Tag archives: home buying
At last week’s Montecito Association (MA) meeting, the Board discussed what has become a hot topic in many communities across the country: fractional home ownership via Pacaso, a Bay Area-based company that buys homes and then sells fractional interests in them to second-home buyers. After the sale – in which the company makes a profit […]
The seasons are changing, and so is the Real Estate market… at least that’s the way the numbers are rolling out here, nearly halfway through 2022, with most months being down in sales volume from the month before. Now I know, many will say it’s because of low inventory, and that’s true, or partly true. […]
The warmer than winter weather and the longer days of sunshine make April an especially lovely time of year in Montecito. Falling after the colder and shorter winter months and coming usually before the May Gray or dreaded June Gloom (fog), April is often a mix of all the seasons in one month. Freezing nights […]
We will likely start February off much as we started January, with very few homes available for sale in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) in Montecito. As of January 23, there were only 76 homes and condos on the market in all of Montecito and the entire 93108 zip code, when normally there would be […]
Well, let me just say, “whew, what a year that was,” to 2020. Let’s see what 2021 has in store for us, and what we will make of it collectively as a community here in lovely Montecito. As usual, we are having lovely weather and the rain this past week was welcome for sure. More […]
Montecito actor Rob Lowe who sold his 10,000 sq. ft. Picacho Road estate for $46 million has lost no time in spending the money, having purchased three new residential properties in Southern California since the sale just three months ago. Having spent $13 million on a new 6,000 sq, ft. five-bedroom, six-bath estate, Stonehedge, on […]
As we begin to slow the ride on this incredible rollercoaster of a year, it is important to consider all that has changed in the past 11-plus months. The pandemic, the political and social climate of uncertainty, the business and day-to-day implications of these circumstances that make it feel like a lifetime of adjustment all […]
To say that Montecito real estate was “hot” in the third quarter of 2020 is a gross understatement; in fact, the market activity in late summer/early fall broke records across the board in both sales price and number of transactions, in both the 93108 and beyond. Q3 sales in 2020 were up a whopping 156% […]
An interesting article in last week’s The Wall Street Journal by Amanda Eberstein about the charming red-hot tapestry of real estate ownership in Montecito. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown in mid-March has only bolstered our rarefied enclave’s desirability, she concludes. Marsha Kotlyar, a local realtor at Berkshire Hathaway, says: “I’ve been […]
Santa Barbara Symphony has appointed Rebecca Roling as vice president of patron and community engagement. A lifelong classical music fan, patron of the arts, and musician, Roling will build upon and leverage the popular organization’s impact and momentum, and be responsible for the growth of donation and ticket revenue through patron connection and loyalty. Five […]
The nearly one-acre Montecito Residence, built barely a decade ago for Chicagoans John and Dorothy Gardner, has been sold for $7.2 million to Silicon Valley entrepreneurs Mark Armenante and Young Sohn, co-founders of Vlocity, the cloud-applications software company acquired by Salesforce for $1.3 billion earlier this year. Built almost entirely from steel and glass, the […]
When people think of Montecito, they usually envision mountain and ocean views, homes of substantial size with lovely landscaping, privacy – and a swimming pool. While not everyone wants a pool, it is rare to find a buyer who will turn away from a home just because it has a pool. For most buyers, a […]
One of the major investors in the electric car giant Tesla has splashed out $18 million on a new Montecito home and is moving here from Beverly Hills. Alan Salzman, 63, heads VantagePoint Capital Partners and owns 7 million shares in the auto company worth more than $2.3 billion. His new hilltop Tuscan-style property was […]
That’s what ultra-wealthy San Francisco locals, Marc and Elisa Stad, have just completed in our Eden by the Beach. The first deal closed in September when the couple forked out $12.2 million for a shingle-sided mansion with seven bedrooms and 13 bathrooms in nearly 14,000 square feet of living space. Built in 2008, the 2.1-acre […]
When people from around the world think of Montecito, many conjure up images of hilltop homes and sprawling estates, the Four Seasons Biltmore, Butterfly Beach, San Ysidro Ranch, and the new Rosewood Resort at Miramar Beach. Yes, Montecito is all of that and more. By more I mean, that one has more options than just […]
Judging by the home buying activity in the last few months, we can easily conclude that Montecito is “The place to be.” Since the terrible home sales in April and May brought on by strict lockdown measures, Montecito has experienced the highest number of sales per month that most real estate agents can ever remember. […]
Housing trends change with some regularity, although perhaps not as frequently as fashion trends change. Housing style trends can take longer to shift as changing the style or look of a home is a very costly undertaking. Maybe that is why we tend to refer to housing styles in terms of eras, other than type […]
Over time, or sometimes when a new listing hits, a specific listing or a smaller group of properties can stand out as what agents might collectively see as good buys or, Best Buys. This is not a term meant to imply that a property for sale is necessarily “cheap,” but perhaps by my definition, it […]
Montecito continues to enjoy a healthy real estate market, with sales up 22% over last year; 131 homes and condos have sold so far this year, compared to 107 by the end of August in 2018. By this time in 2017, prior to the Thomas Fire and debris flow, we were at 149 sales. Looking […]
In the past half dozen or so articles we have worked our way across Montecito, looking at different neighborhoods and homes for sale within these pockets. We have covered areas such as western Montecito’s edge on the border with Santa Barbara, the Cold Spring School area, the now-open-again, San Ysidro Ranch and Montecito Union School […]
