Noteworthy new listings….
When 465 Hot Springs Road ($52 million) was last on the market, in March 2022, the owner at the time took umbrage at my referring to the 1910 house (expanded in the 1970s) as a “big old pile.” I think the fear was that I was calling it a pile of manure, or something along those lines, when all I meant was that the 13,560-square-foot house is large. But sure, it needed work. (Check out the before photos.) Serial flipper Xorin Balbes bought the property for $11.5 million in November 2022, sold off a couple of acres—the lot is now 3.97 acres—and certainly improved the house. The question is, did he do enough to justify the hefty price? While I haven’t seen it in person, from the photos, looking past the interior design, you can still catch a whiff of choices made during previous renovations. But at least you might be able to get insurance, which is harder farther up the hill.
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According to a Wall Street Journal article, the owners of 1620 Westerly Road ($64.5 million) in Happy Canyon, east of Santa Ynez, are Julie and Jack McGinley of Lake Forest, Ill., and Dartmouth, Mass. They bought the 200-acre property in 2006 for $24.2 million with the plan of retiring there, and they put around $10 million into upgrades, which may or may not include the old-school decor by Michael E. Smith. All the better if you love it, because redecorating a 20,000-square-foot is no small project.
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The seller of 1151 Glenview Road and 1157 Glenview Road ($15 million) bought the neighboring Pepper Hill houses in October 2020 for $7.6 million in an off-market deal. 1157 Glenview got renovated—to what extent is hard to tell, given the paucity of photos—and is also being offered on its own for $7.25 million. 1151 Glenview is a 1981 Mediterranean that presumably needs work. Both face south, but judging from that terrace photo, the “breathtaking views of the ocean and mountains” are from upstairs.
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You have to love the history and bones of 3280 Via Rancheros Road ($12.95 million), a 36.64-acre equestrian compound south of Santa Ynez: the main house was designed by Joseph Plunkett and built between 1929 and 1938, and previous owners include Jimmy Stewart and Dean Martin. It has six bedrooms, with four more across the courtyard, and elsewhere on the property are a “two-bedroom second residence, caretaker’s quarters, wine cellar, and six-car garage.” The porte cochère had me at hello. And look at the way the tennis court drops down behind the pool!
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The listing agent’s website says that 1240 Via Brigitte ($5.995 million), built in 2006 with the columns to prove it, is around 4,623 square feet—which makes the relatively small living room off the kitchen (and no family room) seem even more confusing. The outdoor living room is a worthy alternative, of course. The property is in the La Romana Estates gated community off San Antonio Creek Road. UPDATE: The listing agent says there is indeed a family room, and sent over the floor plan (see below).
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I love the 1956 Arts and Crafts details still visible at 1850 Gibraltar Road ($4.995 million), and I wish they were in every room; the less embellished ones feel more generic. The one-acre lot is appealing, as is the pool with a brick deck, although I can imagine wanting a larger terrace off the living areas.
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2215 Las Rosas Lane ($2.795 million) will go fast: four bedrooms, each en suite, in a 1932 house tucked away on a cul-de-sac off W. Los Olivos Street. Calling the downstairs common area a second living room is a stretch, despite the stager’s efforts.
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And a few others worth checking out:
••• 1018 Belmonte Drive ($4.15 million): The buyer who paid $4.075 million in February for a prettily renovated 1975 house just off the Westside apparently had a change of heart.
••• 651 Romero Canyon Road ($2.495 million): Two-bedroom, one-bath cottage built in 1973.
••• 1295 Spring Road ($3.975 million): High-style two-bedroom townhome at the corner of Olive Mill Road.
••• 3170-3090 Avenida Caballo ($8.5 million): Handsome Spanish-style equestrian compound, built in 2008, on 40 acres east of Los Olivos.
••• 3244 Laurel Canyon Road ($2.725 million): Who took the washer and dryer?
••• 612 Holmcrest Road ($2.295 million): 1978 fixer with two bedrooms and two baths on a cul-de-sac off Las Alturas Road. Looks like a spec reno opportunity to me.
••• 1071 Via Chaparral ($4.6 million): 1995 house off Highway 154 that’s 2,934 square feet but only has two bedrooms. Hanging out in the garage looks fun—not.
••• 6500 Santa Rosa Road ($4.75 million): 212-acre compound including “the bunkhouse, a cozy 1,225-square-foot Western-style retreat, [that] includes 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom, offering an authentic old Western town feel” (below). Or maybe it’s more like “Westworld”…?
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