Having the longest days of summer behind us after a very long year, it's easy to believe that the buyer demand and price increases we've seen in Santa Barbara property values may also wane, but I'm not so sure. While August didn't look like the March madness of 35 offers per listing, sales were swift, multiple offers are still routine and listing prices continue to travel north.

Clients frequently ask me when I think home prices will flatten or drop, but I don't see it on the horizon. Barring a major disaster (even the Thomas Fire and Mudflow didn't affect values for very long), there is no reason that Santa Barbara won't remain as one of the most desirable places to live - anywhere in the world. Where there is high demand and limited supply.... prices follow.

The second reason that I don't see prices falling is the money supply. Current‑dollar GDP increased 13.0 percent at an annual rate, or $684.4 billion, in the second quarter of 2021 to a level of $22.72 trillion. Add that the Fed has reaffirmed its intention to keep the short term federal funds borrowing rate at near 0.2%. The central bank also pledged to buy mortgage-backed securities and treasuries. All that money is propping up the housing finance market, keeping interest rates uber low.

And third, the way we work has forever changed. In my life here in Santa Barbara, the rap was that only 'The newly wed and the nearly dead' could be found here. That pointed to the lack of high-paying jobs and expensive housing pushing families to bigger cities with more opportunities. Now speakers, artists, authors, actors and engineers can earn a Silicon or Hollywood wage and live anywhere they want.

For those reasons, I think the word is out, (Thanks Harry and Meghan) Santa Barbara is still a bargain when compared to other coastal towns with fantastic culture, weather, accessibility and lack of big city crowding.