Real Estate Tasting Room

Past Week’s Santa Ynez Valley Property Sales: Another Big Week

Published by: Doris Banchik
Published on June 10th, 2012
Categorized under: Buyer Advisory, Properties

The Numbers

Sales of Santa Ynez Valley residential properties had another brisk week. However, this week as compared with the last few, was predominated by regular, as opposed to distressed sales, and a lot of activity in tiny Los Olivos. There were 12 properties that went into escrow, nine of which were regular sales. The average listing price at the time of the sale was $665,000, which represented a discount of 4.9% from the average original listing price. However, the collection was a mixed bag, with 4 properties having sold in under a month, and 2 in over nine months. The average time on the market was approximately 3 months. Here are the details:

Four Sales in Tiny Los Olivos

While Los Olivos is certainly one of the darlings of the Santa Ynez Valley, it is quite small as compared with Santa Ynez, Solvang and Buellton. So four sales in one week is a big deal. How big? All sold in a matter of days to a few weeks. Here they are:

2476 Roblar, Priced at $1,800,000. I am not the least bit surprised that this special property sold in 4 weeks. Five acre properties are limited in this very desirable town. This property offers a real designer remodel on the main home, a lovely guest house, pool, spa and views. It is close on the edge of town and very private.

2775 Olivet, Priced at $515,000. Sold in about 6 weeks, or 10 days following a price reduction from $539,000. This property has a nice location and close to a half acre of land. The home is pretty much original issue and some reorganization would be needed to make maximum use of the rear grounds.

2949 Alta, Priced at $619,500. Again, no surprise that this very appealing in-town property sold in 10 days. This is one of the nicest and well put together properties in town. Some yard, but not big.

2731 Stow, Priced at $485,000.  This charming Los Olivos Cottage flew off the shelf, selling in 4 days. I understand that an offer went in before it appeared on the MLS. This is a small town! This is a doll house, very compelling, not very accommodating for more than a couple of people, but sweet. Small, nice rear yard. Great location at the end of this cul-de-sac block far from the maddening crowd.

The Other Eight

2035 Edison, Santa Ynez, Priced at $1,295,000. Some lucky party is buying this wonderful 10 acre ranch, with nicely updated home, modular home and plenty of horse facilities. It is is a great location, east of Hwy 154, and actually set back a full parcel from Roblar. This property had been listed about 9 months ago at $1,450,000, and following a reduction to its present price four months later, went under contract unsuccessfully. Now it is back in escrow.

Caveat. This is a good time for me to mention that there are quite a few special properties that have hanging out in our inventory for some time. We call these “stale”, as a long shelf life in and of itself, tends to reduce interest. I will do a blog on some pearls on the back of our shelf.

1565 Meadowvale, Santa Ynez, Priced at $749,000. What a difference a month and 50k makes! This very cool park-like 2.5 acre property offers a very charming, energy efficient farmhouse, barn, pastures and more. There are two aspects of this property that limit its market: a long easement road in and being adjacent to Hwy 154. It had been listed for three months at $799,000 up until April. A new agent listed it for $50,000 less a month later, and it went into escrow in a month. That escrow was unsuccessful, and now a month later it is back in escrow.

1195 Cuesta, Santa Ynez, Priced at $499,000. This very nice, largely updated home occupies a corner lot of approximately .22 acres. The location may have been a factor here, but it went into escrow in about 3.5 months. It was originally priced at $519,000, and the small reduction a couple of months later did not seem to kick it into gear right away. With the very limited inventory below $500k, this is a very nice choice.

102 Third Street, Solvang, Priced at $479,000.  This sweet property finally sold after being listed for a year. It is a deceptive parcel, with a great cul-de-sac location and private, park-like setting. The home is fairly stylized, and the bedroom space is limited. There is a second building that would make for a great art studio, office etc. The property was originally listed at $540,000, and reduced to $499,000 about four months later to no avail. The property had been pulled off the market for a time and was reduced to its current price about a month ago. The stars lined up for it as demand for properties under $500k has become very strong.

1436 Mission Drive, Solvang, Priced at $429,400  Another indication of the current hot market for properties under 500k, this 3 bedroom/3 bath foreclosure (REO) went into escrow after 4 months on the market. While this property has potential, it is in need of some sprucing up. The location is a bit unusual, as the access is through a parking lot off Mission Drive.

2071 Village Lane, Solvang, Priced at $229,995  This nice end unit townhome flew off the shelf in under a month, as condos are in very scarce supply. Another one in the Alamo Pintado Village, sold about two weeks ago in a few days. This is a very nice, park-like Association, with pool and clubhouse. This unit, like the other, is basic with minimal updating, but a very appealing single story home.

1475 W. Hwy 246, Buellton, Priced at $534,700.  There is a lot to offer on this nearly 5 acre parcel, although there appears to be some issues that would need to be resolved. From a functional point of view, someone has gotten themselves the land, home and other resources for a ranchette or farm for about $500k. Not bad at all.

152 Valley Station Circle, Buellton, Priced at $340,000. This is the 6th or 7th property to sell in the past few weeks, this one in a couple of days. These are nice homes, built in 2007, and would make for a good investment as well as a primary residence. Some of these homes were priced in the $600k range, when this Association was built. Bad timing for the developer.

Please do contact me for more information on these and other properties in the Santa Ynez Valley. As you can see, the market is pretty hot right now. If you are looking for a property in the $500k or below range, I do suggest that you stay on top of the new listings. I would be pleased to provide you with your own portal, which would give you all new listings that meet your criteria when they hit our MLS. This is the very best way to keep track of what is happening. I have any number of clients now trying to use some of the popular real estate websites, such as Trulia and Zillow, and no site is as accurate and timely as our MLS.

So, if you want in, please just get in touch with me by phone or text, at 805 588-3616, or by email at [email protected] There is no cost and no hassle from me….a promise.

So that’s it

Cheers!