves with research, facts, and data. Digging into past experiences by reviewing historical trends and understanding the peaks and valleys of what’s come before us is one of the many ways we can confidently evaluate any…

As Santa Barbara children are displaced from their schools due to the coronavirus, the question has risen for parents: What will the kids do all day? The widespread school closures have sent a ripple effect into parent communities as many scramble to find ways to smoothly transition kids into at-home life. It’s one thing to…

The following resources provide property owners with assistance during the COVID-19 crisis. Article written by National Association of Realtors. American Land Title Association (ALTA) has provided the following resources: County Record Office Closures(link is external): Real-time database of offices that are closing or reducing operations as a result of the coronavirus. Click on the link…

This will be an interesting year for residential real estate. With a presidential election taking place this fall and talk of a possible recession occurring before the end of the year, predicting what will happen in the 2020 U.S. housing market can be challenging. As a result, taking a look at the combined projections from…

Because your home may well be your largest asset, selling it is probably one of the most important decisions you will make in your life. To better understand the home selling process, a guide has been prepared from current industry insider reports. Through these 27 tips you will discover how to protect and capitalize on…

When you hire a listing agent, you’ll be presented a listing agreement that outlines the duties and responsibilities your real estate broker will have in selling your property for you. In this article, we’ll explain the purpose of a real estate listing agreement, the types of listing agreements, as well as what happens when your…

With the fall season upon us, change is in the air. For many families, children are growing up and moving out of the house, maybe leaving for college or taking a jump into the working world. Parents are finding themselves as empty nesters for the first time. The question inevitably arises: is it finally time to downsize?…

Negotiation is a fine art and typically works best when both parties get what they want. For example, you may be willing to take less money for your home in exchange for an all-cash offer or a quicker closing. Your buyer may be willing to pay your asking price, but they may ask you to…

The week of Sept. 22, which marks the beginning of fall, is the best time of year to buy a home, according to a new realtor.com analysis. Buyers tend to find less competition, more inventory, and the biggest reductions on list price during that week, according to the study, which evaluated housing data in 53…

If you’ve never owned a house before, then it’s entirely possible that you’ve never deep-cleaned a house. (Hey, no shame in that game.) But when the house is yours, the desire to see it as clean and sparkling as it can possibly be is strong — and you might have no idea where to start…

Fixing up a house — either to live in or to flip — has become an increasingly popular dream, and it makes sense: Who doesn’t love watching all those shows on HGTV while you ponder how much money you could make on your own flip (or how nice it would be to live in a…

When is it time to stop renting a home and seriously consider buying your own place? That’s a personal question and a very personal decision — it really depends on your lifestyle, your finances, your employment plans, and many other factors that could make buying a house a really good idea, or an absolutely terrible…

1. Get prequalified for a loan Before you begin the home buying process, it is essential to know how much you can pay for a home. Your lender can make this easy for you, by pre-qualifying you before you and your real estate agent begin looking for a home. A prequalification is free and can…

There comes a time in every homeowner’s life when he or she realizes: “I am not the same person I was when I bought this place.” Maybe your lifestyle or your family configuration has changed, or maybe the house just isn’t as appealing as it was when you signed that ream of paperwork on closing…

If you’re reading this, you’re probably entering the home stretch. Hang in there! The closing process, or settlement, transfers ownership of your new home from the seller to you. Yes, there’s a lot going on, and a lot of money is going to change hands. But when you know what to expect and plan well,…

Watching your parents age is never an easy thing, and helping to make life decisions on their behalf can be immensely stressful. This is one of the reasons why children who are tasked with helping their parents downsize into a more lifestyle-appropriate home often delay in doing so. And when you combine this stress with…

Millennials who want to invest in real estate have it harder than many other generations. Real estate prices are at record or near-record highs in just about every major market in the country, and even though employment is good, wages still haven’t kept up with the home price increases, making it tougher than ever to…

An open house can be an ideal way to introduce a bulk of buyers to the property you’re hoping to sell them, and done right, an open house can sometimes generate multiple offers. The key, though, is “done right” — not every open house is going to be a buyer’s bonanza, and not every open…

One of the very best things about owning your own home is that you can change it to fit yourself and your lifestyle. Home renovations are more popular than ever before, and there are countless shows, blogs, magazines and other resources where you can indulge your dreams of a perfect home — if you’re willing…

Even though humans are a species that builds and maintains our own shelter (also known as “homes”), we can all appreciate the beauty that the natural outdoors has to offer — and indeed, there are entire industries dedicated to beautifying our own outdoor spaces so that we can reap maximum enjoyment out of them.  If…

