Cool Thinking in a Hot Market

October 23, 2025|by Our Partners

The Montecito real estate market is heating up yet again, and when that happens, timing is everything. Take 1116 Hill Road, just behind Channel Drive and Butterfly Beach. The 1958 house, available for the first time in over 40 years, was first listed at $4.295 million. Ryan Malmsten of Santa Barbara Brokers encouraged his clients to wait for the price to drop, at which point they pounced, picking it up for $3.81 million, $113,000 less than the most recent asking price.

Ryan also represented the buyer of 1363 Plaza Pacifica in the Bonnymede community. Right on the ocean with a front-row, widescreen view of the Pacific, it’s the kind of property that doesn’t come around very often—which means there was certain to be a lot of interest. “The listing agent and I started putting a deal together before it even officially hit the market,” he says. His client scored it for $4.25 million.

And he’s currently representing 888 Lilac Drive, an iconic, 13,599-square-foot Montecito estate with vast ocean views, flat grounds, luxe amenities, and incredible design ($29,995,000).