Santa Barbara Communities
Coastal Luxury & Estate Neighborhoods
Santa Barbara's most prestigious areas include Montecito, the ultra-luxury enclave where celebrities and tech moguls own sprawling Spanish Colonial Revival estates and contemporary mansions ranging from $5M to $50M+. Hope Ranch offers gated equestrian living with ranch-style estates, while the Riviera provides sophisticated hillside homes with stunning ocean views, particularly rich in 1920s-50s Spanish Revival and Mid-Century Modern architecture. The Upper East offers convenience to downtown living with Craftsman and Spanish estates in a family-friendly setting..
Neighborhoods & Family Areas
The heart of Santa Barbara's residential market lies in neighborhoods like Samarkand, known for its exceptional collection of 1920s-30s Spanish Revival homes on tree-lined streets. The Lower Mesa provides central coastal location and convenience with diverse period architecture from the 1920s-40s, while Upper Mesa and San Roque offer more accessible family living with good schools and solid selections of Ranch and Mid-Century homes from the 1940s-50s. Mission Canyon delivers secluded living near the historic Mission with Spanish and Craftsman homes, while the Downtown/Funk Zone areas provide urban lifestyle options with converted lofts and condos, though with limited vintage residential opportunities. These areas range from $1.2M to $5M, making them the backbone of Santa Barbara's residential marketplace.
Original Neighborhoods
The Eastside of Santa Barbara is known for its eclectic mix of residential, commercial, and light industrial uses. Many of the properties in these neighborhoods were built in the early 20th century and have unique Spanish/Mission Revival architectural styles. The Westside of Santa Barbara has a similar mix of residential, commercial, and light industrial uses, but with a more affluent demographic. The Westside is considered one of the more desirable areas of Santa Barbara, attracting affluent professionals, families, and retirees who value the proximity to the ocean, downtown, and upscale amenities.
Santa Barbara Areas & Historic Relevance
Carpinteria – 93013
Older homes are mostly concentrated in and around the town center of Linden Avenue and Carpinteria Avenue, near the old train depot with original beach cottages near Carpinteria State Beach. Additionally, many post-and-beam Mid-Century Modern developments can be found throughout town
Montecito – 93108
Known for its historic housing stock, streets radiating from the village center of Coast Village Road were the core of residential development in town. A higher concentration of original Spanish Colonial Revival estates are included in Riven Rock, The Hedgerows, Cold Springs, Eucalyptus Hill, Montecito Oaks/Olive Mill and areas along East Valley Road & San Ysidro Road
SB Westside/Downtown - 93101
As with the Eastside, most of the neighborhoods on the Westside all are cloaked in history with renowned status from the beach community of West Beach moving north to Binkerhoff Avenue with Victoria/Gingerbreads, up through the De La Vina corridor (1870-1910) and transitioning to the Castillo Street District (1890-19250 from Victorian architecture to the Arts and Crafts bungalows that dominate the modern Westside, Downtown and Oak Park areas. Historic Downtown features predominantly Spanish Colonial Revival and Mediterranean Revival architecture, with white stucco walls, red tile roofs, wrought iron details, and arcaded walkways
The Mesa – 93109
This coastal community lacks many "pre-earthquake" (pre-1925) homes because the Mesa was largely isolated farmland at the turn of the century. Most of its oldest landmarks were destroyed in the earthquake, leaving a "blank slate" for the suburban ranch homes that dominate the landscape today. The majority of homes on The Mesa fall into two primary categories: California Ranch and Mid-Century Modern, reflecting the neighborhood's rapid development between the late 1940s and 1960’s. In the Fellowship and Alta Mesa areas, you’ll find smaller, more eclectic cottages
Summerland – 93067
Summerland’s historic character indicate that most of the homes built in this beachside community pre-date the 1950’s with many of them original beach cottages and bungalows.. The city was developed from the beach and main thoroughfares first, then expanded upwards on the hillside and higher elevation
SB Eastside – 93103
The Eastside of Santa Barbara is overwhelmingly considered historic, from the coastal community of East Beach moving through Milpas thru the Eastside, up to the Bungalow Haven District on to the Lower Riviera and over to the Upper Riviera. Mission Canyon also boast a plethora of vintage and historic homes
Upper State - 93105
Upper State is historically dominated by three specific architectural styles: Spanish Colonial Revival, English Tudor Revival and Craftsman bungalows. Because this zip code covers early 20th-century planned suburbs like San Roque (Spanish Colonial Revival, English Tudor, French Normandy) alongside the rugged topography of Mission Canyon (Rustic Craftsman, English Cottage, Transitional Ranch) and the elevated hilltop properties built along rolling terrain of Samarkand - its historical homes are uniquely eclectic compared to the rest of the city
Hope Ranch – 93110
Unlike Santa Barbara’s denser Spanish Colonial fabric, Hope Ranch is known as an exclusive residential enclave centered on large estates with horse trails, private roads, preserved natural beauty and informal coastal elegance. Historical transformation occurred in the 1920s with a mixture of architectural influence: Spanish Colonial Revival, Monterey Revival, Mid-Century Modern, California Ranch and Mediterranean Revival
Goleta – 90311
Goleta, referred to as "The Good Land" for its rich agricultural past, has many of its historical neighborhoods are tied to old ranchos, Chumash settlements, farming communities, and railroad-era development. Old Town Goleta is generally considered the historic heart of the community centered along Hollister Avenue from Fairview Avenue west toward Highway 217. Isla Vista/UCSB (93106) also has its share of small beach cottages