Quarterly review and forecast covering leasing and sales of commercial real estate – including office, industrial, and retail – for the South Coast of Santa Barbara County.

Highlights:

• Higher interest rates contributed to a 43% YOY drop in sales transactions.
• Dollar volume of sales was 49% below trend. Nearly all of the decrease was in the price range above $5 million, as higher-value sales are more dependent on financing.
• An abundance of large office leases, many signed by tech companies in Goleta, drove over $106 million of consideration.
• Large retail leases were scarce on the South Coast, but robust leasing of smaller spaces yielded 84 transactions, tightening the vacancy rate to 3.0%.
• Industrial leasing was flush with renewals, especially in Santa Barbara, which fueled a 38% increase in dollar consideration.