Santa Barbara Real Estate Blog

For prospective home buyers looking into real estate in Santa Barbara in San Roque, Caliofrnia, here is a summary and link to the current real estate market activity for the neighborhood:

Sold Real Estate in Santa Barbara San Roque: As part of the real estate in Santa Barbara for just over 1 month, this lovely home on Chuparosa Drive sold at $1,145,000, reduced from the original listing price of $1,195,000, as sometimes happens with the real estate in Santa Barbara. Also this cottage style home at 2718 Miradero Drive in Santa Barbara’s San Roque neighborhood closed last month at $517,500, yet another piece of real estate in Santa Barbara enjoying new home owners.

Real Estate in Santa Barbara San Roque Active Listings: Over 40 pieces of real estate in Santa Barbara in San Roque are on the market as of today’s post (May 4th), these unique pieces of real estate in Santa Barbara range from $408,673 to $2,500,000.

Search all current real estate in Santa Barbara in San Roque with our free MLS search tool on our Santa Barbara website using our free MLS search tool.

Real Estate in Santa Barbara

Real Estate in Santa Barbara

Do you have specific questions about the San Roque and real estate in Santa Barbara? Contact Daniel Zia and the Zia Group team by email (Daniel@ZiaGroup.com), phone (805-637-7148), or on Facebook with your questions or to set up a viewing appointment. Our team can provide customized services, help you navigate the Santa Barbara MLS and set up a customized email-based home search for you to track San Roque homes and other real estate in Santa Barbara at your leisure. Thank you for visiting the Santa Barbara Real Estate blog and we look forward to serving you and your real estate needs.

San Roque Santa Barbara consistently draws the most interest from Santa Barbara homebuyers. Quality-built homes, family-friend streets, and convenient access to excellent shopping and dining make it an ideal location for many. Residents enjoy close proximity to downtown Santa Barbara (approximately 5 minutes) but without the noise, traffic, and parking issues.

Few residential neighborhoods of Santa Barbara can boast the rich historical background of the San Roque. Now a built-up, economically stabilized suburb, it is admired for its sweeping curved streets, its luxuriant landscaping, and its harmonious blend of many architectural themes (Spanish Colonial, English Tudor, French Normandy, California Redwood, Italianate and American Colonial), mostly built since 1925. Only half built up by 1940, the San Roque district filled in most of its home sites between 1955 and 1965. (San Roque History by Walker A. Tomkin)

Congratulations to our client and their recent purchase of this beautiful property on Santa Rosa Avenue. This Mesa Santa Barbara home is a 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom with a private yard, garage, carport, and located close to everything the Mesa has to offer.

Santa Barbara Sale by Daniel Zia & The Zia Group

Again, congratulations to Tatiana her Santa Barbara home and thank you for choosing us to help you in your real estate search and for this feedback on your home buying experience:

I was impressed by Daniel’s excellent customer service – so atypical for most of Santa Barbara realtors — coupled with a thorough knowledge of the Santa Barbara real estate market and business. Being accustomed to excellent services in another state, I felt discontented when I began my search with the services provided by other Santa Barbara realtors. I started looking for a house in late June of 2010, right after my relocation to Santa Barbara, California, and by mid-October had the experience of working with five other realtors who neither listened to me nor paid attention to my needs. Therefore, I decided to try one more real estate agent whose web-site I found by browsing relevant web-pages. I especially appreciated Daniel’s willingness to help me out whenever I needed his assistance, be it a house inspection scheduled for a tightly-packed week at my work, obtaining additional information for my decision-making, helping me to understand numerous documents I had to sign, or communicating with the escrow and mortgage officers. Moreover, following the escrow closure, he also provided me with the contact information of reliable and reasonably-priced local Santa Barbara contractors.  I also appreciated Daniel’s good communication skills, tolerance, and positive attitude. -Tatiana Nazarenko

The Zia Group is fully prepared to assist you in buying a home in Santa Barbara, whether it’s a tricky short sale, traditional purchase, or a Santa Barbara REO, we have the experience and expertise to deliver results. If you would like more information on Santa Barbara real estate or if you would just like to get more information on a specific property, please contact Daniel Zia (805-637-7148 – Daniel@ZiaGroup.com) or visit our website at www.theziagroup.com. Thanks again for visiting the Santa Barbara Real Estate Blog.

