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.

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!

Santa Barbara is world renowned for its gorgeous coastline and stunning beaches as well as its luxury real estate. Santa Barbara has an extremely limited number of homes directly on the beach or on the bluff top thus making those lucky enough to own them part of a truly exclusive group. There are just 28 oceanfront properties currently for sale in Santa Barbara. Click here to view them: Santa Barbara Oceanfront. Two oceanfront estates are now in escrow. The first is an 8 acre Mediterranean Estate in Hope Ranch complete with pool, cabana, tennis court, guest house, putting green, and path directly to the beach. Definitely your own private resort! This Hope Ranch Property came on the market in February at $28,500,000 and was reduced to $23,500,000 in June. It went into escrow in September. The other oceanfront estate in escrow is in the gated community of Sand Point. It is a gorgeous Cape Cod style beach home with a pool and guest house on 1.5 oceanfront acres. It had been on the market for over a year when it went into escrow in August. Its original list price was $15,900,000 prior to a price reduction to $13,800,000. If you would like to know the final sales prices of these properties or want further information about Santa Barbara real estate please contact me at patsaraca@gmail.com or 805-560-9951.Oceanfront estates in Santa Barbara have been selling at 50% off original asking prices so now may just be the perfect time for to buy a Santa Barbara home.

The luxury home segment in Santa Barbara has seen a very active spring! Fourteen estate properties have closed escrow at the $5,000,000 +  price since April 1. This compares to 8 properties closing in this price range for the same time period last year. That is an astounding 75% increase in closed sales! Perhaps the money is coming out of gold and into real estate again! The highest priced sale is an oceanfront estate which sold for $16,250,000. Located in a guard gated community this gorgeous 7000 s.f. Cape Cod style home has 5 bdrms, 7 baths and 190’ beach frontage on 2+ acres. And yes it has a guest house and a home theater! Originally priced at $32,500,000 when it hit the market in 2008 – it sold at an impressive 50% discount – I’d say well worth the wait!

Another notable luxury estate that recently closed escrow is a 1930’s Dutch Cape on 3.5 acres with dramatic mountain and ocean views in Montecito. Located just a stone’s throw from Oprah’s little place this property was written about in a previous blog about Montecito ocean view estates! It came on the market at $23,900,000 a year ago and just closed escrow at an even $15,000,000. Some great deals have been made in the Santa Barbara luxury market. Sellers are showing lots of motivation as can be seen by looking at the list to sales prices. Watch for an update on the Hope Ranch estate market next!

The numbers are in for Santa Barbara Estates that sold in the final quarter of 2009. The high end, luxury estate market in Santa Barbara includes the areas of  Montecito and Hope Ranch as well as Carpinteria(lots of oceanfront) and Summerland. There were a total of 7 properties that closed escrow above the $5,000,000 mark in the past quarter. The year ended with 5 luxury home sales in December above $5,000,000. My favorite house happens to be the most expensive sale for the last quarter at $17,500,000. This is an absolutely gorgeous oceanfront home on Padaro Lane. This Cape Cod home – and being from there myself I can attest that this is an authentic Cape Cod style home – is over 7000 s.f. of exceptional quality. This private gated, oceanfront home for sale features an expansive green lawn flowing down to the sandy beach on highly desirable Padaro Lane.  I believe this was a fantastic buy as comparable sales in past years for Padaro Lane oceanfront (or any Santa Barbara oceanfront homes for sale for that matter) have been substantially higher!

The yearly total of estate sales (above $5,000,000) of 26 is just about ½ of the total number of Santa Barbara estate sales in 2008. There may never be a better time to purchase that luxury dream home in Montecito, Santa Barbara, and Hope Ranch (to view homes for sale in Santa Barbara click on any of these links) as the competition for buyers is heated with many motivated sellers in the Santa Barbara high end home market! 

May 2010 bring peace, love, happiness, prosperity and good health to all!

In yet another testament to the strength of the Montecito Real Estate Market, two properties across from Butterfly Beach have just entered escrow. One is a gorgeous Montecito Estate on Hill Road with 4 bedrooms, 6 baths and ocean, mountain and harbor views. The asking price was $18,800,000.

Also in escrow are the adjacent 2 lots that front Channel Drive – asking price of $8,000,000 for both lots together. This property (the house and lots) previously sold for $5,900,000 in 2003 prior to an extensive remodel. Overall about a 450% increase. Not bad for a 6 year holding period! Montecito Oceanfront real estate remains a rare and desirable commodity.

A brief analysis of the sales activity in Montecito shows twice as many pendings & solds for February as there were in January. March seems to be right on track with February in number of pendings and solds thus far however the average sold price for March is at $4,483,333 up from an average sold price of $3,035,714 for February! This positive Montecito Real Estate data is in line with the impressive statistics of 2008 where there was a substantial increase with the average sales price being 16% higher than in 2007.

