Santa Barbara Lending Activity

Santa Barbara had been experiencing a gradual increase in lending activity the last few months. Part of that trend came to a halt.

The non purchase loan market dropped significantly. It went from 399 in April to 337 transactions in May. This is a 15% drop in the number of non purchase transactions.

What would have appeared to be affecting this market is that rates have risen and I would expect the number of new credit lines slowed down. The underwriting guidelines continue to make qualifying for a loan difficult.

The residential purchase market held it's own in May, only dropping 4 transactions. This is about a 3% drop in the number of these loans from April to May. This market was certainly impacted by the increased number of sales in Goleta in May.

I'm not expecting rates to come down significantly, but it certanly wouldn't hurt to see that happen a bit.

Lompoc Residential Loan Activity

Lompoc has been one of the communities in Santa Barbara County that has been hardest hit by the economic slowdown that we have all been witnesses of.

They have experienced, foreclosures, declining prices, and a generally poor economy.

In reviewing the residential lending numbers for March, I am seeing a really good sign. The residential purchase numbers have been on a slow and steady climb since October of last year except for a small downturn in February. That doesn't surprise me since February is a short month.

March's number (40) picked up the pace again and ended up being the highest number since August of 2007 which hit 53. Depending on how you look at the long term trend you could say that we have had 6 months of growth.

The residential refinance number is a little harder to figure out. Since a pretty severe drop in August of last year it has bounced around and been between about 70 and 100 except for a real slow down in January.

What is probably the best news the residential refinance business could ask for is a steady improvement in the purchase market. If this is happening I would picture prices beginning to bottom out, this would make appraising a property on a refinance a more predictable job.

See You In Escrow!