In July, the Zia Group brought the right buyer for this great Santa Barbara Mesa REO property. Finding this type of housing in Santa Barbara can be challenging at times, but this transaction proved that patience and diligence pay off when good opportunities arise. This property was featured on the Santa Barbara Real Estate blog as an “REO Alert” back in May.

Santa Barbara Mesa REO - Sold

Here is what our client had to say about his experience working with the Zia Group:

“As a real estate professional of over ten years, I was impressed with Daniel’s recollection of our specific needs, the names of the members of our family, and of course bringing to us the right property.  His command of the principals of real estate investing, his professionalism, and his integrity are impressive, and a rare combination in this industry today.  Additionally, Daniel’s patience is unwavering.  It took us 16 months and countless offers (>10) to secure a property here is Santa Barbara.  At no point in time did Daniel waver in his generosity with his time and sage advice.  In fact, he kept encouraging us even when we felt discouraged with our prospects.  Once finally in escrow, Daniel kicked into overdrive to meet the aggressive closing schedule and challenging financing environment.  We even through in a curve ball and went on vacation during escrow! I wholeheartedly recommend Daniel and his dedicated support team to represent his clients’ as a bona fide fiduciary.  You will truly be in “good” hands” – John M.

The Zia Group is fully prepared to assist you in buying a home in Santa Barbara. Our dedicated team of real estate professionals is prepared to assist you make your next Santa Barbara home purchase or sale. If you would like more information, please contact Daniel Zia (805-637-7148 – Daniel@ZiaGroup.com) or visit our website at www.theziagroup.com. Thanks for visiting the Santa Barbara Real Estate Blog.

Homes that are being sold as a “Short Sale” are often an absolute nightmare for all parties involved in the transaction process. Santa Barbara short sales are properties which are currently in the process of foreclosure, and in some cases it can take 8-10 weeks (or more) to get the banks final approval on the sale of these type of properties. That is why the Zia Group is so pleased that to bring our client this beautiful Santa Barbara short sale property on Micheltorena Street while waiting only 1 week for the banks approval on the sale. While it is very unfortunate for the Seller that such a beautiful home should fall into foreclosure, we were very happy that we were able to find the right buyer and bring the closing process together in such a short time.

Santa Barbara Short Sale

Buyers comments on working with the Zia Group – “Daniel was always a step ahead of each of the many obstacles current buyers are met with. He had a ready list of competent tradesman for the numerous reports and inspections that are required, and scheduled all of them as if directing a well-practiced orchestra! We will recommend Daniel’s services to friends and family, feeling confident in his patience, professionalism, and fully deserving of our trust.” – The Ray’s

Santa Barbara Short Sale

The Zia Group is fully prepared to assist you in buying a home in Santa Barbara, whether it’s a tricky short sale, or a Santa Barbara REO, we have the experience and expertise to deliver results. If you would like more information on Santa Barbara Short Sales or if you would just like to get more information on a specific property, please contact Daniel Zia (805-637-7148 – Daniel@ZiaGroup.com) or visit our website at www.theziagroup.com. Thanks again for visiting the Santa Barbara Real Estate Blog.

The Zia Group is pleased to announced the closing of this beautiful Santa Barbara Riviera home for our buyer client. This rare and serene Santa Barbara Short Sale property is tucked away in privacy yet open to a panoramic view of Santa Barbara’s ocean, city and harbor. This 2,850 square foot, 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom home offers tremendous potential, sitting on just over one half-acre with a detached three car garage below the Artist’s studio. Given that the original listing price of this property was $1,695,000 and the adjacent home on a smaller lot sold for $1,525,000 just over a year ago, this sale ($925,000) represents an excellent value secured for our clients with lots of upside potential with strategic remodeling and upgrades.

Santa Barbara Short sale

Ocean View from Eucalyptus Hill Estate

Congratulations Jeff and Eric on your new Santa Barbara home and thank you for choosing the Zia Group to help you in your real estate search. Our clients  were first time home buyers co-investing in this project home and had this to say about their home buying experience:

“Daniel proved to be an excellent real estate agent while assisting me in buying my first home. I was new to everything, and Daniel was quite helpful and explained the process very well.” Eric D.

“Daniel Zia is incredibly knowledgeable about the Santa Barbara area and always on top of the great real estate deals. We made several offers during the course of our search, and on several occasions he was able to frame our offer as the most appealing to the seller despite being priced lower.” Jeff S.

