The Debut of the Housing Development Near the Polo Club

Noteworthy new listings….

The 40-home compound on Via Real, next to the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club, has finally begun to hit the market. It’s being called The Santa Barbara Polo Residences, with the name chosen to resonate with the polo club, I’d wager, otherwise they’d call it Montecito. There are 15 “casitas” (townhomes) and 25 single-family homes, which come in nine designs. On Zillow, Redfin, et al, the development is showing up as 120 Polo Way (rendering above), the address of the model unit (which has not been priced yet, despite the $5.425 million online). Floor plans can be found here (homes) and here (townhomes). The latter are ghettoized in a corner with their own entrance and no roads connecting to the houses.

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The 1961 single-level house at 770 Via Manana ($9.95 million) looks like it lives well, with four bedrooms in the main house and one in the guest house. (A couple of points shall be deducted for the primary being right off the living room.) The street, laid out suburban-style, doesn’t have the cachet of its neighbors, but the location near two trailheads and the back of San Ysidro Ranch makes up for a lot. P.S. Are the kitchen stools some kind of joke?

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While 99 Sierra Vista Road ($6.995 million) doesn’t look super impressive from the front, inside is another story: the 1977 house has been given a lovely makeover. (It’s a spec reno; the seller paid $3.075 million in July 2024.) And the backyard is a star, with a large lawn and wide mountain views. The only question is the location: that part of Montecito can still be a little rough (notwithstanding the castle nearby), even if you don’t feel it from this property, so you’re making a relatively safe bet that change will come someday.

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Half of a Sea Meadow duplex, 1479 Bonnymede Drive ($7.75 million) has two bedrooms and a pleasant traditional vibe. The upstairs primary is a demerit for this market, but it does come with a delectable sitting room/office.

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Before you get too excited about all the updating you could—and should—do to 1181 Glenview Road ($6.85 million) in Pepper Hill, bear in mind that some after-the-fact permitting will be required. (“Main home has an additional room below with unpermitted bath,” says the listing. “Detached artist studio also has an additional room and unpermitted bath.”) I kind of love the little guest house, but then I’ve been known to confuse love with pity.

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Another week, another big-ass Park Highland house…. Built in 2002, 4900 Via Los Santos ($4.995 million) is a Craftsman on steroids, 6,168 square feet with four bedrooms, all en suite, and a pretty southwest-facing pool with slide. Parents, give your children slides!

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Any new listing at El Caserio, the adorable downtown enclave, is worth getting excited about. That goes double for 924 Garden Street #F ($3.325 million), comprising the two-bedroom Casita F (designed by Chester Carjola and later altered by Lutah Maria Riggs) and a one-bedroom cottage. None of it is huge, and it all wants a zhoosh to match those black-and-white awnings. Still, what an opportunity….

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And a few others worth checking out:
••• 4099 Creciente Drive ($11.2 million): Hope Ranch Mediterranean in need of updating.
••• 35 Hollister Ranch Road ($8.495 million): The 1974 house is probably a teardown, but the property is a full 100-acre share.
••• 703 Colina Lane ($2.995 million): 1922 three-bedroom on the Lower Riviera with potential; burying the utility lines would go a long way (below).

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