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Santa Barbara, CA Real Estate News

By Kevin Schmidtchen, Santa Barbara CA Realtor
(Village Properties)
  San Roque - Santa BarbaraFew residential neighborhoods of Santa Barbara can boast the rich historical background of the San Roque and Rutherford Park areas. Ten thousand years ago the area, bounded by Ontare Road, Foothill Road, Alamar Avenue and State Street, was an open expanse of treeless grassland, sloping up to the knees of the foothills and bisected by the jungled course of San Roque Canyon. Now a built-up, economically stabilized suburb, it is admired for its sweeping curved streets, its luxuriant landscaping, and its harmonious blend of many architectural themes - Spanish Colonial, English Tudor, French Normandy, California Redwood, Italian and American Colonial, mostly built since 1925. San Roque features older, custom homes with charm.  For many, San Roque is Santa Barbara's...
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By Kevin Schmidtchen, Santa Barbara CA Realtor
(Village Properties)
Mission CanyonMission Canyon, which with the Old Mission complex and the area bounded on the south by Mission Street, making up Santa Barbara's "Mission District," is unique. No residential neighborhood in the city boasts a richer historical background, or offers more relics and landmarks of Old Spanish Days Fr. Junipero Serra, when he helped found the Royal Presidio of Santa Barbara in 1782, intended Santa Barbara's Franciscan mission to be built in El Montecito near the present site of Our Lady of Mount Carmel church on East Valley Road. But four years later, when his successor, Fr. Fermin Lasuen OFM, arrived to establish our mission, he decided that Montecito was too infested with grizzly bears and renegade Indians to risk building a mission so far removed from the protection of the ...
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By Kevin Schmidtchen, Santa Barbara CA Realtor
(Village Properties)
Santa Barbara Real Estate Voice is an online resource for Santa Barbara Real Estate, Montecito Real Estate and the surrounding areas.   When you work with a real estate agent to sell or buy a home, it will in all likelihood be the first or second largest financial decision of your life!!  That is a very big decision.  With that in mind, Santa Barbara Real Estate Voice is here to help you with finding information for all your real estate related questions and needs for Santa Barbara, Montecito, Summerland, Goleta, Hope Ranch, Carpinteria and the Santa Barbara Wine Country.You can search the Santa Barbara area MLS...for freeYou can sign up to receive Santa Barbara area listings with detailed information, pictures, maps etc.  The listings will be sent to your personal email address and wil...
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By Kevin Schmidtchen, Santa Barbara CA Realtor
(Village Properties)
The demand for beach property, beach homes and beach estates along the Santa Barbara CA coastline in the last several years has been extremely strong.  We have seen some amazing price points established in the very high end market, with the highest reported sale in the last year being $15 Million for a 4 bedroom, 4.5 bath newly built home on the bluff on Bajada Lane.  Conversely, the lowest reported sale was $605,000 for a 1 bedroom condo in the desirable El Escorial complex near the Fess Parker's Doubletree Resort.I have summarized below an easy to look at brief outline of the overall statistics for Santa Barbara beach property for 2007.Read Full Story About Santa Barbara Beach Property Kevin SchmidtchenSanta Barbara Real Estate VoiceViewed Archived Articles for Santa Barbara Area Mark...
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By Kevin Schmidtchen, Santa Barbara CA Realtor
(Village Properties)
The WestsideThe "Westside Story" of Santa Barbarais laid in our city's first suburb to be initiated by Anglos rather than Hispanics; the Spanish genesis of the city was located on the Eastside. In 1850, when the United States annexed California to the Union, the Westside was open grazing range and farmland, turning marshy near the beach. Today this area is solidly overlaid with urban development extending inland to the Goleta Valley, making it the most densely populated neighborhood in Santa Barbara.Full Story about Santa Barbara CA Neighborhoods - The WestsideView Real Estate on The WestsideReceive Personal Listings of Real Estate from The Westside or other Santa Barbara areas.Kevin SchmidtchenSanta Barbara Real Estate Voice
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By Kevin Schmidtchen, Santa Barbara CA Realtor
(Village Properties)
The MesaMesa, a Spanish word meaning "table", has been applied to the flat bench of elevated land fronting the ocean along Santa Barbara's southwestern border since the mission days. Stretching from the Santa Barbara City College on the east and extending two and one-half miles to Arroyo Burro County Beach (or "Hendry's/The Pit" to locals), the Mesa is an extremely desirable neighborhood and has often been voted the "Best Neighborhood" in a local paper's poll.Residents of the Mesa cherish their accessibility to the beach and to two of Santa Barbara's most wonderful open spaces. Shoreline Park, a magnificent 15-acre bluff-top strip of lawn, bike and pedestrian trails, picnic tables and jungle gyms, is regarded by many as the finest park in Santa Barbara. At the southwestern tip of the Me...
