This edition of The Home Page was originally emailed to subscribers on February 23, 2025. To receive Sarah Sinclair’s real estate newsletter in your inbox each Sunday, sign up at independent.com/newsletter
There’s been a lot happening in local real estate circles this week. This Tuesday morning, the Santa Barbara Association of Realtors held their annual Real Estate Market Update with presentations providing a review of recent sales and activity, plus a preview with predictions for what may lie ahead. Sound bites from each of our local presenters (as they appear left to right in the photo above) included:
Marsha Kotlyar reported on the luxury market, defined as homes above $5 million. “In January 2025, we had 4 sales over $20 million dollars. We usually see those kinds of numbers in an entire year.” All of those sales were in Montecito. Sounds like 93108 is starting off the year hot, hot, hot! Marsha shared that Montecito was recently named the 5th most expensive market in the country.
Cara Gamberdella reported on the market under $5 million. She told the audience that this segment represents 86 percent of all area sales. Cara called the segment under $2 million “the work horse” of the market, with homes selling for 99 percent of their asking price and at only 24 days on the market.
Gene Deering reported on the local commercial market. Gene gave lots of examples of area activity — from the “Funkinteria” renaissance happening in Carpinteria, excitement in Montecito with buildings selling on Coast Village Road, changes in the Chapala corridor, and called UCSB’s movement into downtown Santa Barbara “the big winner” on the commercial scene.
And if you’re wondering who the ‘extra guy’ is in the photo, that’s Randy Freed, who moderated the sessions, providing both insight and levity. Randy has long presented statistical analyses for the association. And at Tuesday’s event, he even threw in a couple of magic tricks.
Here’s an interesting back story on a house that’s for sale right now in Hope Ranch. When Kelly Knight told me about the house, she shared that it was designed by architect Richard Bliss Nelson who also designed the Santa Barbara Yacht Club. The website for the home includes a video about Nelson’s life and career created by the American Institute of Architects Santa Barbara Chapter as part of their oral history project. Included is an interview conducted just months before Nelson passed away in 2017. Highlights of Nelson’s local work include the Vedanta Temple in Montecito and the First Presbyterian Church on upper State Street near Constance. The video also gives us a look at the architect’s own residence, which has similar notable features to both the yacht club and the home for sale at 985 Monte Drive — Kelly’s Hope Ranch listing.
To see and hear more about this gorgeous home — and maybe even an appearance by Scout — check out our real estate section this coming Thursday.
What’s that? You can’t wait that long to see Scout?
There’s your Scout fix. This is the look she gives me when she thinks it’s dinner time and I still have work to finish. We almost always find a compromise.
If you haven’t read this week’s issue, DO IT. Here’s the flip-through version of the front and real estate. There’s so much good stuff inside. However you spend your Sunday, enjoy!
You must be logged in to post a comment.