A unique offering of a spacious custom luxury home with a charming guest cottage for sale in a prime Montecito location – near the charming Lower Village with its abundance of quaint shops and restaurants and the world famous Biltmore Hotel & Spa and beautiful Butterfly Beach  - a favorite spot to see an incredible Santa Barbara sunset. This luxury home for sale in Montecito

View to spacious living room

was inspired by the tropical plantation style homes in Hawaii. The design was a collaboration between the artist owner and renowned architect, Don Pedersen. The style is evident with the expansive veranda that can be accessed from all main rooms on the entry level.  The floorplan is ideal for entertaining with its great indoor/outdoor flow overlooking the lush grounds. The dramatic entry boasts soaring wood beam ceilings and stunning maple floors. The gourmet kitchen opens to the veranda for dining al fresco and is adjacent to the formal dining and living rooms. The main living level has a huge master suite with dual baths and walk-in closets. There is another bedroom and full bath on this level, too. The lower level has an ensuite bedroom and a huge bonus room which can serve as an art studio, office, library, or media room or additional bedroom. There is also an immaculate over-sized 3 car garage which is great for autos and hobbies plus an elevator. There is no need to send guest to a hotel as there is an ultra charming detached guest cottage on this property. Additionally, there is a wonderful green house for the garden enthusiast! The private grounds boast gorgeous plantings, a lawn area, stone walls and a beautiful magnolia tree. This is truly a rare opportunity to acquire so much in a fantastic Montecito location. The versatile floor plan suites many lifestyles – it is the ideal vacation home for weekend get-aways, wonderful for extended families, or great as a primary residence with its coveted Montecito Union School district location. For more information on this one-of-a-kind Montecito Home for sale contact Pat Saraca, Distinctive Real Estate, 805-886-7426. Click here to search for more Montecito Luxury Homes and here for Santa Barbara Homes for Sale.

The year is starting off strong for Montecito Real Estate sales with 13 properties closing escrow in January – this is more than double the number that sold for the same period last year when there were just 6 sales recorded. The most expensive sale was an

Montecito Real Estate for sale

ocean and mountain view estate on 2.5 gorgeous acres comprised of a wonderful 5000 sf main home, 2 bdrm guest house, 1 bdrm cottage, pool and cabana. This property sold for $9,550,000 which is almost 32% off of its last listed price of $13,900,000. A property in the Glen Oaks enclave sold for 3,700,000 in 2008 and just resold for $2,875,000 which is a 22% discount off the last sales price. Another home that sold at a significant discount from its original asking price of $7,195,000(when listed in 2008) was an estate on prestigious Park Lane that sold for $3,850,000. These are just a few examples of the recent fantastic buys Montecito. Now may be the very best time to find some great opportunities in the Montecito Real Estate Market. To search available Montecito estates for sale click here.

Incredible custom home inspired by plantation style homes of Hawaii and blended with Santa Barbara touches. This spacious home for sale in Montecito has a dramatic entry with 20′-30′ soaring wood beamed ceilings, open floorplans, 4 sets of French doors that flow seamlessly to the covered lanai – a fantastic home for entertaining. Located a stone’s throw to Montecito’s Lower Village with all its wonderful shops and restaurants and just minutes to Butterfly Beach. The lush grounds include a stunning magnolia tree and lots of colorful plantings plus a greenhouse for the true garden enthusiast. An added bonus is the ultra charming 2 bdrm guest cottage. No need for the San Ysidro Ranch when you own this wonderful Montecito home. Offered at $2,699,000

This exquisitely remodeled home is open today! 623 Alston is near both the Upper and Lower Villages of Montecito with easy access to downtown Santa Barbara, too. Reminescent of a country home in the South of France, this home is a perfect blend of old world charm with today’s modern amenities. Charming features include leaded glass windows, high wood beam ceilings, antique inspired fireplaces, gleaming wood floors, gorgeous master suite with relaxing spa tub. French doors flow out to the expansive brick courtyard with beautiful gardens. Approx 3000 s.f.  with 3 bdrms and 3 full baths, formal living and dining rooms, kitchen, family room, breakfast nook, office/den. Just reduced to a great price of $1,595,000.  Hurry on this one!