There’s a reason why estimating a home’s value is a specialized process that’s typically executed by a licensed professional (also known as an appraiser) — it’s not easy to determine the fair-market value of a home in a particular point in time. Dozens of factors influence how much an average buyer might be willing to…

If you’ve never bought a home before, the sheer number of mortgage loan options can be overwhelming. What’s the difference between a conventional loan and a government loan, and should you go with an adjustable-rate or fixed-rate mortgage? Even if you have bought a home before, if it’s been several years, then you might not…

If you’re not familiar with home inspections, then you might have a lot of questions about what gets inspected, how thorough the inspectors are, why you even need one, and what you can expect if you’re walking with an inspector through the house you’re hoping to buy in santa barbara. There’s a lot to know…

Just like in any other profession, there are good real estate agents … and there are, unfortunately, subpar real estate agents, too. But how do you know if you’ve got a dreamboat or a dud handling your real estate transaction? One way to know whether you’ve got a good agent (or not) is to consider…

Being a homeowner definitely has its advantages, and saving money on your taxes each year just might be at the top of the list. Make sure you’re taking advantage of these common tax perks as a homeowner: 1) Mortgage interest One of the most common tax perks, you can deduct mortgage interest for your primary…

There comes a time in every home owner’s life when he or she realizes: “I am not the same person I was when I bought this place.” Maybe your lifestyle or your family configuration has changed, or maybe the house just isn’t as appealing as it was when you signed that ream of paperwork on…

Buying a home can be an anxiety-ridden process, and that potential anxiety gets amplified for anyone who’s embarking on homeownership for the very first time. There’s so much to do and so much you don’t know that “being overwhelmed” hardly seems like an appropriate description of how it feels. And even though you don’t want…

Founder of Zia Group, Daniel Zia, was awarded the cover and featured interview in World Class Magazines. Below, you can read the complete article written by author Katrina World. Focus, appears to be fundamental to Daniel Zia and his Zia Group’s business strategy. Zia surrounds himself with a stellar team of eight, each centering in…

If you’re in the market to sell your Santa Barbara home, OR purchase a home, there’s something you should know… all Realtors are NOT the same! Your decision to place your home for sale involves more than simply running an ad, holding a few open houses, and waiting for the sales proceeds check. And your…

Selling a home during probate and trust in Santa Barbara has its own unique set of challenges and can be daunting for those who are unfamiliar with the process. If you or someone you know is preparing to sell a home during probate, this guide will help prepare you with a general understanding of the…

This home seller’s guide is designed to help you understand the selling process before you put your home on the market in Santa Barbara, and it will help you make smart decisions every step of the way. For answers to questions about your specific situation, we encourage you to consult one of our real estate…

Investing in small multifamily real estate is one of the best investment strategies for building lucrative and consistent cash flow on a monthly basis. That alone makes small multifamily real estate a smart investment, but this merely scratches the surface. In this article, I will outline just five of the MANY reasons to invest in…

As an active real estate investor, there will come a time where you need to sell one investment property and buy another. Perhaps the market has appreciated and it’s time to cash out and reinvest your earnings in another deal. Great! But what do you do about the hefty Capital Gains tax you’ll face with…

Wondering if it’s time to sell your home off-market? It’s a good question to ask. Last year, 88% of buyers purchased their home through a real estate agent or broker. But where did they find the home they purchased? According to the National Association of Realtors, buyers found these homes: -On the internet: 51%-Through a…

Nothing lasts forever — including a home where you raised a family or lived most of your working life. And it’s a fact of life that suddenly, a place that was perfect for you a decade or two ago might start to feel cavernous and empty (or just contain more square footage than you really…

Not too long ago in our country’s history, talking about making your house “greener” might get you labeled a hippie tree-hugger. But times change, and as gas, electricity, and water prices creep up, more and more homeowners are seeing the (strong) advantages that come with considering the environment when you make decisions about your household.…

Winterizing your house might seem complicated, especially if you’ve never done it before. But if you follow these tips, you’ll be ready for rain, wind, or the occasional hail before you know it (or at least before the inclement weather actually arrives). Winterize your home early It’s a smart move to start thinking about your…

You have probably hearing a lot about off-market listings lately.  There seems to be some confusion about whether they’re a good idea or a bad idea, so we wanted to clear this up for you. An off-market property is a home that is not listed on the MLS.  Both buyers and sellers may prefer an…

There are many factors to consider when selecting a neighborhood that is right for you. Below are just a few of the many factors — you may think of others that are important to you. Neighborhoods have characteristic personalities designed to best suit single people, growing families, two-career couples, or retirees. Scout the Neighborhood It…

