Archive for March, 2008
Santa Barbara Real Estate Market Update for The Mesa Area - First Quarter 2008
categories: Market Statistics / Updates, The Mesa Neighborhood, The Oceanfront Areas
I have summarized below an easy to look at brief outline of the overall statistics for the The Mesa Real Estate market through the first quarter of 2008.
- The total number of single family homes sold on The Mesa was 8. The number of current pending sales for single family homes is 10. The number of current active listings for single family homes is 12.
- The total number of condos / townhomes sold on The Mesa was 1. The number of current pending sales for condos / townhomes is 0. The number of current active listings for condos / townhomes is 4.
- The total number of PUD’s sold on The Mesa was 0. The number of current pending sales for PUD’s is 0. The number of current active listings for PUD’s is 1.
Please feel free to contact me directly if you have questions or would like more in depth information and statistics about:
1) The Mesa area in Santa Barbara
2) The area around your personal home
3) A specific area in Santa Barbara
Further Reading: Information About The Mesa Neighborhood, Articles About The Mesa Neighborhood
Kevin Schmidtchen - Thank you for reading. I hope you find Santa Barbara Real Estate Voice informative. Please feel free to comment below with any thoughts.
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Santa Barbara Real Estate Market Update for the San Roque Area - First Quarter 2008
categories: Market Statistics / Updates, San Roque Neighborhood
I have summarized below an easy to look at brief outline of the overall statistics for the San Roque Real Estate market through the first quarter of 2008.
- The total number of single family homes sold in San Roque was 5. The number of current pending sales for single family homes is 3. The number of current active listings for single family homes is 15.
- The total number of condos / townhomes sold in San Roque was 5. The number of current pending sales for condos / townhomes is 1. The number of current active listings for condos / townhomes is 11.
- The total number of PUD’s sold in San Roque was 0. The number of current pending sales for PUD’s is 1. The number of current active listings for PUD’s is 1.
Please feel free to contact me directly if you have questions or would like more in depth information and statistics about:
1) The San Roque area in Santa Barbara
2) The area around your personal home
3) A specific area in Santa Barbara
Further Reading: Information About The San Roque Neighborhood, Articles About The San Roque Neighborhood
Kevin Schmidtchen - Thank you for reading. I hope you find Santa Barbara Real Estate Voice informative. Please feel free to comment below with any thoughts.
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The Weakening US Dollar is Allowing More Foreigners to Buy into the California Dream
categories: Montecito, Real Estate News, Santa Barbara
There is a new buying pool for the California Dream…especially in coastal resort towns such as Santa Barbara and Montecito. As the market has slowed over the last 18 months and the US Dollar has weakened dramatically, California has become second to only Florida in terms of international purchases. Many foreigners are looking for second homes and places to invest their money in less certain economic times. The property type that seems most desired is:
1) High-end estates
2) Larger homes
3) Condominiums in upscale areas
Santa Barbara and Montecito CA fit this bill for most of these buyers. Many of these buyers are also looking for homes that are turn-key, with very little to no effort needed in fixing up.
In my experience over the last 2 years here in the Santa Barbara CA area, I have seen most international buyers coming from Canada and England.
For a Realtor, a strong and user friendly Internet presence is crucial to attract foreigners who will most likely familiarize themselves with U.S. housing markets online before they search for a specific property or a real estate agent.
Kevin Schmidtchen - Thank you for reading. I hope you find Santa Barbara Real Estate Voice informative. Please feel free to comment below with any thoughts.
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Looking for an Active Vacation in the Beach Town of Santa Barbara?
categories: Lifestyle / Things to Do
Santa Barbara has a long history (at least from and American perspective) of being a playground for the rich and famous. During the turn of the century, Charlie Chaplin arrived in our small seaside town to make movies for the American Film Company’s Flying A Studio…at the time the world’s largest motion picture studio.
For the next century, many affluent people as well as Hollywood’s elite have vacationed, married, and honeymooned in our Spanish-style beach town. Among the celebrities that now call Santa Barbara home are Ty Warner, Jonathan Winters, John Cleese, Kevin Costner, Oprah and many more. But the town of Santa Barbara is not just a hideaway and playground for the wealthy.
