Tag archives: market

Mid-Year Market Update
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   July 9, 2024

As we approach the middle of 2024 and the end of Q2, it’s notable that as of this writing there are currently 192 homes and PUDs (planned unit developments, i.e. single-family homes within an HOA) on the market in the South Coast of Santa Barbara, which spans from Goleta to Carpinteria. We have not seen […]

A Rainy Yet Bright Start to 2024
By Mark Ashton Hunt   |   February 20, 2024

In 2024, sales are up in Montecito – in both volume and prices. What a whopping start to 2024 for the high-end real estate market here in Montecito’s 93108. As I type, just 40 days into the new year, we have seen a total of 17 sales in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), with two […]

IPO Market Watch: 2023 and Beyond
By Dara Foto   |   November 15, 2022

The success of Capital markets has been essential in stewarding the velocity of investor returns short and long term by allowing shares to be traded through the stock exchange. Private organizations turned IPO pose a strategic advantage for the company by allowing access to financial opportunities, higher share valuation, investor exit opportunities, employee retention, and […]

Third Quarter 2022: Bear Market Rally Fizzles as Interest Rates Rise
By Brian Schaffield   |   October 25, 2022

U.S. stocks ended the quarter off 4.7%, down 24.8% in 2022 and at a two-year low – Bonds also reached new lows, extending historic drawdown, down 15% in 2022 – High inflation (latest CPI from August of 8.3%) driving a more aggressive Fed policy – base rate now seen rising to 4.6% peak in 2023 […]

Montesano Market & Deli to Open
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   September 6, 2022

In April, Montecito restaurateur Gene Montesano – with the help of general manager Leslee Russell – took over a Coast Village Road staple: Montecito Deli. The new-and-improved “Montesano Deli” has brought fresh changes to the space and the menu, and this weekend, the market next door is set to open.  The duo of businesses, Montesano […]

Mortgage Minute: Getting Creative in a Shifting Market
By Matt Genovese   |   August 9, 2022

In response to this constantly swift-moving and uncertain real estate market – a statement that for most buyers and sellers sounds dramatic but is rather consistent for those of us who in work in the real estate industry – more and more we are seeing buyers get creative with the type of loans they use […]

Second Quarter 2022 Bear Market: Worst First Half for Stocks Since 1970
By Brian Schaffield   |   July 19, 2022

High inflation, risk of recession, war in Europe, a crypto meltdown, and interest rate increases pushed stocks into a bear market (down over 20% from peak) in Q2 2022 – Bond markets continued the worst drawdown on record, hammered by inflation and higher rates – Diversified portfolios slammed by simultaneous declines in asset classes Market […]

Looking Back Lafondly
By Gwyn Lurie   |   May 3, 2022

Pierre Lafond passed away this past Sunday at the age of 92, after 60 years in Santa Barbara enterprise overlapping a 25-year career in architecture. Pierre Lafond and his wife, Wendy Foster, developed a number of shops in Montecito and in greater Santa Barbara. And they were vintners and early adopters of Central Coast viticulture, […]

March Was Madness
By Mark Ashton Hunt   |   April 12, 2022

A whopping half of all homes for sale in Montecito’s 93108 zip code are priced over $10,000,000 While I don’t follow March Madness basketball, I do follow the Montecito Real Estate market, house by house, sale by sale, and March was indeed Madness. While an average March might bring 18+/- sales, March 2022 showed strong […]

The Lavender Lady
By Carly Williams   |   February 15, 2022

Within seconds after arriving at the Montecito Farmers’ Market, the delicate, sweet smell of lavender wafts up to the noses of Friday morning patrons. The aroma pervades the market and leads the shopper to the last stand in the far corner: June Bloom Lavender. Melissa Broughton, known as the “Lavender Lady” by locals, stands over […]

Welcome Home
By Richard Mineards   |   January 18, 2022

It was case of blinging in the New Year when top jeweler Erik Laykin, scion of the founder of the 90-year-old Los Angeles company Laykin et Cie, opened its new branch at the Rosewood Miramar. Many guests couldn’t get into the socially gridlocked soirée, but those that could gain entree into the opulent salon were […]

PWRD Up
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   December 21, 2021

Montecito’s first plant-based market, PLNT PWRD MRKT, has opened on Coast Village Road; we’ll have more on the new shop in next week’s edition.

The Farmer + The Flea
By Leslie Westbrook   |   March 26, 2021

On the last Sunday of every month, the Summerland Post Office parking lot on Lillie Avenue fills up with a cornucopia of flea market and food vendors. Even volunteers from CALM (Child Abuse Listening and Mediation) are onsite to raise funds and awareness of the nonprofit. While parking may be a challenge – “It’s a […]

2020, What a Year It Has Been… So Far
By Mark Ashton Hunt   |   December 24, 2020

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 […]

Real Estate Snapshot
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   December 24, 2020

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% […]

Mega Mansions on the Market
By Leslie Westbrook   |   November 5, 2020

For anyone wanting to live the Summerland version of “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous,” two of the town’s grandest estates are on the market. Both are owned by polo patrons: there are digs and playing fields for the horses that far outshine many Summerland beach shacks. Tuscany Oaks Farm, a seven-bedroom, 10-bath polo estate […]

Montecito is the Place to Be
By Mark Ashton Hunt   |   October 21, 2020

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.  […]

Same Price, Same Street, Different House
By Mark Ashton Hunt   |   September 3, 2020

Hello and welcome to a busy Montecito summer season. In the past four months, the number of closed escrows is more than double what we would typically see. Between July 19 and August 29, for example, whereas 16 homes traded hands last year during the same timeframe, this year we saw 39 completed home sales. […]

Opportunities Await
By Mark Ashton Hunt   |   August 20, 2020

It has been an incredible past two-plus months in the Montecito real estate market, to say the least. Sales are up and still climbing. Not since perhaps 2002-2006 have agents seen this kind of buyer activity, in all price ranges. Sales have been solid in Summerland, Carpinteria, Santa Barbara, and Goleta as well this summer, […]

Homes in the $4 to $5 Million Range
By Mark Ashton Hunt   |   July 23, 2020

The months of May and June, and now into July 2020, are proving to be the most active real estate months that many can remember in Montecito during the past 15+/- years. Whether it be Boomers flexing their buying muscle and finally committing to a place in Montecito, perhaps Ellen’s celebrity friends, the Bay Area […]