Every family has a list of important dates. We celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, pet adoptions…and the list goes on. For 64.4 percent of households in the United States, this list includes the day they became a homeowner for the first time! Why is this date important? Homeownership is not just a roof over your head! It represents shelter,…

What a wet beginning to 2019 it has been! Good thing it is “sunny with a chance of clouds” within the real estate market in Santa Barbara. Many areas are seeing positive increases like our median sales price increased 3% over January 2018 and 20% more homes were sold. Single Family Homes in Santa Barbara…

1) How much will a second home cost? Besides sale price, you should factor in mortgage, property taxes, insurance, utilities and maintenance fees—and some of those expenses are probably higher than you think—plus up to 1.25 percent of the purchase price to cover annual maintenance and unexpected repairs. You’ll also need to budget 20 percent…

Recently, David Greene, co-host of the BiggerPockets podcast and a nationally renowned author and speaker, wrote an article in Forbes explaining how investing in real estate could help build wealth. Many of the points he made also apply to a family owning their own home. Here are a few: 1. Real Estate Appreciates In Value “The rising of home prices…

Appraisals that come in below the agreed-upon purchase price can kill a sale. Having a response plan can save you from losing out on all the hard work you’ve undertaken to find your dream home. Why does the appraisal matter? Mortgage lenders will only fund transactions up to a certain percentage of the appraised value…

We all realize that the best time to sell anything is when the demand for that item is high and the supply of that item is limited. The last two major reports issued by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) revealed information that suggests that right now continues to be a great time to sell your house.…

Thanks to Santa Barbara’s year-round mild weather, backyard barbecues aren’t just for Summer months. Whether it’s July or November, Santa Barbarians are always looking for the opportunity to BBQs with friends, toss a ball with the kids, or relax in the sun with a good book. But … it may be time to refresh your…

There are many conflicting headlines when it comes to describing today’s real estate market. Some are making comparisons to the market we experienced 10 years ago and are starting to believe that we may be doomed to repeat ourselves. Others are just plain wrong when it comes to what it takes to qualify for a…

There are some people who have not purchased homes because they are uncomfortable taking on the obligation of a mortgage. Everyone should realize, however, that unless you are living with your parents rent-free, you are paying a mortgage – either yours or your landlord’s. It’s either your mortgage or your landlord’s As Entrepreneur Magazine, a premier source…

Moving can be a very overwhelming experience because there’s always plenty to do! But this Santa Barbara moving checklist helps you stay organized and on top of your move. Enjoy! 6-8 Weeks Before Moving Request quotes & hire a local moving company Reserve a storage unit, if required Organize belongings and set aside anything you…

You’ve settled on a solid list price, you’ve made updates to your interior and exterior — now, it’s on to staging. Making your home look both functional and beautiful and marketing your revamped home to the right audience takes some skill. Luckily, your agent can help you find the right designers and photographers to ensure…

Assuming you price your property appropriately, your home for sale should start to gain awareness and leads within hours. But what exactly goes into setting a list price? Let’s delve into the primary factors that affect the specific dollar amount you ask for your residence. 1) Understand the local real estate market As noted, your…

With the advent and continual evolution of online search, you can access significant amounts of information within seconds. What the internet doesn’t offer, though, is provide detailed knowledge of the countless intricacies that go along with selling. Nearly nine in 10 sellers use an agent or broker to help them sell their homes — and…

Congratulations on taking that next step in selling your home! We will walk you through the process, so please look over these helpful steps, and then drop us a note to begin. Step 1: Identify Your Reason For Selling It is often more emotional to sell a home than to buy a home, and the…

The housing crisis is finally in the rear-view mirror as the real estate market moves down the road to a complete recovery. Home values are up, home sales are up, and distressed sales (foreclosures and short sales) have fallen to their lowest points in years. It seems that the market will continue to strengthen in…

The number of building permits issued for single-family homes is the best indicator of how many newly built homes will rise over the next few months. According to the latest U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development Residential Sales Report, the number of these permits were up 7.4% over last year. How will this impact…

As we settle into 2017, and into the beautiful summer months here in Santa Barbara, we want to take a quick look back at the first half of 2017 and share a few thoughts moving into the second half of this year. In general, our market is very similar to 2016. While it has been…

Happy Easter! As we wrap up a very active first quarter of 2017, we wanted to share with you a quick snapshot of what’s happening in our Santa Barbara real estate market. Overall we ended March with about 8% more homes sold that last year and with an average sales price up 13% (when not…