Santa Barbara
The New Expansion of Luxury Townhomes and Condos in Santa Barbara CA.
Categories: Downtown Neighborhood, Luxury Real Estate, Real Estate News, Santa Barbara
In the last 3-5 years, Santa Barbara has seen several small mixed-use style projects consisting of 2-10 residential townhome units sprout up within shouting distance of State Street and the downtown area. Most of these projects finished development before the market started to soften in early 2007 and therefore had no problem finding buyers.
The Paseo Chapala project located on the Corner of Chapala Street and De La Guerra Street was the first major development in the last several years that unfortunately got caught in the downturn of the market and presently still has 7 residential units up for sale. Even with this news, the appeal for developing high-end townhomes and condos in the downtown area does not seem to be subsiding anytime soon.
The newest batch of upscale top notch granite and marble laden townhomes are nearing completion toward the end of 2008 and into early 2009 and are mostly on the larger scale such as Paseo Chapala. The current major projects that are on the horizon are:
- Paseo One located at the corner of Chapala and Gutierrez Streets. This project was taken over by Don Hughes in early 2007. There looks to be 35 units coming up for sale with possibly 7 of these already having been reserved.
- A planned 53-unit development located on the corner of Carrillo and De la Vina streets.
- The roughly 100 units proposed by Bill Wright above Cabrillo Boulevard on the corner of Garden Street and Yanonali.
View Current List of Luxury Condos for Sale in Santa Barbara and Montecito CA.
Although most all of these developments have some form of affordable units, the bread and butter market rate for these upscale projects seem to have price points in the $1.5 Million to $2.75 Million range. The continued proposals for these upscale construction projects seems to indicate that most developers have an optimistic forecast for both business and tourism.
“When the city did the master plan for Chapala Street, they really sent a message to property owners and developers that they wanted to increase the density of mixed-use projects along the Chapala corridor, and the property owners and developers listened,” says Steve Cushman, president of the Santa Barbara Chamber of Commerce.
For many residents, the Chapala style projects make sense where they are: along a main transportation corridor and close to businesses, shopping, entertainment and buses.
“The baby boomers are all starting to retire … and are coming with a pocket full of money,” Cushman said. “They can pay cash for a million dollar condo and that’s what’s happening and is going to continue to happen because Santa Barbara is so popular around the world.” Despite the residential slump in certain areas and price points, developers seem to keep pusing for housing projects located near the downtown corridors.
Kevin Schmidtchen - Thank you for reading. I hope you find Santa Barbara Real Estate Voice informative. Please feel free to contact me or comment below with any thoughts.
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Santa Barbara Luxury Property Sales Continue to Set Records Year After Year
Categories: Luxury Real Estate, Montecito, Real Estate News, Santa Barbara
One market that has not been effected by all the negative national news with regards to the credit crisis and sub-prime fallout is the high-end homes and luxury estates in Montecito and Santa Barbara CA, particularly along the coastline.
This high-end real estate market is referred to as property sales in excess of $10 Million.
To illustrate the pace and volume of these sales, I have included some statistics below that show the year over year increase in sales.
- 2002 reported in the MLS approximately $42 Million in sales
- 2003 reported in the MLS approximately $65 Million in sales
- 2004 reported in the MLS approximately $72 Million in sales
- 2005 reported in the MLS approximately $94 Million in sales
- 2006 reported in the MLS approximately $219 Million in sales
- 2007 reported in the MLS approximately $255 Million in sales
View Current Montecito and Santa Barbara listings of high-end properties in excess of $10 Million
In my humble opinion, having traveled much of the world, Santa Barbara will always rank as one of the most beautiful places to live. Once you arrive here it is not hard to understand this conviction. Seemingly encapsulated in a relatively perfect maritime climate, Santa Barbara is an oceanfront resort like community with wonderful architecture, clean air and limited traffic, long stretches of gorgeous and accessible coastline and an abundance of outdoor activity including surfing, golfing, hiking, rock climbing, sailing, mountain biking, fishing, kayaking and much more. For people wanting more than just an active community, Santa Barbara also boasts a wonderful mix of art, culture, live performances and dining.
On the real estate side of the equation, this quality of life that Santa Barbara and Montecito offers will continue to drive high-end property values. What the above statistics simply show is that the wealthy have located Santa Barbara and Montecito as a desirable place to both live and own property. Movie stars, industry titans and the newly rich circulate around Santa Barbara without attracting much attention and without dressing up. Multi-millionaires are able to maintain a relatively private existence here that can often allude them in other areas. This along with Santa Barbara and Montecito resident’s casualness to this vast wealth is part of the allure for the wealthy.