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By Kevin Schmidtchen, Santa Barbara CA Realtor
(Village Properties)
DowntownSanta Barbara's main thoroughfare, State Street, which divides the city of Santa Barbara between East and West, begins at Stearn's Wharf and continues for miles throughout the city. State Street itself is a microcosm of the entire city: filled with architectural beauty, performing arts and cultural centers (including the stately Arlington and Granada Theaters and the Santa Barbara Museum of Art), numerous fine restaurants and cafes, and world class shopping from chic boutiques to modern malls (including the historic El Paseo, California's first shopping center built in the 1920's).Downtown Real Estate values average around $ 800,000 to $ 2.2 million.View Real Estate in Downtown Santa Barbara.Receive Personal Listings of Real Estate from Downtown Santa Barbara or other areas.Scho...
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By Kevin Schmidtchen, Santa Barbara CA Realtor
(Village Properties)
The Upper EastIt is generally believed the Upper East is one of Santa Barbara's most prestigious neighborhoods. The "Upper East" is defined by its location east of State Street and above Valerio Street, and then eventually merges into the Mission Canyon neighborhood and the Riviera foothills.The Upper East is a wonderful walking neighborhood, though residents often do not get too far for the frequency with which they run into friends to chat with along their way. Because the topography is relatively flat to gently sloping, a healthy walk to downtown is very doable, as is a stroll through the nearby Mission rose gardens.Continue reading about Santa Barbara neighborhoods and The Upper East.Kevin Schmidtchen Santa Barbara Real Estate Voice
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 Hope Ranch Real Estate for January 1, 2007 - December 31st, 2007. I have summarized below an easy to look at brief outline of the overall statistics for the Santa Barbara Real Estate market for the Hope Ranch area:The total number of single family homes sold was 37.  Overall the average sales price in 2007 was at $4,569,324.  The average days on the market were 110 in 2007.The total number of condos / townhomes sold was 0. The total number of PUDs sold was 0. The highest reported sale in the Santa Barbara Real Estate area for the Hope Ranch area was on Bajada for $15 Million.  The lowest reported sale in the Santa Barbara Real Estate area for the Hope Ranch area was $1,850,000.These numbers were broken down into sales for single family homes, condos / townhomes and PUDs (Planned Unit D...
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By Kevin Schmidtchen, Santa Barbara CA Realtor
(Village Properties)
Santa Barbara Real Estate Market Update for West of State Area - Overall Yearly Sales Statistics for 2007Categories: Market Statistics, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara Real Estate  Santa Barbara Real Estate for West of State for January 1, 2007 - December 31st, 2007I have summarized below an easy to look at brief outline of the overall statistics for the Santa Barbara Real Estate market for West of State area:The total number of single family homes sold was 199.  Overall the average sales price in 2007 was at $1,182,117.  The average days on the market were 70 in 2007. The total number of condos / townhomes sold was 77.  Overall the average sales price in 2007 was at $760,060.  The average days on the market were 85 in 2007. The total number of PUDs sold was 6.  Overall the average sales p...
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By Kevin Schmidtchen, Santa Barbara CA Realtor
(Village Properties)
I recently read this article in The Independent (An excellent free local paper in Santa Barbara providing well written weekly updated information on local News, Events, People, Arts, Real Estate etc.) that should excite anyone that is concerned for our future generations.  The guts of the article are about:1) Santa Barbara City Council being a leader in energy efficient standards2) The commitment in Santa Barbara to reduce energy use and greenhouse emissions for all new residential real estate construction as well as retrofits3) Architecture 2030 Challenge"Some say governments move too slowly and that bureaucracies can impede progress, but just recently the Santa Barbara City Council and staff bucked the stereotype and moved to approve a potentially momentous change in the building code...
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By Kevin Schmidtchen, Santa Barbara CA Realtor
(Village Properties)
When people think of well thought out downtowns, obviously Santa Barbara comes to mind.  Recently, the California Planning and Development Report voted Santa Barbara as #2 in mid-sized (pop. of 75,000 - 290,000 people) downtowns, only trailing Pasadena.  The report states that Santa Barbara is a California icon that fits numerous criteria of being a delightful urban place that is both manageable and pleasant with a sense of place and a feeling of vibrancy.For many locals, Santa Barbara downtown could fit on any of these sorts of lists because of simply its overall "feel".  Santa Barbara downtown is blessed with numerous open public spaces and parks, a fairly uniform 2-4 story building height creating an open non-claustrophobic feel, abundant venues for culture and art, boutique shopping...
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By Greg Knowles Santa Barbara Ca.
(Fidelity National Title Group-Santa Barbara)
You are living in historic times! As you can see from the chart to the left, the number of transactions for Santa Barbara's South Coast fell below the 100 number for the first time that I can remember. I CORT figures back to Jan of 1997 and Dec of 2007 is the first and only time this happened. This constitutes over a 33% decrease from December of 2006. It is only a 6% decrease from November. The last 4 or 5 months have been a real anomaly due in most part to the Sub Prime lending issues. I think the rebound we were seeing earlier in the year could have sustained itself if that had not factored in to the equation. This leads me to believe that there will be some pent up demand in the not to distant future. With respects to the individual markets of Montecito, Santa Barbara, Carpinteria,...
