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!

Rare opportunity to live in an exquisitely appointed Montecito luxury home  in a most desirable Montecito location. A stunning and very spacious 3 BR 3 bath restored French Country estate home in a prime location near Coast Village and all it’s wonderful shops and minutes to Downtown Santa Barbara, State Street, Stearn’s Wharf, and the beach. Recently restored with luxury appointments, beamed vaulted ceilings, and custom finishes, this home is a professional’s dream, with spacious rooms, high ceilings and exquisite, hard wood floors. There is a wonderful office suite or media room. There is also a spacious, well appointed guest suite as well on a floor of its own. The beautifully adorned, generous Master suite  with a elegantly marbled tiled bath and glass enclosed shower along with ample closet area, opens to a private patio with spa. Custom cabinetry adorns the high function,  updated kitchen with granite counter tops, marble tile and state of the art appliances, an informal breakfast/dining area flowing easily to a beautifully landscaped brick patio for entertaining and relaxation. This French Country home has a classic, vaulted roofline with stately fluted chimneys.  There are 3 bdrms and 3 full baths.This home is a perfect blend of casual elegance! A must see for those seeking a Montecito luxury home! Offered at $2,185,000.

The Wall Street Journal has stated that Greenwich, Connecticut had a phenomenal end to 2009 with huge increases in sales volume in the luxury real estate market.  The west coast has also seen some large sales with a recent  Beverly Hills property selling to the tune of $35,000,000.  More specifically, in the Santa Barbara luxury real estate market we have seen 4 major estates go into escrow in the past month. The first property in Montecito is a recently built 8500 sf. Tuscan Villa with dramatic ocean, city, harbor, island and mountain views. Located at the end of a private lane off Hot Springs Road this luxury home on a 3 acre site also boasts a pool, spa, and guest house. This Montecito view home was offered at $11,900,000 when it went into escrow. The next Montecito estate to go under contract is an impressive Mediterranean in Ennisbrook with 6 bdrms and 11 baths in the main house. In addition to all the amenities of the previously mentioned estate this Montecito property also has a tennis court with pavilion and a garage for 9 cars. This luxury estate was offered at $14,750,000.The 3^rd Montecito estate that has just gone into escrow is a knoll top Tuscan Villa with captivating views and over 10,000 square feet of luxury. It offers the utmost in privacy being on approx. 40 acres. This estate’s current list price is $8,750,000. The 4^th estate is a 1929 Reginald Johnson on the Riviera which was listed at $8,900,000. It is the quintessential  old world charmer on 3 acres with gently rolling lawns overlooking the fabulous ocean, city, and mountain views. Yes, there is a pool and guest house, too! Quoted in the fore mentioned Wall Street Journal article a representative for residential real estate at U.S.Trust Bank of America Private Wealth Management commented that they have experienced an increase in buying over the past few months. It seems that the luxury real estate market overall may be starting to rebound! We will keep you posted on the Santa Barbara, Montecito, and Hope Ranch estate market. Watch for the closed sales prices in a future blog.

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!