Further Reading: The Secret of Santa Barbara and Montecito CA Oceanfront Property and Estates, The Luxury of Santa Barbara and Montecito Oceanfront Real Estate, Montecito CA Homes For Sale - Market Update March 2008
Kevin Schmidtchen - Thank you for reading. I hope you find Santa Barbara Real Estate Voice informative. Please feel free to contact me or comment below with any thoughts.
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Search the Santa Barbara, Montecito and Goleta CA MLS for Free
Categories: Buyer's Resources, Goleta, Montecito, Santa Barbara, Seller's Resources
Searching the Santa Barbara, Montecito and Goleta area MLS is now easy and free. 
More and more buyers and sellers are wanting to start there search for real estate on the Internet, in the own comfort and privacy of their homes. If you are looking for the MLS here in Santa Barbara, Montecito, Goleta CA and surrounding areas, you have found the right place.
SantaBarbaraRealEstateVoice provides you with all the tools you need to start your information gathering about real estate in our area for free, with no obligations or sign-ups. You can search via any of the single criteria below as well as any combination of criteria:
- price
- cities as well as neighborhoods
- style of housing (condo / single family etc.)
- beds and baths
- schools
- zip codes
If you see any homes of interest, you can request information about the particular listing(s). After searching on your own, if you would like to then be personally set up to receive listings as soon as they are listed in the MLS that meet only your specific needs, contact me as well or sign up.
Further Reading: Search the Santa Barbara MLS and More
Kevin Schmidtchen - Thank you for reading. I hope you find Santa Barbara Real Estate Voice informative. Please feel free to contact me or 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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Santa Barbara CA Neighborhoods - The Riviera
Categories: Santa Barbara, The Riviera Neighborhood
The Riviera
Bridging the two mile span which separates Mission and Sycamore Canyons, the sylvan uplift which the padres knew as the “mission ridge” has for the past 65 years been known as “the Riviera” due to its resemblance to slopes along the Mediterranean coasts of France and Italy. Residents lucky enough to live on this ridge attach premium value to their homes because of their unsurpassed views of the city, mountains, sea and islands. Most of the area has curving streets with mature trees and foliage. The topography of the Riviera is relatively steep and not easily reached via walking or biking.
Read more about The Riviera, The Riviera Schools, The Riviera Real Estate
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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Here is a Method That is Helping Make Santa Barbara More Eco-Friendly
Categories: Green Living, Santa Barbara
Looking for a more environmentally friendly way to move to your new home…why not take a look at a newer company here in Santa Barbara called We Move Green. Opening its doors at the end of 2007, We Move Green is an eco-friendly moving company based here in the Santa Barbara area. I spoke with C0-Owner, Erik Haney this week and so far business is going extremely well with plans to purchase their second moving truck here in the very near future.
The difference of an Eco-friendly moving company:
1) Newer trucks adhere to 2008 low emission standards
2) Trucks run on bio-diesel
3) Recycled and sustainable moving materials
4) Purchase carbon offsets
5) Plant 10 trees for every move made
For further information, contact We Move Green at 805-845-6600
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 Gets Wish Granted from the FHA
Categories: Real Estate News, Santa Barbara
After a fair amount of backlash and letter writing, the government this week raised the mortgage limits for loans guaranteed by the Federal Housing Administration in several high cost California counties, including Santa Barbara. The maximum amount of $729,750 will now be allowed for the Santa Barbara area and only time will tell what effect this will have on the housing market here. For many residents here in the Santa Barbara area where the average price of a single family home is over $ 1 Million, this will allow homeowners with high-rate sub-prime mortgages to refinance into federally insured loans. Additionally, it will allow buyers that are out there to obtain better loans for the lower end market.
Overall the market here in Santa Barbara has seen a significant increase in activity during the first 2 months of 2008, with pending sales abound across the board. I have talked with many lenders and Realtors in the last several weeks and the assumption is that this stimulus package will only increase activity in the market.
The Washington AP stated, “The package also includes a temporary increase in the cap on mortgages that the government-sponsored mortgage companies Fannie Mae (NYSE:FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) can buy or guarantee from $417,000 to $729,750. The idea is to stoke investor demand for securities made up of more expensive mortgages — so-called jumbo loans — backed by Fannie and Freddie, the two biggest mortgage financers in the country. That would drive interest rates lower and spur home buying and refinancing.”
Other California high cost counties that received the maximum level for FHA loans are Alameda, Contra Costa, Los Angeles, Marin, Monterey, Napa, Orange, San Benito, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and Ventura.
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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