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By Kathleen Barnato, Realtor - Santa Barbara/Montecito Real Estate
(Kathleen Barnato, Your Santa Barbara & Montecito Connection)
Many people have asked me about the current real estate headlines and what they mean to buyers and sellers.  Keep in mind that the media has been making dire predictions about real estate for decades:  1969:  "The goal of owning a home seems to be getting beyond the reach of more and more Americans.  The typical new house today costs about $28,000."  Business Week1977:  "The median price of a home today is approaching $50,000.  Housing experts predict price rises in the future won't be that great."  National Business1985:  "The golden-age of risks free run-ups in home prices is gone."  Money Magazine1996:  Defense cuts had triggered steep home price declines.  "A home is where the bad investment is."  San Francisco Examiner.In the three years following that last statement, California ho...
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By Margie Mattly
(Village properties)
The beautiful Pacific Ocean as seen from Shoreline Dr in Santa Brabara. The Mesa neighborhod featuring single family homes and condos, sits on the cliffs above the beach. This is also home to dog friendly Shoreline Park a favorite place for picnics, parties, strolls above the shore, sunset views. The park also features a playground for the kids.
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By Jeff Dowler, CRS, The Southern California Relocation Dude
(eXp Realty of California, Inc.)
 I spent some time in Santa Barbara, CA a few days ago at a membership meeting for the real estate group I belong to. Before heading back home to San Diego (via a weekend stay in Los Angeles), I decided to spend an hour exploring Santa Barbara. So think of this as a 1 hour visual tour of Santa Barbara, on the California coast about 85 miles northwest of Los Angeles (about 1 ½ to 2 hours drive depending on traffic on the 101). Or you can choose to fly in to Santa Barbara Airport. The photos are of the things that impressed me, the scenes that for me helped to capture a visitor's perspective of a gorgeous coastal city in a very limited time frame. In many cases I did not even get out of the car. So imagine what you could enjoy if you were to spend a day or a weekend here (which I plan to ...
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By Wendy Gragg
(Distinctive Real Estate)
Santa Barbara real estate is a relative bargain compared to other hot spot real estate markets, based on these startling statistics I am about to share with you.   I recently made trips to Europe and New York City to make a serious comparison of luxury real estate and quality of life to other hot spots of the world.  It was abundantly clear that Santa Barbara luxury real estate is a bargain!  To put things in perspective, one of the largest sales in Santa Barbara so far in 2007 has been for $35 million for a 9,066 square foot newly built oceanfront home in Santa Barbara.  The cost per square foot on this Santa Barbara sale was $3,722.  Compare that with a recent sale in London for a 20,000 square foot penthouse that sold for $195 million.  That is $9,800 per square foot!   Is the qualit...
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By Sheron Cardin, ARTIST - A Home Stager/Sellers Best Friend!
(California Moods Inc)
Everyone, I would like you to meet Christine Craig. She is an Interior Designer from Santa Barbara (we all know about Ellen's Estate...was it you Christine?) Christine is new to the staging aspect of decorating and I know she will get the support she is looking for from the rain forest. Christine just jumped right in asking the BIG questions Your-first-staged-home, To Store or Not to Store, Staging Business Name, and ASP!?!!. and has already received some generous comments and support I promised her she would find here. Thank you stagers and agents for making me look good .)Christine, we look forward to all your questions and contributions. You are going to be a great asset to the AR community! 
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By Kathleen Barnato, Kathleen Barnato, Realtor
(Kathleen Barnato, Realtor)
What a great market gor both buyers and sellers.  The sky did not fall last year, and interest rates remained fairly flat.  As more and mofe properties sell, which they are, more and more sellers will see that it is to their advantage to sell now, and buyers will recognize that the bottom has already come and gone.   More choices, less frenzy.     I believe that sales will remain strong through the summer and I am excited to be helping so many people buy and sell right now.  Call me!  805.570.3366.  All inquiries are confidential.
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By Sheron Cardin, ARTIST - A Home Stager/Sellers Best Friend!
(California Moods Inc)
This article was in the Google Alerts for Home Stagers. How did we miss it?I am decluttering my email today and just happened to open this alert from way back when and it is the best alert I have to date. What a great job that must have been for some lucky stager!  I'm available for this kind of project and I let them know.Ellen's Montecito Mansion, Estate of the Day Posted Apr 1st 2007 1:03PM by Deidre WoollardFiled under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping Like Oprah, Ellen DeGeneres has a lavish Montecito getaway house but unlike Oprah, Ellen is on the move. She and her partner Portia Di Rossi have put their Montecito home on the market. This beautiful home was built in 1926 by George Washington Smith who designed many lovely homes in the Santa Barbara, Calif. area. The house was renovated ...
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