Santa Barbara Real Estate & Homes for Sale

In June 2025, the Santa Barbara housing market showed clear signs of cooling, with median home prices dropping 12.7% year-over-year to $1.6M. Homes are taking longer to sell—46 days on average compared to 30 days last year—indicating reduced buyer urgency and potentially more price sensitivity. The decline in sales volume from 50 to 41 homes further underscores this shift, suggesting that both affordability concerns and broader market headwinds may be tempering demand in what has traditionally been a high-end, fast-moving market.

Santa Barbara is a somewhat competitive market, with homes typically selling in 36 days and select listings still attracting multiple offers. On average, properties sell for about 1% below list price, indicating room for negotiation in most cases. However, well-priced or move-in-ready homes can still generate strong interest, selling for up to 2% above asking and going under contract in as little as 14 days, showing that demand remains active in certain segments despite broader market softening.

Santa Barbara, CA was a seller’s market in June 2025, meaning housing demand outpaced available inventory despite a cooling trend in prices and sales volume. This dynamic created favorable conditions for sellers, particularly for well-priced and desirable properties, which continued to attract strong interest and occasional bidding competition. Even with longer average days on market and slight price corrections, the overall scarcity of listings kept the market tilted in favor of sellers, limiting buyer leverage in many transactions.