Montecito remains a desirable destination for people from all over the world. Due to the geography of our area with it being bordered by the mountains on one side and the ocean on the other the number of properties are quite limited. Add to that the slow growth philosophy of the powers that be and one sees that Montecito Real Estate is a rare offering with ocean view and ocean front in even less supply. The desirability of our area for primary homes, luxury real estate, vacation homes, and investments remains stable. While many places in the country saw large decreases in property values, the Montecito Estate Market continues proving to be a solid investment. 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, Montecito is a proven prime choice for the old real estate adage of location, location, location!

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2009 (SBIFF) runs in Santa Barbara, California from January 22 through February 1. Along with its idyllic Mediterranean climate and setting, the SBIFF has put Santa Barbara, California on the map, providing notoriety to Santa Barbara as a resort destination. Even through today’s market conditions, Santa Barbara view, oceanfront and estate properties have proven to be prime real estate holdings, including Montecito Estates, Oceanfront Properties, Hope Ranch Estates, and Santa Barbara Estates. Many in the film industry call Santa Barbara and Montecito home or have vacation homes in Santa Barbara.

Arlington Theatre, Santa Barbara

This year there will be over 200 films screened including 21 World Premieres. This year’s festivities include the presentation of awards to Penelope Cruz, Clint Eastwood, Mickey Rourke, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Kate Winslet. Roger Durling of Santa Barbara, California is the SBIFF Director. This year’s theme is”Discover by Day and Be Dazzled by Night” promising a fun time of films, events, and parties. The SBBIFF 2009 guest director is David Fincher. He will discuss his films including his most recent work “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” starting Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie attended last year’s film festival in Santa Barbara where Angelina Jolie was presented with Outstanding Performance Award for “A Mighty Heart”. The films and events will take place at various venues throughout Santa Barbara including the historic Arlington Theater. There is speculation as to part time Montecito resident Oprah Winfrey making an appearance! Oprah purchased her Montecito Estate for $42,000,000  in 2000 and it is estimated to now be worth over $90,000,000. A testament to the relative strength of Santa Barbara and particularly Montecito real estate values even through down markets, which currently present a new round of buying opportunities.

In Santa Barbara ocean front for sale, and Santa Barbara luxury real estate, there are few more desirable locations than the ocean front homes in Hope Ranch along the spectacular ocean front bluff top. A never before offered Hope Ranch ocean front estate, a spanish Colonial masterpiece, is now quietly available for purchase in prestegeous Hope Ranch in one of the most spectacular Hope Ranch ocean front bluff top locations, with breath taking ocean and island views and a rare private Hope Ranch beach access just steps away. Hear the waves crash just below this fabulous Hope Ranch estate, which is being privately offered for $21,000,000. This is certainly one of the best Hope Ranch ocean front property locations in the entire ranch, situated on nearly 2 acres of lushly landscaped serenity, with beautiful swimming pool and over 5000 s.f of living space including a guest suite. Contact us for exclusive details and additional photos of this irreplacable and incredible rare estate property in Hope Ranch. Properties like this are rarely available for sale in Hope Ranch, Santa Barbara, and when they do become available on the bluff in Hope Ranch, it is truely a spectacular find.

Santa Barbara properties, privately offered Santa Barbara estates, Santa Barbara ocean front for sale, Montecito estates, and the signature Santa Barbara properties market, is one which requires well informed local expertise and knowledge, crucial to successful acquisition and sale of these rare estates. Custom searches of Santa Barbara properties on the beach, Santa Barbara estates, Montecito properties for sale, Hope Ranch real estate, Carpinteria beach estates information and anaylsis of Santa Barbara CA homes for sale, is available at this site and http://www.RareEstates.com, a fine home sale transaction network, with specialized resources and knowledge of unadvertised Santa Barbara properties and qualified Santa Barbara estates property investors. For exclusive comprehensive analysis and information about Santa Barbara ocean front for sale, privately offered Montecito estates, Santa Barbara estates, or the Hope Ranch properties, inquire here.

Here is a list of all Montecito homes for sale currently available in the coveted Clod Springs school district. Here is a link to a detail page of those Montecito properties for sale.

Santa Barbara properties, privately offered Santa Barbara estates, Santa Barbara ocean front for sale, Montecito estates, and the signature Santa Barbara properties market, is one which requires well informed local expertise and knowledge, crucial to successful acquisition and sale of these rare estates. Custom searches of Santa Barbara properties on the beach, Santa Barbara estates, Montecito properties for sale, Hope Ranch real estate, Carpinteria beach estates information and anaylsis of Santa Barbara CA homes for sale, is available at this site and http://www.RareEstates.com, a fine home sale transaction network, with specialized resources and knowledge of unadvertised Santa Barbara properties and qualified Santa Barbara estates property investors. For exclusive comprehensive analysis and information about Santa Barbara ocean front for sale, privately offered Montecito estates, Santa Barbara estates, or the Hope Ranch properties, inquire here.