Noteworthy new listings….
The price of 3030 Samarkand Drive ($6.475 million) is unheard-of for Samarkand, but the house is big (five bedrooms and four baths, and two more bedrooms in an attached apartment), on a large-for-the-neighborhood .61-acre lot, and the glamorous 1920s architecture has been handsomely updated without sacrificing character. Throw in wide mountain views and an absolutely banging backyard pool, and then imagine what such a spread would cost on the Mesa—suddenly $6 million looks reasonable. A caveat: older houses tend not to have spacious rooms, which is the case here; even the living room is snug.
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The listing agents for 1620 Grand Avenue ($5.295 million) say they have reason to believe the 1887 house was among the first to be built on the Riviera, and it sure seems possible. The bones are fantastic, the likes of which you rarely see on the Lower Riviera, with spacious rooms on the ground and upper floors. But the best thing is the land: .29 acre is big for the area, and unlike so many Lower Riviera properties, there’s abundant space—in the form of terraced gardens—to the side of the house. The place casts a spell, no doubt about it. Less magical is the possibility of a six-story development nearby.
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There’s yet another grande dame at 7357 Shepard Mesa Road ($7.5 million), built in 1941 on 4.31 acres on Carpinteria’s Shepard Mesa loop. More photos are forthcoming, but in the meantime, take my word that (a) the interiors need to be redone, and (b) the setting is spectacular. The views are 180 degrees, and while some of the acreage is hillside buffer, a lot of it is flat and around the house. It’s a project, but the floor plan is solid and the potential is obvious.
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270 Toro Canyon Road ($3.395 million) went into escrow fast, so these photos are for comparison’s sake if it comes back as a spec reno or floops. It apparently “began as a Toro Canyon barn” and now feels like a sweet farmhouse (with an airplane hangar of a primary and a swath of extra land) that could use a makeover inside and out.
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The 1934 Tudor at 2411 Anacapa Street ($2.5 million), also in escrow, drops down in back—what looks like a cottage from the front is actually a three-bedroom, three-bath house with several miniature bonus rooms. According to the floor plan, none of the bedrooms are en suite.
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315 W. Victoria Street ($2.395 million) is an 1890 Victorian with a super-cute exterior and a couple of curious bathroom moments.
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And a few others worth checking out:
••• 526 San Ysidro Road #A ($4.15 million): Floops of a three-bedroom condo behind Pierre Lafond; the seller paid $3.75 million six months ago.
••• 2649 Dorking Place ($3.495 million): 2024 Mission Canyon Mediterranean with stairs in the dining room (below)—perfect for when a guest offends you and you need to make a dramatic exit.
••• 1225 Bel Air Drive ($3.395 million): 1980s colonial in Bel Air Knolls with tremendous curb appeal but only two and a half baths for the five bedrooms.
••• 43 Seaview Road ($4.25 million): Updated two-bedroom condo in Montecito Shores.
••• 333 Conejo Road ($2.65 million): 2011 three-bedroom with big mountain views.
••• 2770 Bella Vista Drive ($1.2 million): 32.82 acres above Bella Vista Drive.
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