According to recent MLS data, Montecito had a 33% increase in number of homes sold in the 3^rd quarter as compared to the 2^nd quarter.  There were some major Montecito Estates that closed escrow during this period. A fantastic, brand new Montecito ocean view estate sold for $18,500,000. This 12,000 s.f. estate had been on the market for over a year with the original price being $33,000,000 – a superb buy at $18,500,000 considering the incredible quality, square footage, unrivaled grounds (complete with pool & cabana, tennis court, guest house), incredible views & privacy! Another sale occurred in the hills of Montecito. This was a circa 1939 Edwards & Plunkett Monterey Colonial full of period detail blended with the finest amenities. In addition to the requisite pool, spa, courtyard, guest house, art studio, sprawling lawns, gardens, and spectacular ocean and mountain views there was also a putting green – a state of the art putting green (the owner was a world renowned PGA Professional Golfer). And for your 9 cars – garage space for all 9 cars! This Montecito estate sold for $9,560,000. A piece of Montecito Real Estate of  historical significance “The Val Verde Estate” sold in this past quarter, also. Built in 1915, it is a modernist house with Roman influences. The gardens were created by Lockwood De Forest with 17 ½ acres of incredible plantings. This is a place where time stood still. Visitors to Val Verde included the likes of Cole Porter, Gloria Swanson, Charles Lindberg, and Georgia O’Keefe. The previous owner, Dr. Austin, tried for many years to open Val Verde to the public like nearby Lotusland, but it was not to be as it was voted down numerous times. The property has been vacant for many years and is in need of major renovation. This Montecito estate changed hands in September for $15,300,000. The current owner has quite an undertaking however this ultimately could be “The Premier Montecito Estate” to rival even Oprah Winfrey’s estate. For 17.5 acres in this prime Montecito location the price of $15,300,000 is a bargain!  Another Montecito property to close escrow in September is a tropical beach house on Hill Road just a stone’s throw from The Biltmore and Butterfly Beach. This was part of a larger parcel on Channel Drive that was split. The main house is brand new and the original pool, pool house and guest house are all part of this lot now. It sold for $11,000,000 – a huge drop from the original asking price of $24,500,000 in the summer of 2008. With an impressive selection of properties in the Montecito and Santa Barbara Real Estate market and many motivated sellers now may be the best time to buy. Seems to me buyers are finding this is the time for some great deals in the Montecito Real Estate market!

Housing starting to show a recovery in Santa Barbara and Montecito? Some indicators sure do point in that direction. Existing home sales increased in July by 7.2% – this is the biggest single month increase on record. Two additional impressive items of note – July pending home sales increased to a 2 year high and home prices have also shown an increase. On a national level, home prices showed their first quarterly increase in 3 years. It seems that the demand for housing is starting to rise again. According to the National Association of Realtors the inventory of unsold houses rose 7.3% nationwide in July. However, in California the levels of unsold homes decreased to a 3.9 month supply vs 6.9 months one year ago. This is far below the long-run average.

As far as on the local level which includes the real estate market for Santa Barbara, Montecito, Summerland, Carpinteria, and Goleta, we are in the 2^nd consecutive month for 80 closed escrows for houses & PUDs(planned unit developments). This has not happened since August 2007. We have also seen the highest median price in the last 6 months with July’s median sales price at $885,000. Another positive note is that the last 2 months number of sales is almost equal to the 5 year average in both months so although it may be too early to tell if we are coming out of this housing downturn it certainly seems we are going in the right direction. I will be viewing Montecito oceanfront properties tomorrow and report back on those.

The Santa Barbara Association of Realtors recently held its Real Estate & Economic Review & Forecast for the Santa Barbara real estate market at the Montecito Country Club. This review of the recent Santa Barbara Real Estate market dynamics, including the luxury real estate market, shows the median price has come down over the last 12 months, yet upon an analysis of past years, the 2008 median price is higher than the median price of 2004. The recent increase in number of sales at the lower end of the Santa Barbara Real Estate market has had a downward effect on the median price. However, looking at the 10 year period from 1996-2005, there was an amazing 303% increase in the median sale price of homes in Santa Barbara real estate market!  Santa Barbara Real Estate has proven to be an excellent long term investment. Historically it has doubled approximately every 10 years, so to buy now when we have just experienced a short term median price correction may be the smart move particularly in light of recent historically low mortgage rates which cannot last forever.

 Looking at the Montecito Estate market in the $2,000,000 – $4,000,000 price range there are currently 43 active homes for sale with 4 in escrow. This is a 10 month + supply. A 6 month supply of homes for sale is considered a balanced market for buyers and sellers with less being a seller’s market and more translating to a buyer’s market. Thus, this 10 month supply of Montecito Homes for sale currently offers some tremendous opportunities for buyers. Again, add to that the historic low interest rates and it may very well be the most opportune time to buy a Montecito Estate! Indications are it is now a Montecito Buyer’s Market! Historically, a rare occurrence.

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.