Golden Quadrangle Spec Reno Back for $3.5 Million More Than It Cost Eight Months Ago

Noteworthy new listings….

800 Hot Springs Road ($8.95 million) smells like a spec reno: the 1954 house was bought for $5.4 million last August in an off-market deal, so it’s hard to know how much has been done to the property. The walls of glass are nice, but two bedrooms share a bath and the overall feel is personality-free. That there’s no pool or guest house should go without saying—in this part of town, you have to pay well over $10 million for those nowadays.

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Built in 2010, 686 El Rancho Road ($7.75 million) has just three bedrooms but a bunch of other rooms: game room, office, bonus room, garage workshop…. In the pro column are ocean peeks and mountain views, soaring ceilings (if you’re into that) in the two main common rooms, and a lovely outdoor terrace; less appealing are the primary bedroom’s location right off the living room, the carpeting here and there, and the triangular lot with the front half taken up by motor court.

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The $3.7 million that 1485 Monte Vista Road ($5.2 million) sold for in February 2021 was impressive at the time. After being renovated to questionable effect, the house is back for $1.5 million more—and it’s already in escrow. Montecito Union School is one heck of a magnet.

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On a cul-de-sac jutting off upper Las Alturas, 17 Camino Verde ($3.85 million) is a 2010 Mediterranean in need of updating. The mountain views are lovely, as you’d expect in that location, and I love the cobblestoned motor court, even if it doesn’t really jibe with the architecture.

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The photographs of 395 Woodley Road ($5.295 million) really show off the staging—and whenever that many throws are visible, it’s definitely staging—but they don’t give much of a sense of the house, which is 3,107 square feet, with four bedrooms and three baths. It last sold for $2.347 million in September 2020, so this is conceivably another spec reno sitch. The wall-to-wall sisal makes me nervous about what’s underneath, and the architecture remains underwhelming.

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The best thing about the 1984 house at 4488 La Paloma Avenue ($5.3 million) on Pill Hill is the four-acre flag lot; also, there’s a three-bedroom guest house. It all requires attention, however. P.S. Two words come to mind whenever I see a carpeted bathroom: fingernail clippings.

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If you don’t need a lot of space, the 910-square-foot house at 2952 Ventura Drive ($1.75 million) in San Roque is pretty sweet. The listing says there are two-and-a-half baths, but the photos show three, so maybe the one in the guest house doesn’t technically exist.

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And a few others worth checking out:
••• 134 Loureyro Road ($2.5 million): Four-unit rental building in the Hedgerow fringe.
••• 611 Calle Palo Colorado ($1.699 million): Another San Roque charmer, but as the kitchen and bathrooms imply, the house hasn’t been on the market in 70 years.
••• 922 Fellowship Road ($2.15 million): 1952 Alta Mesa three-bedroom with some nice moments (above).
••• 202 Salida Del Sol ($2.395 million): Meh house but only one house away from Shoreline Drive and walkable to Thousand Steps Beach; bonus points for the teddy bear stained glass window.
••• 611 De La Vista Avenue ($1.595 million): Five bedrooms + two baths = commune.
••• 840 Cathedral Vista Lane ($2.995 million): “Located down a charming country lane”—yeah, at the corner of Foothill Road.
••• 627 Dolores Drive ($2.5 million): The architectural equivalent of conjoined twins (first photo below).
••• 1260 Northridge Road ($2.95 million): You don’t see a lot of rock walls anymore (second photo below).
••• 1215 Miracanon Lane ($3.975 million): Four million bucks to live four houses off Carrillo?!

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