For many, a visit to Santa Barbara is viewed as a top vacation spot for the active minded person. The abundant natural beauty, topography and a “perfect” climate offer not just diverse scenery, but numerous recreational opportunities ranging from cycling, rock climbing and hiking to in-line skating, golfing, horseback riding and numerous water-sport activities.
The American Riviera has most angles covered for the adventurous tourist.
Great Santa Barbara Cycling Day Trips
1) The hills throughout Hope Ranch 2) The Waterfront from Hope Ranch towards Summerland 3) Back Roads of Montecito and Carpinteria 4) Highway 150 from Carpinteria towards Ojai
Great Santa Barbara Rock Climbing
1) San Ysidro Crag 2) Gibralter Rock and LieBack Annie 3) Lizard’s Mouth 4) Fire Crags 5) The Brickyard
Great Santa Barbara Hikes
1) Tunnel Trail 2) Inspiration Point 3) Coldsprings Trail 4) McMenemy Trail 5) Rattlesnake Trail
Great Santa Barbara Surfing Spots
(this truly varies on the swell, season and tides etc.)
1) Rincon 2) Sandspit 3) Leadbetter - for just learning 4) Mesa Lane 5) Santa Claus Lane
Kevin Schmidtchen - Thank you for reading. I hope you find Santa Barbara Real Estate Voice informative. Please feel free to comment below with any thoughts.
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Santa Barbara leads the way in Greenhouse Gas Emissions Study
categories: Green Living, Real Estate News
I just viewed an interesting video posted on YouTube about Santa Barbaraand the initiatives our city is taking towards energy use and climate change. Santa Barbara Council-member, Das Williams, speaks about what Santa Barbara can do as a city with regards to energy and climate initiatives.
He mentions that Santa Barbara and San Francisco are the only 2 current cities in the State of California that are completing hard science surveys on the effects of greenhouse gas emissions. The main topics that the study covers are looking at transportation, building requirements and use of energy within our city buildings.
Some of the potential changes outlined are:
1) Adding Solar Panels to City Buildings
2) Bio-diesel and Hybrid Vehicles
3) Free Bus Passes to Downtown City Workers
Kevin Schmidtchen - Thank you for reading. I hope you find Santa Barbara Real Estate Voice informative. Please feel free to comment below with any thoughts.
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Is Downtown Santa Barbara Vertically Challenged?
categories: Downtown Neighborhood, Green Living, Real Estate News
Over roughly the last 7 years, Santa Barbara has shown an obvious effort to try and grow ”smartly and inwardly” as a solution to maintaining open spaces and halting sprawl, while adhering to the demands of housing pressure. Many of these newer buildings are popping up with in walking distance to the hub of Santa Barbara, State Street. But with this newer style of mixed-use growth, there are open debates as to whether this style of development is in the best interest of Santa Barbara.
I just read a great article in the Independent written by Martha Sadler, specifically talking about the issues Santa Barbara faces as a city in trying to “grow smart”. One of the major current issues dividing parties is the height of some of these newer buildings.
Further Reading: Information About The Downtown Neighborhood, Articles About The Downtown Neighborhood
Kevin Schmidtchen - Thank you for reading. I hope you find Santa Barbara Real Estate Voice informative. Please feel free to comment below with any thoughts.
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Montecito CA Homes For Sale - Market Update March 2008
categories: Market Statistics / Updates
I have summarized below an easy to look at brief outline of the overall statistics for the Montecito Real Estate market through Mid- March 2008. These statistics are for the Montecito area only.
These numbers were broken down into activity for single family homes, condos / townhomes and PUDs (Planned Unit Developments). Please feel free to contact me with any questions that you may have about these statistics, the Montecito area or the market in general for the Santa Barbara Real Estate area. If you would like specific information about a certain area or the area around your personal home, please let me know directly so I can be of help.
Kevin Schmidtchen - Thank you for reading. I hope you find Santa Barbara Real Estate Voice informative. Please feel free to comment below with any thoughts.
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