Siteline | Nineties Mediterranean in Park Highlands

Noteworthy new listings….

Depending on how easy it is to de-Nineties 1030 Via Los Padres ($3.95 million)—the columns, the arches, the kitchen oculus, the zest for different types of tile—it could be a deal. The four-bedroom, three-bath house (none of the guest rooms are en suite) is single-level, in an attractive setting, with no one living directly behind the property and the mountains as a pretty backdrop. The lot is 1.6 acres, but around half of that is buffer.

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The spec reno at 3131 Lucinda Lane ($2.795 million), above Foothill Road in San Roque, went into in escrow quickly, so I won’t spend too much time on it other than to point out the obvious allure of being able to say you overlook Hubba-Hubba Lane. The seller paid $1.275 million in May 2024.

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The first of three East Mesa listings this week is 1109 Las Olas Avenue ($3.65 million), which appears to be floopsy—the seller paid $3.49 million in May 2023. The interiors look solid, if tight (note the dining area and the primary bath), which makes one wonder why the exterior photos had to be “virtually enhanced.” The last photo is of the ADU.

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The next two, with the same owner and sharing a common border (and gate), are both small and on .12-acre lots. Built in 1968, 209 Barranca Avenue ($2.79 million) is a 1,280-square-foot two-bedroom, with the freestanding garage semi-converted into a family room. (You can watch TV while you do the laundry, just like at the laundromat.) Interiors have a striking—and surprising—contemporary edge.

1102 Del Mar Avenue ($2.72 million), meanwhile, was built in 1947, and you can feel it. Given that the primary shares a bathroom, and the location is close to SBCC, the house (and its aforementioned neighbor) seem likely to be investment properties rented to students. P.S. Two things of note: the rarely seen diagonal siding and a new technique for arranging throws.

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420 Paseo del Descanso ($2.4 million) is another small house, this one in east San Roque. Built in 1926, it packs three bedrooms into 1,210 square feet (some of which is a laundry room/office). While the home may be diminutive, or perhaps as a result, the front and back yards are relatively spacious. You might have a hard time deciding between the front porch and the back terrace, with its outdoor kitchen and chicken coop.

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I’m intrigued by the old-school (built in 1900) ranch house at 970 College Canyon Road ($3.45 million), on 5.24 acres in Solvang. The seller paid $1.759 million in June 2024; the listing doesn’t mention renovations, the property is minimally staged, and the yard is hardscrabble, so I’d guess this is a floops rather than a spec reno.