Tag archives: housing

The Montecito Real Estate market has done well during the past six months, considering what it, and the residents of Montecito went through, what with the fires and the debris flow and the resulting damage and insurance questions, not to mention the countless personal tragedies that occurred during those few hours on January 9.  While […]

It is one thing to be fortunate enough to own an ocean-view home in the Montecito area. It is another thing altogether to own a 9+/- acre hilltop, with three substantial homes, three guest apartments/houses, three pools, three spas, parking for dozens of cars, and control of the entire end of this important lane in […]

According to broker Wendy Gragg, president of Montecito’s Distinctive Real Estate, many high-end buyers appear to be holding back from purchasing in Montecito, at least for the time being. Gragg sees the mid-year Montecito real estate market as slowly shifting from a seller’s market toward a buyer’s market. As more sellers list their homes, buyers […]

How hot is today’s Montecito real estate market? The Heat Index shows us buyer choices for single family homes in five price sectors. Rather than sales data (closed transactions) typically at least 30 days old, we measure current signed contracts (pending sales) resulting in an indication of present demand and market strength and direction.   […]

Nothing says summer like a day at the beach… and where better to spend a day at the beach than in Montecito, at Fernald, Miramar, Hammonds, or Butterfly? The beach area in Montecito is bordered to the north by the 101 freeway, and to the south by the ocean, making it easy to define. While […]

At a recent California State Senate hearing on how to help those adversely impacted by post-disaster emergencies and in need of temporary housing, representative Monique Limon called AB1919 to the attention of the Montecito audience. The #1 listed pending bill on the handout was this: “This bill prohibits price gouging of rental housing that was […]

From a mountain cottage to an impeccably well-designed ocean-view condo, from a mid-sized estate with a tennis court near town, all the way up to Oprah Winfrey’s mansion property, Montecito offers real estate options for anyone who can afford a purchase price of about $750,000 on up.  To expand on that, an entry level condo […]

The Montecito Heat Index identifies demand for Montecito single-family homes in five price sectors. By measuring buyer demand, (signed contracts) rather than sales (closed escrows), we create a forward-looking indicator of both market strength and direction rather than sold data that are typically a month or more old. And since real estate activity fluctuates seasonally, […]

With sales in Montecito seeming to be back on track when compared with last year, (for the past six weeks anyway), with summer crowds making their way into Santa Barbara, and the re-opening of the Four Seasons Biltmore Hotel, it’s prime home shopping season again. Open houses are more frequent as the weather improves, sales […]

I am pleased to report there were 15 Montecito homes that closed escrow in May (sold/changed owners), according to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). This is up considerably from just four that sold in April, though the number is down about 30% from the 22 homes that sold in the same month (in the MLS) […]

Peoples’ Self-Help Housing finally (postponed due to fire and flood) were able to have the grand opening of their new affordable housing development at 510 North Salsipuedes St. If you’ve driven down Haley Street, it’s that beautiful Spanish-style building on the corner. There were 300 applications, and a lottery was held for the 40 apartments […]

As the local climate starts to shift into something resembling a mid-season, pre-summer pattern (both with the weather and with real estate sales), we can feel it in the air… the upcoming graduations in local schools, college students coming back to visit families and reconnect with their friends in town, residents preparing to head out […]

Montecito continues to move forward in repairing and rebuilding after the damage caused by the debris flows of January 9. As an example, as I write this, a local couple I know is having their severely damaged home demolished in preparation for building a new home.  These friends had mud, boulders, huge trees, and a […]

The question being asked of real estate agents in Montecito is simply, “How is the Montecito real estate market doing?” This question comes, of course, in the wake of the recent deadly debris flow that shut down the 101 freeway for weeks, took the lives of 23 of our friends and neighbors, and damaged or […]

More people every day are foregoing life in suburbia for a more connected, varied, and mobile urban lifestyle. And it is small, sophisticated cities that are getting most of the attention. Santa Barbara, with extraordinary cultural and entertainment options, offers a sophisticated, small-city lifestyle second to none. There are, of course, official city boundaries, yet, […]

While attempting to get a grasp of what is happening in the real estate market in Montecito following the debris flow event, it has been difficult to move past the fact that these are not only homes, properties, and assets, they are places where families and friends live, or lived. That said, it is not […]

I am enjoying the sound of rain dancing on the roof of my home in the upper village, and for the first time this winter, I am not concerned nor have I been ordered to evacuate. I attribute my current comfort level to the teams of experts, engineers, truckers, and laborers who are helping bring […]

For most residents of Montecito, a large portion of their investment portfolio and net worth is tied up in the value of their home. What will be the long- and short-term impact of the twin tragedies of the Thomas Fire – the largest in California history – and the destructive 1/9 debris flow on real […]

I must say that the events of the past few months sort of slid right past me, both emotionally and literally. I remained stoic as we got past the fires; the flames stopped six houses up the hill from me. We moved back in, sort of. And then the evacuation warning on January 7, which […]