Pacific Coast Business Times: Looking back on a big year for real estate

The South Coast of Santa Barbara County saw a record number of commercial real estate sales and a record-high dollar amount in 2021, according to the latest market report from Radius Commercial Real Estate.

Radius called the last quarter of 2021 “especially prolific given the current economic climate.” The South Coast, from Goleta through Carpinteria, saw 43 total sales of commercial properties, not including apartment buildings, up from 29 during the fourth quarter of 2020 and 32 during the fourth quarter of 2019. Sales volume in the fourth quarter of 2021 was $335 million, up from $198 million in 2020 and $217 million in 2019.

For the full year of 2021, the area had 109 commercial sales, well above the 15-year average of 77 per year. The total sale volume of $556 million was a record high, and 43% more than the total in 2020, when there were 85 sales for a total of $386.5 million. The previous record was in 2014, with 103 sales totaling $439 million.

Around 37% of the sales in 2021 were off-market, Radius said, and those off-market properties generally sold at a premium. Investors dominated the market, with 30 of the 43 sales.

“The supply and demand fundamentals for quality assets continue to be out of balance, a trend we are seeing nationally, and this looks to continue into 2022,” Radius stated in its report. Interest rates could rise and put a damper on deals, but the firm is still forecasting another strong year for commercial sales.