Enchanting entry

I am pleased to announce a pocket listing in Montecito, California. This Montecito luxury home is located with easy access to the Upper or Lower Villages. This French Country home has a classic, vaulted roofline with stately fluted chimneys. The hedge and flower-lined walkway leads to the brick entry. The spacious living room boasts high beamed ceilings, hardwood floors and an antique inspired fireplace. The tastefully remodeled kitchen opens to a breakfast nook and a spacious family room  with a charming stone fireplace. The formal dining room and the breakfast area have French doors flowing to a delightful brick patio and lush grounds – ideal for entertaining large crowds or for more intimate gatherings. Thereare 3 bdrms and 3 full baths – the romantic master suite opens to a private patio complete with spa, one bedroom suite is upstairs separate from the others, and there is a wonderful office/library which could serve as a media room. Decorator colors and designer touches are found through out this home creating a perfect blend of casual elegance! A must see for those seeking a Montecito luxury home! For more information on this Montecito property or Santa Barbara

It was a beautiful day for viewing estates for sale in Montecito! There were 21 properties in Montecito on the broker tour this week.  The newest estate listing is a spectacular Mediterranean on 20 gated acres complete  with 7 bedrooms,  8.5 baths, media/screening room, fantastic gourmet  kitchen, 4-car garage, gorgeous pool, incredible ocean and mountain views, a guest house with its own gated entrance, bocce ball court, lawn, fruit trees, and Koi pond. This Montecito luxury home is located on one of the most desirable streets in Montecito. It  is offered at $12,700,000. On the other end of the spectrum there lies a  wonderful opportunity to purchase a Montecito property via a short sale. This single story, ocean view home set amidst larger estates,  overlooks red tile roofs and the Montecito Country Club. The 1/2 acre Montecito property is gated, has 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths and boasts lush landscaping and magnificent ocean views.
This is a rare opportunity to purpose a Montecito property in a distress sale. Whether you are looking for a high end luxury property or an entry level Montecito home now may be the best time to start your search! There are some great deals to be had!

There were 26 properties on the agent caravan this week in Montecito. There were 3 new listings ranging from at the low end of the price range a  5 bedroom home on a hillside location with fantastic ocean and city views with an asking price of $1,725,000. Though in the city of Santa Barbara this Via Alicia home does have a Montecito zip code.  This home was previously listed at $2,295,000 so presents a good buying opportunity for someone seeking a Santa Barbara view home. At the high end of the price range is a wonderful property on Cima del Mundo. This Santa Barbara  luxury home sold about 1.5 years ago for $18,000,000 and is now priced at $22,000,000. This is a great opportunity to purchase one of the finest luxury homes in Montecito. The buyers did put some exquisite upgrades into the home which was brand new at the time they bought it and it is essentially brand new still as they have rarely come to the property.  For someone wanting a premier Santa Barbara property this is it. It offers privacy, incredible quality, unbelievable views and all the amenities on could want. It is truly one of the  finest Montecito properties currently available.

The weather has been outstanding the past few days with the most incredible sunsets here in beautiful Santa Barbara. If you are considering purchasing a luxury home in Santa Barbara there may never be a better time with a great selection of properties for sale. There are approximately 180 properties for sale just in Montecito.The most expensive luxury home for sale in Montecito currently is a spectacular 1920′s Italian Mediterranean (click for details) estate on 7 fantastic acres listed at $29,000,000. Truly one of the finest Montecito Estates for sale. There also currently over 500  Santa Barbara homes for sale and many motivated sellers making this a wonderful opportunity to obtain your Santa Barbara dream home.

With little press attention about this, as doom and gloom continues to remain the media focus, this appreciation rate is a testament to the stability of the Santa Barbara Real Estate Market and the desirability of our area for primary homes, luxury real estate, vacation homes, and investments. While many places in the country saw large decreases in property values, the Montecito Estate Market continues proving to be a solid investment.  Any homeowner or investor would be hard pressed to find such an increase in property value for this past year. Santa Barbara Real Estate remains desirable and why wouldn’t it – we have ideal weather, breathtaking scenery, pristine beaches, fine dining, theatre, golf, boating, polo, wine tours, international appeal, and so much more. Whether vacation destination, primary residence, second home or pure investment, Santa Barbara is a proven prime choice for the old real estate adage of location, location, location!