The ZiaGroup is ready to assist you in your Santa Barbara Home Search. We offer a comprehensive list of customized services for our clients and develop specific Santa Barbara MLS searches for your specific criteria. To learn more about the Short Sale process and how to navigate these complicated waters as a home buyer, contact Daniel Zia, your Santa Barbara Realtor, by email (Daniel@ZiaGroup.com).

“La Aldea” which is located in the heart of downtown was built in 2005 and designed by architect Barry Berkus. This luxury town home features 3 beds, 2.5 baths, a gourmet kitchen with viking appliances and granite counters, crown molding throughout, 2 car garage, and an open air deck with great views of the city and mountains. This property is listed at $1,275,00, and offers an attractive “mixed use” zoning if someone wanted to use the first floor for an office (The main living spaces are on the 2nd and 3rd floors).

Santa Barbara Luxury Townhome

City and Mountain Views at La Aldea

These town homes built by Capital Pacific Homes sold aggressively when they were first built, so if you have any interest in this property be sure to contact the Zia Group for full listing details and additional photos of the property. Thank you for visiting the Santa Barbara Real Estate Blog. Please contact Daniel Zia (805-637-7148) for any of your Santa Barbara real estate questions.

July 2010 Santa Barbara Real Estate Market Update (including surrounding areas of Goleta, Caprinteria, Isla Vista, Hope Ranch and Summerland)

Overall, July 2010 sales volume was equal to or decreased from the same period in 2009. While we saw median prices drop year over year in Santa Barbara, Hope Ranch and Summerland, the surrounding areas of Goleta, Carpinteria, Montecito, and Isla Vista saw increases in median prices. We’ve provided sales volume, average sales prices and median prices going back to 2005 for you to review and compare.

July 2010 Market Update

July 2010 Market Update

If you have interest in more details about the Santa Barbara real estate market, please contact Daniel Zia (Daniel@ZiaGroup.com or 805-637-7148). Daniel can send you full listing details on any Santa Barbara property and schedule a viewing appointment. The Zia Group team is ready to assist you in your Santa Barbara real estate search and our website is our first step in serving you. Visit today to research Santa Barbara and Montecito neighborhoods, local real estate trends and more.

Tomorrow is the last day to vote for the Santa Barbara Independent’s BEST OF 2010 Readers’ Poll. You can vote for all of your local favorites by visiting the voting page here.

*Real estate stats for Santa Barbara County provided courtesy of First American Title.

Foreclosure properties, which is a non-technical term used by today’s home buyers, are a very hot topic. As such, I wanted to address the two classifications and technical terms for foreclosure homes, and what each process entails if you were to pursue them as a home buyer.

Santa Barbara Short Sales:

Monetcito Listing | $1,055,000

Short sales are homes that are currently going through the foreclosure process, but have not become banked-owned yet. In this process, the homeowner has to classify for being in financial duress and can no longer make their mortgage payments. They approach their bank and a real estate agent and all three parties work to sell the home before it goes through foreclosure process and bank to the bank. These homes are sold for less that what is owed on the property, so not only is the homeowner losing all their equity, but the bank is also taking a major loss. Sometimes the bank is willing to do this though if they consider it to be the “lesser of two evils”. Often times, if they take a property back in foreclosure, they have repair/maintenance costs, legal fees, marketing costs, etc. They also are severely limited in the amount of money they can lend out based on the dollar amount of real estate they are holding in their portfolio.

While Santa Barbara short sales can be lucrative opportunities, the vast  majority of the time they are extremely frustrating for buyers, so I also caution my clients against moving forward on one of these properties. While the seller may approve the offer right away, the bank or banks may not give final approval until 8-10 weeks, or more. I had one recent client who waited 100 days for the Bank’s final approval until they told us “no”. It was an extremely frustrating process for all parties involved.

Further, there has been a rise in short sale fraud being committed by some banks with the allegation being that when holding a second deed of trust against a property, the banks are asking for extra money “on the side.” This is one of the many reasons to utilize an agent in your Santa Barbara real estate search or Montecito real estate search who can help you navigate the issues specific to your local market.

