Noteworthy new listings….
You can tell from the circular catwalk, replete with oculus, that the bones of 1925 Jelinda Drive ($18.5 million) in Ennisbrook date from the 1980s, but the outside looks to me—having never seen it before—like someone has tried to sand down a European-ish exterior to make it feel more modern, like a whitewashed château. (Not necessarily a bad thing.) The interiors have recently been redone, presumably in preparation to sell, and they lean hard toward the contemporary. What carries the day is size: the house is 8,052 square feet, and many rooms are gigantic—the living room as large as a tennis court; the primary suite, which has its own living room; and the main guest suite’s closet, an invitation to overstay. The lot, meanwhile, is 2.49 acres, with broad, luscious views and room to build an ADU. While I love the circular seating area off to the side, access to the pool level is awkward, and the lack of a motor court—guests have to turn around in front of the garage, at the end of the long, narrow driveway—doesn’t suit a property of this scale.
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“Anticipated to be completed in November,” 196 Santa Elena Lane ($6.5 million) is will be a four-bedroom with guest house in the Montecito Oaks neighborhood. The benefits of new construction are obvious, and there’s still time to make some design choices. “The builder is committed to shepherding the project through completion,” which is a relief.
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Designed by architect Thomas Ochsner, 2243 Las Canoas Road ($4.75 million) is new construction in a dell west of Mission Canyon, built into a small ridge and facing a much larger hillside. The newness is very attractive, and the lodge stylings suit the location. The primary is on the main level, which has high ceilings inside and out. There’s a lot to like; the only thing that gives me pause are the neighbors—not specifically, but in general. The house shares a drive with two properties and is adjacent to a lane used by at least seven more. The nascent hedging will help. P.S. The stager’s desk set-up in the primary bathroom seems silly until you see the teensy office.
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I’ve been wresting with whether to write about the “coming soon” listings now appearing on public sites such as Zillow and Realtor.com. On one hand, I would much prefer to see properties in person, which doesn’t seem to be an option until they’re fully live. On the other hand, I don’t see why I should wait to cover them if they’re distributed all over the Internet, and if I were a buyer, I’d want to know about them as soon as possible. The spec reno at 129 Las Ondas ($4.895 million) is an illustrative example. If you’re looking on the Mesa, which remains a hot market, it behooves you to be aware of the property—and also to know that asking prices are approaching $5 million for a four-bedroom (one of which is nowhere near a bathroom) with a classic Mesa layout (i.e., you enter into the main living/dining/kitchen area), no view, a web of utility lines over the backyard, and a hot tub but no pool. Is it worth it? I’d have to check it out IRL before answering that. Most of the appeal obviously comes from the proximity to Shoreline Park and the beach, and also that it’s all been redone. (The seller paid $2 million in October 2025.)
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1249 Diana Lane ($3.175 million) is also “coming soon,” which might explain why the listing has no photos of the front of the house. (There’s one among the photos from when it was last listed; it sold for $1.775 million in May 2024.) Or perhaps someone would rather not show the 18 steps that lead to the front door. In any event, the 1949 Alex D’Alfonso has been given a makeover that’s simulatenously interesting and beige, a rare feat. I like the look of the rough tile in the kitchen, but how do you clean the backsplash? And while the breakfast nook is unconvincing (staged like that, anyway), there’s an actual dining room elsewhere. The backyard is a winner, and as with the Mesa house above, the neighborhood—where the Eastside meets the Lower Riviera—is a huge part of the draw.
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Yet another “coming soon” listing, 5501 Baseline Avenue ($6 million) was in rough shape when it sold for $1.835 million in February 2021. I don’t know whether the renovation was done on spec, but I do know that the foyer and kitchen walk the line between rustic and sophisticated in a very appealing manner. The living and dining rooms are less distinctive. The lot is 5.11 acres east of Santa Ynez, the house appears to be single-level, and there’s a sweet guest house and a pool. Calling the grounds “resort-inspired” is a stretch, given all the decomposed granite, but I guess it depends on where you vacation.
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And a few others worth checking out:
••• 1150 N. Fairview Avenue ($5.95 million): 2021 house with apartment above the garage on 5.48 acres fairly high up the hill in Goleta. The seller paid $4.35 million in April 2023 and made some improvements around the perimeter of the house, but the interiors look more or less the same.
••• 1102 Plaza del Monte ($3.195 million): 1975 ranch house on .71 acre near W. Carrillo Street; the backyard is big and private.
••• 503 Miramonte Drive ($2.495 million): 1926 three-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath Spanish on the south side of TV Hill. Neat bones but it needs updating.
••• 2482 Shelby Street ($2.699 million): Floops of a Summerland teardown on .23 acre; the seller paid $1.495 million just over a year ago. The listing says there are plans “currently in process with the city” for two duplexes and two ADUs.
••• 1837 1/2 El Camino de la Luz ($1.495 million): .55-acre vacant lot at the bluff’s edge—literally—in West Mesa. The seller paid $1.125 million in August 2023. “Extensive Santa Barbara City Planning Files are available, providing a strong foundation for the entitlement and design process.”
••• 640 Calle del Oro ($1.8 million): My eyes! My eyes!
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