Westside Real Estate
The neighborhood known as the Westside in Santa Barbara refers to the area of downtown that is west of State Street up to the base of the Mesa. It extends from Los Positas Road in the north down to East Montecito Street in the south. It is easy to forget, but not all of Westside real estate is west of the 101 Freeway; there are about five blocks of the Westside that are east of the freeway. This small micro neighborhood is considered part of the larger “downtown” market, while the rest of the Westside has a more traditional neighborhood feel a bit farther from the noise and hustle and bustle, but with still easy access to downtown. Sometimes people will also differentiate between the Upper and Lower Westside, but that line is even more difficult to define (you will hear above Arrellaga, Anapamu, or Mission Street depending on who you talk to), and is often more of a generality.
Westside real estate opportunities vary greatly despite the small size of the neighborhood. You can find everything from single-family homes and condominiums to duplexes and multi-unit properties. Homes styles also present a wide range, with some large Victorian homes (that often have been split into 3-5 smaller units), some California cottages and bungalows, some Tudor style homes, your traditional Spanish casitas, and even some eclectic—almost thematic—homes. In the past couple of years, 165 homes have been sold on the Westside, ranging in price from around $300,000 to over $1.3 million. Most houses typically range from $450-700,000. Ninety-one condos have sold in that same time frame for between $250,000 and about $2 million—with the higher priced condos being new or newer luxury condos and penthouses built downtown. Additionally, fifty income properties of two or more units sold on the Westside for just under $400,000 up to $4.5 million.