Santa Barbara County Leads California With the Sharpest Home Price Gains

Santa Barbara recorded the sharpest rise in home prices in California, according to the latest data from the California Association of Realtors (CAR). 

Twenty-three California counties recorded year-over-year median home price gains in October. Santa Barbara (26.7 percent) registered the sharpest increase of all counties at 26.7%, followed by Trinity at 22% and Mono at 18.6%.

“More than half (28) of all counties tracked by C.A.R. posted price decreases from a year ago, with Tuolumne (15.3 percent) dropping the most, while Lassen (-11 percent) and Del Norte (-9.9 percent) recorded the second and the third steepest annual price declines in October,” CAR stated.

Santa Barbara has also been leading the state’s luxury real estate market, with Santa Barbara city emerging as one of the most expensive housing markets in the country and the priciest in California, according to the Fall 2025 Wall Street Journal/Realtor.com Luxury Housing Market Ranking released in October 2025. 

In early October 2025, Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine and his model wife Behati Prinsloo sold their 13,362-sq.-ft. luxury estate for $60 million.  

The surge in Santa Barbara’s median home prices comes as California’s overall home sales hit an eight-month high in October. Across the state, existing single-family home sales increased in October, both from the previous month and year, hitting the highest level since February, according to the data. 

Statewide, sales of existing family homes improved by 1.9% in October to total 282,590, from 277,410 in September and up 4.1% from 271,370 in October 2024. 

Mortgage interest rates fell to 6.23% for a 30-year fixed home loan for the week ending November 26, 2025, according to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, commonly known as Freddie Mac. 

Mortgage interest rates declined from 6.26% from the previous week, Freddie Mac added. 

“The market is very sensitive to interest rates,” Oscar Wei, Deputy Chief Economist at CAR, told Realtor.com. 

It is tough to build momentum, especially as we head out of the homebuying season, Wei said. 

“People are still concerned about what’s going to happen with inflation,” Wei added. 

Median Home Prices in California

Across California, median home prices rose 0.4% from $883,640 in September 2025 to $886,960 in October 2025, according to CAR. 

However, the median price in October fell 0.2% YOY to $888,740, marking a decline for the first time in three months. 

Median list prices of homes in California are still high compared to the national median list price of $424,200 in October 2025, up 0.4% from last year, but down month-on-month, according to Realtor.com. 

Among other counties, Trinity recorded the second-highest rise in median home price gains (22%), followed by Mono (18.6%), according to CAR.  

Median home price gains jumped in 23 California counties in October 2025. 

“Higher-priced homes in California tend to do a little better compared to the more affordable homes and that’s partly because of how the stock market may have fluctuated,” Wei said. 

However, not all counties recorded growth. More than half (28) of the counties tracked by CAR saw prices dipping from last year, led by Tuolumne (15.3%), Lassen (-11%), and Del Norte (-9.9%), according to CAR data. 

Seasonal Sales

Across California, pending home sales increased 0.8% year over year in October 2025. This was the third consecutive annual increase, but fell 1.2% from September 2025, according to CAR. 

Of the 53 counties, 34 posted YOY sales improvements in October 2025, with 16 of those growing by double digits, CAR said. 

Trinity County led with the highest sales growth (85.7%) from October 2024, followed by Lassen (58.3%), and Kings County (52.9%). 

Housing inventory across California declined in October 2025 from September, representing a shift in the traditional “offseason,” according to CAR. 

The median number of days it takes to sell a single-family home in California increased YOY to 32 days in October 2025 from 25 days in October 2024.

While there are more active listings on a YOY basis, it could be due to a slowdown in demand as we progress into the holiday offseason, Wei said. 

“We’re going to see some seasonal change. That means we’re going to see some slowdown in active listings for the next few months,” Wei added.