Siteline | A Historic Structure of Merit for Under a Million Bucks

Noteworthy new listings….

Last time 495 E. Mountain Drive ($7.95 million) was for sale, from October 2019 to July 2020, the only dings I heard against the new-build, 6,240-square-foot house were that the dining room drew the short stick (it looks out onto the motor court) and the house is on the western fringe of Montecito; the houses on the far side are less fancy than the ones to the east. Neither of those issues has changed, but the market sure has: even though the seller paid just $5.075 million a year and a half ago, the new price isn’t crazy.

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The 1975 house at 1155 Harbor Hills Drive ($3.495 million) has some of Alta Mesa’s best views and potential aplenty, but the kitchen and baths want updating, and I’d consider removing the office loft. (What’s the point of an office that can be seen and heard from most of the house?) Still, those views are mighty seductive….

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Equestrian Avenue is a one-block street downtown where the architecture runs the gamut. At the froufrou end of the spectrum is 214 Equestrian Avenue ($3.4 million), a three-bedroom townhouse ~~whose similar next-door neighbor sold for $1.89 million a year ago.~~ P.S. That bathroom is sticking its tongue out at us. UPDATE 12/13: 212 Equestrian was an intra-family transfer, not a sale.

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With fresh surfaces, 2521 Whitney Avenue ($2.895 million) could be a solid little Summerland house.

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At some point, the modest 1966 house at 2333 Foothill Lane ($2.649 million) got quite the Mediterranean makeover. (Never underestimate the power of a trip to Italy.) The “Tahoe-inspired” guest house, meanwhile, comes off like a weird cousin that dropped by and never left—which isn’t to say I wouldn’t love one just like it.

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“Storybook” 1809 Stanwood Drive ($795,000) is a Historic Structure of Merit,* but I can’t tell if any of the photos show a living room or bedroom. Or maybe that’s what the twin outbuildings are for? (*Here’s why: “Constructed by Leo Flores for his sister Barbara and her family in approximately 1939, the Flores House (Casita) qualifies as a California Point of Historical Interest because is the last, only, and most historically significant property associated with the early descendents of the Flores Family, a Santa-Barbara Mexican-American family important to the early history and culture of Santa Barbara. The house is the oldest and last remaining vestige of the ranch purchased by Leo Flores’ and Barbara (Flores) Martinez’s grandfather Anastacio in 1869, portions of which, including the Casita, were owned by the Flores Family until approximately 1964.”)

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