Santa Barbara REO’s (Bank Owned, Foreclosure Property)

Santa Barbara REO | $475,000

As to the owner foreclosure situation, these are classified as REO’s or Real estate owned properties (Bank-owned properties). These are properties that have gone all the way through the foreclosure process and are currently owned by the bank and on their books. The banks are very motivated to sell them and as a home buyer, the process of buying one of these homes is very similar to working with a typical seller. REO’s are some of the best deals on the market if you contact me, I can put you on a list to receive ALL of the weekly REO’s that come on the market.

There are  some caveats to working with a bank when buying a Santa Barbara REO. One of these is that they will counter your offer with a standard, typically 8-page, counteroffer/addendum that basically states that they know nothing about the property and that they don’t have to fill out the same disclosures as a typical seller. In addition, banks can be less flexible as far as creative offers and prefer “As-is” offers where items such as repairs, pest work, etc. are already incorporated into a lower offered price by the buyers. They can also be less flexible during escrow if issues arise, and can charge daily fees if escrow is delayed.

All-in-all, I highly recommend not pursuing short sales, but definitely pursuing bank-owned properties as well as properties listed by conventional motivated sellers.

We Know Santa Barbara Short Sales & Foreclosures

As highlighted above, there are many caveats to locating, analyzing, and pursuing bank-owned and other distressed properties, and as such it is critical to have representation that has the experience and expertise to assist you. Contact the Zia Group, your Santa Barbara Realtor, to help you locate the right distressed or bank-owned property, and to walk you through each step of the buying process. I have received the certification of Short Sales and Foreclosure Resource (SFR) from the National Association of Realtors and have been voted as the #1 Realtor in the Santa Barbara Independent’s “BEST of 2009 Readers’ Poll”. I’m ready to assist you in your REO and Foreclosure Search within the current Santa Barbara REO and Foreclosure Market.

Thank  you for visiting the Santa Barbara Real Estate Blog. Post your questions as a comment, via email (Daniel@ZiaGroup.com), or by calling 805-637-7148. Also, visit our Montecito Real Estate Blog for the latest market updates in Montecito Home sales and unique properties.

The Zia Group brought this property nestled behind stone walls in the heart of the Upper East to one of our clients and closed last week. This Santa Barbara home is a masterpiece of contemporary design that combines dramatic and light-filled spaces with simple and functional family living (four bedrooms, an office and detached guest house). The home has also won awards for landscape design.

Santa Barbara Real Estate

Santa Barbara Contemporary

Can the Zia Group assist you in your Santa Barbara real estate search? We offer a comprehensive list of customized services for our clients and develop specific Santa Barbara MLS searches for your specific criteria. If you are interested in starting your Santa Barbara home search, contact Daniel Zia, your Santa Barbara Realtor, by email (Daniel@ZiaGroup.com).

Thank you for visiting the Santa Barbara Real Estate Blog. Click here to see how to enter our FREE drawing for 10 gift cards to Pinkberry and Blenders.

This rarely available Santa Barbara “Hidden Retreat” on a private lane in the desirable Mountain View school district just came on the market. As a 4 bedroom, 3 full bathroom this Goleta vacation home captures lots of natural light through an abundance of large windows, glass doors and skylights throughout. Among the home’s professionally designed landscaping is a beautiful courtyard style front entrance with paver path, specimen plants, fruit trees and a tranquil fountain. Additional interlocking paver paths connect the different landscaped areas and each offers low-maintenance natural beauty, different temperatures (sun vs. shade) and options for enjoyment.

Hidden Retreat | Santa Barbara Courtyard

Inside, buyers will find a sizable 2,315 square feet of living space, including a stunning kitchen remodel with custom cherry cabinets by Santori with built-in pantry and pull-outs, recessed lighting, a large skylight, Corian counters and high-end appliances.  A full list of the extensive upgrades is available upon request.

Kitchen Upgrade | Custom Santori Cabinets

Daniel Zia and The Zia Group are available to provide further details about this property or exclusive showings to interested Goleta home buyers. Here are over 20 additional photos and a detailed floor plan (under the “documents” tab): http://www.flexmls.com/link.html?rjlq1rxyprg,1,1. Check back later this week for an exclusive video walk through of the property on the Santa Barbara Real Estate Blog by Daniel Zia.

The Seller will be reviewing offers on Monday, July 12th at 5:00pm, so make sure to request the full listing details from The Zia Group. For additional information on Santa Barbara real estate, visit the Zia Group’s comprehensive Santa Barbara website, complete with a free Santa Barbara and Goleta MLS search tool, Santa Barbara neighborhood histories and more.