Mesa Real Estate
The Mesa area of Santa Barbara obtains its name naturally from the mostly flat, elevated land feature on which it rests. Located along the south-facing coastline between downtown Santa Barbara and Hope Ranch, the Mesa stretches along 2.5 miles of beach and approximately a half mile adjacent land.
Many of the homes in the area run along the ocean’s bluff and make up a large part of the oceanfront real estate in Santa Barbara. These homes, along with hillside estates resting on the gently sloped terrain of the upper mesa, boast some of the most magnificent ocean and especially island views of anywhere in Santa Barbara. With these up close and personal ocean views, combined with its proximity to the beach (easy walking distance), the Mesa offers a unique “vacation lifestyle” for beach lovers . There are even a select number of homes that face north and offer panoramic views of the city, the historic Santa Barbara Mission, the Riviera, and back down the coastline toward Ventura. All the homes on the Mesa are no more than a few blocks from the beach.
Dining & Community life on the Mesa
Cliff Drive acts as the main thoroughfare of the Mesa area. Residents are only a few minutes from downtown, Santa Barbara City College, the Santa Barbara Harbor, Shoreline Park, Arroyo Burro Beach (Hendry’s Beach), and Elings Park. The Mesa also has its own collection of shops and restaurants along the intersection of Cliff Drive and Meigs Road, which provides convenience and a small-town feel away from the crowds of people downtown. The sense of community in this neighborhood is strong, kept lively by its associations of artists and businessmen, and its unique community paper, The Mesa Paper. The beautiful natural environs are a great source of its residents’ pride, from its beaches and parks to the 70 acre nature preserve on its western bluffs, The Douglas Family Preserve (formerly known as the Wilcox Property).
Weather on the Mesa
The remarkable Santa Barbara Mesa draws home buyers for these reasons and the fact that for some, it may have the best weather patterns in all of Santa Barbara (10 to 12 degrees warmer in the winter and 10 to 12 degrees cooler in the summer, compared to downtown temperatures). That said, given the neighborhood’s close proximity to the coastline, home buyers must be aware of the additional fog and marine layer that will often blanket the area in the first part of the day. The infamous “June Gloom” refers to this climate pattern and is most prevalent during the months of both May (known as May Gray) and June.
Homes on the Mesa
Recently, new residential developments on both sides of Cliff Drive have been completed, and there are a few more slated to start development over the next few years. Condos and townhomes on the Mesa have sold for between $400,000 and $1.5 million over the past couple of years. Single-family homes range between $600,000 and over $4 million.
Daniel Zia can offer much advice about buying and selling real estate on the Mesa. Contact him by phone (805-637-7148) or email to discuss the Mesa real estate market or homes available for sale in any of the surrounding areas.