Noteworthy new listings….
Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi bought 319 San Ysidro Road ($46.5 million), a.k.a. Pompeiian Court, in June for $22.5 million. Is it even possible to add $24 million worth of value in four months? They certainly make a compelling case, stripping the interiors down and letting a little ornateness go a long way. The result is photogenic and glamorous, although sophisticated furniture might be required to stop the all-neutral palette from dominating. (The staging decor can be bought separately.) Eight acres, on which there are various outbuildings, is huge for that part of town (southwest of Montecito Union School). The question is whether folks who can afford it wouldn’t rather be surrounded by like-monied types in the better parts of the Golden Quadrangle.
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The 1991 house at 830 Picacho Lane ($44.95 million)—a Texan’s idea of Europe—could use a similar helping of restraint. Location and size are the appeal here: near the top of Picacho Lane, the 3.4-acre property includes the six-bedroom main house, a two-bedroom guest house, a tennis court, “750 world-class rose bushes,” and more.
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Three doors down is 750 Picacho Lane ($12 million). The lot is only .85 acre, and the house is closer to the road that one would like, but there’s potential in the boxy 1989 architecture—while surfaces would benefit from updating, at least most of the floors are wood.
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The price of 2097 Stratford Place ($6.75 million) is possibly a deal for Birnam Wood these days, where non-fixers have recently traded for $8 million and up. The traditional interiors are a surprising match for the contemporary exterior, but you have to admire the commitment of an “indoor and outdoor sunken bar.”
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On the kinked part of East Valley Road next to Knowlwood Tennis Club, 1641 East Valley Road ($5.5 million) has midcentury style, a new ADU, and quite the outdoor entertaining pavilion. I have to imagine, however, that you’ll hear activity at the club.
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Unlike the Birnam Wood house mentioned earlier, and with the exception of the undercooked staircase, the mix of contemporary and traditional works nicely at 405 E. Sola Street ($1.895 million). I’d be surprised if it doesn’t go for over $2 million.
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Also worth checking out:
••• 423 E. Islay Street ($2.45 million): 1921 cottage with three bedrooms and two baths (below).
••• 909 E. Carrillo Street ($1.875 million): Attempted flip of a 1928 three-bedroom, one-bath the seller paid $1.775 million in January 2022.
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Shame shame shame on you Ellen!
Just greed and narcissism and absolute
ridiculousness to keep flipping houses in Montecito.
Why don’t you go and do something beneficial
and good for this world, with your hundreds of millions of dollars? karma will get you in the end!
I’ve never met Ellen or Portia, but I will be forever grateful to Ellen for not just coming out back when such a thing was unfathomable, but continuing to normalize gay people while hosting her show. I have no doubt that a huge chunk of middle America is far more accepting of gay people as a result.
As for the flipping of houses, are Ellen and Portia not allowed to have a hobby/business, just because they’ve already been successful? And are you sure that they’re not also doing other things that benefit the world? It seems to me that by buying and fixing up houses, they’re putting rather a lot of people to work.
P.S. Invoking karma is a bit rich, given all the stone-throwing.
Let the ultra-rich spend their money on Ellen’s brand. Focus your energy on the flippers that are buying reasonably-priced homes, slapping white paint on them, and making 30+%.
Ellen and Portia have a gorilla sanctuary that protects them from becoming extinct. That is a great use of their money.