Small Town, Small Sample
This issue is all Carpinteria. Small town, small sample, and one story about why that matters before we get to the numbers.
The Nitty Gritty
This issue's market, by the numbers.
The story behind the title. Carpinteria closed 21 homes in the last 60 days. That is not a lot of data, and it means one sale can rewrite the headline. Case in point: one single family home closed at $15.8M this window. Count it, and the median single family price looks up 5% from the prior 60 days. Leave it out, and the market is flat. Same town, same two months, two different stories. So I split the data at $5M and told you how many sales sit above it, instead of letting one big closing do the talking.
Carpinteria, single family homes under $5M
Closed sales, City of Carpinteria. Source: FLEX MLS.
- Jul 30 to Sep 27, 2026: 10 sales, median price $1,971,500, median 21 days on market
- May 31 to Jul 29, 2026 (prior 60 days): 9 sales, median $1,975,000, median 8 days. Price is flat, down 0.2%.
- Jul 30 to Sep 27, 2025 (same window last year): 9 sales, median $2,280,000, median 11 days. Price is down 13.5% year over year.
Carpinteria, single family homes $5M and up
One sale in each window: $15,813,013 this window, $6.2M in the prior 60 days, $6.34M a year ago. One sale is not a median, so I am giving you counts only.
Why condos are in this issue. In a town this size, condos are almost half the action. 10 of the 21 closings this window were condos. Leave them out and you are missing the entry point to Carpinteria, and often the most active part of the market.
Carpinteria, condos
Closed sales, City of Carpinteria. Source: FLEX MLS.
- Jul 30 to Sep 27, 2026: 10 sales, median price $887,500, median 14 days on market
- May 31 to Jul 29, 2026 (prior 60 days): 7 sales, median $730,000, median 69 days. Price is up about 22%.
- Jul 30 to Sep 27, 2025 (same window last year): 9 sales, median $850,000, median 4 days. Price is up about 4% year over year.
Condos moved faster than the prior 60 days (14 days versus 69) at a higher price. Versus last year they are up slightly. With 7 to 10 sales per group, treat that as a direction, not a verdict.
Inventory snapshot (as of Sep 28, 2026)
- Single family under $5M: 12 active, roughly 2.4 months of supply at the current pace
- Single family $5M and up: 14 active. At one sale per 60 days, that is more than two years of supply.
- Condos: 19 active, roughly 3.8 months of supply
How I counted: closed sales in the City of Carpinteria only. Single family includes Home/Estate and PUD property types. Manufactured homes are excluded. Two condo closings that appear to be off-market deals (one day on market) and one obvious data-entry error record are excluded. All figures are medians, not averages. The $5M split is my own line, drawn by price, not an MLS category. Sample sizes are small (7 to 10 sales per group), so a single sale can move a number. Source: FLEX MLS, deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
Window Shopping
Some listings that caught my eye this issue.
Four listings this issue: two in Carpinteria, two in Santa Barbara, and one that is a little out there.
74 Chase Drive, Santa Barbara: $2,549,000
3 bed, 4 bath, 1,803 sq ft on about a third of an acre, built in 1960. A terrace with a glass railing and a view to match.
Listing courtesy of McKenzie Duddy, Compass. (MLS #26-3246)
727 Garden Street, Santa Barbara: $4,400,000
The Crown of Downtown. A penthouse plus two office suites in the heart of Santa Barbara, and there is a lot going on here. The residence is approx. 4,369 sq ft with 4 bed and 2.5 bath, high ceilings, natural light, and mountain and city views. Four private patios with tall glass doors, three fireplaces, a dumbwaiter, electric shades, a spa, a sauna, and a laundry room. The two office suites (approx. 1,809 and 949 sq ft) are currently tenant occupied. Gated garage parking with 8 spaces, plus 2 separate enclosed resident spaces. Worth knowing: the property is on a ground lease with 30 years remaining.
Listing courtesy of Kevin Goodwin, Goodwin Properties. (MLS #26-3129)
4217 Avenue Del Mar, Carpinteria: $34,000,000
The crazy one. 9 bed, 10 bath, 7,954 sq ft on about an acre, built in 1958. For scale, the priciest Carpinteria sale of this whole window was $15.8M. This asks more than double that.
Listing courtesy of Eric Haskell, The Agency (MLS #26-3249), and Trevor Wright, The Beverly Hills Estates (MLS #26-2701).
3559 Padaro Lane, Carpinteria: $11,000,000
4 bed, 2 bath, 1,758 sq ft on about 0.22 of an acre, built in 1953. Oceanfront, and a bedroom with corner windows onto the water.
Listing courtesy of Gregg Leach, Village Properties. (MLS #26-3192)
Quick note: none of the above are my listings, just four that caught my eye this issue. Full credit to the listing agents and offices named above.
This Issue's Vibe
Local adventurers, storytellers, eats & other must-follows.
Follow: @santabarbarabodhipath A Buddhist center right here in Santa Barbara that hosts teachings and discussions. Worth a look if you are curious about the practice, or just want a calmer corner of your feed.
Follow: @stateofmind.sb A nonprofit cafe planned for downtown Santa Barbara, designed with and for the disability community. It plans to hire people with disabilities, host an arts hub with free space for local artists of all abilities, and put its profits back into local nonprofits. The target opening is December. Good one to know about early. More at stateofmindcafe.com.
House Radio
The soundtrack to the SB Residency, updated all the time.
Everything we're listening to here in Santa Barbara, updated all the time.
On repeat this issue: StigBar. Found them in a surf video while I was working, and I haven't stopped listening. It's a California beach sound that will have you grabbing your surfboard and beach gear and heading to your local surf break. Start with "Burning," then play "Something I Should Tell You."
Currently Obsessed With: Crystal Cove
Whatever's got my attention this cycle, tool, trend, or otherwise.
We were down in Newport Beach for a family trip, celebrating my mom's birthday. My parents came up from San Diego, my brother and his family joined us, and Newport was a good place to meet in the middle. We stayed at Marriott's Newport Coast Villas, and on morning walks by myself and my brother and his wife, we stumbled upon a hidden gem called Crystal Cove.
Here is the thing. Down on the sand there is a row of little historic beach cottages you can actually rent. They date to the 1920s and 1930s, and the district has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1979. There is a boardwalk, red bungalows, and two restaurants right there (the Beachcomber and the Shake Shack). I did not eat there, but my brother and his wife did, and they said it was really good.
Booking is challenging, and I will not pretend otherwise. But that is true of anything that is a great value, right on the water, with an atmosphere like that. You can get in. You just have to be persistent.
How it works:
- Reservations go through ReserveCalifornia.com or by phone at 800.444.7275.
- Bookings open on a six-month daily rolling window. Set a reminder for the day you want to book.
- Stays are capped at seven nights per year.
- Per the Conservancy's site as of September 2026, dorm-style rooms run about $55 to $161 a night and standard cottages about $300 to $354 a night, sleeping 4 to 9. Rates vary by season and exclude the 10% Newport Beach transient occupancy tax.
Ready When You Are
Buying, selling, or just curious what it's worth? I'm here.
Thinking about Carpinteria, or anywhere on the South Coast? Let's talk.
Todd Shea · Santa Barbara
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