The views at 1398 Oak Creek Canyon Road are pure CinemaScope: From the upstairs terrace, you can see the sun rise to the left and set to the right. Below you lies all of Montecito. At 700 feet above sea level, the house is the highest in the Oak Creek Canyon development, and among the highest in town. You don’t even have to look up to see hawks flying.
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Bedrooms: Six.
Bathrooms: Six and a half.
Size/Acreage: 7,130 square feet / 53 acres.
Price: $10.9 million.
Last sold: Not applicable.
Listing agents: Riskin Partners.
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Built as an investment, the house hit the market in 2013 at a staggering $22 million. Less than a year later, the price was slashed to $14.9 million, and subsequently reduced again to $13.65 million. When it still didn’t sell, it was rented out. Now it’s back at $10.9 million, signaling that the owner is ready to unload the property. The location right up against Los Padres National Forest has to make it difficult, if not impossible, to fully insure.
The house itself is a long rectangle, and not as large as it looks in the photos because it’s wide but not deep. Rooms are laid out railroad style: on the top floor, to the west of the entryway, are the living room, kitchen, dining room, and family room…
…and the master suite is to the east. Wisely, the architect didn’t embed the top floor into the hillside, allowing light in from the north and south. And throughout, the craftsmanship is top-quality.
The lower level has a second family room and four bedrooms, each with ocean views.
The pool house can function as a guest suite or an entertaining venue.
For a 53-acre property, there’s very little outdoor space—almost all of the acreage is unusable as anything but buffer. If the sliver of lawn doesn’t do it for you, perhaps this will: You can access the Los Padres trail system from right behind the house. (In the photo below, the prominent tree on the crest of the hill is the massive oak where Saddle Rock and McMenemy trails meet.)
Contact Riskin Partners for a showing—and be sure to tell them Siteline sent you.
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