Santa Barbara real estate is a relative bargain compared to other hot spot real estate markets, based on these startling statistics I am about to share with you.   I recently made trips to Europe and New York City to make a serious comparison of luxury real estate and quality of life to other hot spots of the world.  It was abundantly clear that Santa Barbara luxury real estate is a bargain! 

To put things in perspective, one of the largest sales in Santa Barbara so far in 2007 has been for $35 million for a 9,066 square foot newly built oceanfront home in Santa Barbara.  The cost per square foot on this Santa Barbara sale was $3,722.  Compare that with a recent sale in London for a 20,000 square foot penthouse that sold for $195 million.  That is $9,800 per square foot!   Is the quality of life in London nearly 3x better than living in Santa Barbara? 

  
Bringing this relative bargain concept closer to home, lets compare that same Santa Barbara sale at $3,722 per square foot to a 5,284 square foot Park Avenue property in New York City with a price tag of $42 million.  That New York City cost per square foot is $7,948.   Here again, is the quality of life in New York City more than 2x better than in Santa Barbara?

Santa Barbara is one of the most beautiful places to live in the world.   Santa Barbara is an oceanfront resort like community that offers beautiful weather all year long.  Santa Barbara is a feast for the senses offering beauty everywhere.  Stunning architecture, vivid color from flowers, natural aromatherapy of jasmine, lavendar and eucalyptus and the gentle waves of the ocean crashing along miles of palm lined coastline. Add clean air and no traffic, and you have a life in paradise.  The Santa Barbara lifestyle is relaxed if you want it to be, but offers innumerable opportunities to stay busy if that is what you prefer.  Arts, culture and active lifestyle opportunities abound.  All this combines to provide a fantastic quality of life in Santa Barbara.  If major metropolitan city is what is desired, Los Angeles is only 90 miles south of Santa Barbara, giving Santa Barbara the best of both worlds, the big city rush, and the fantastic quality of life, all rolled into one.

To view homes for sale in Santa Barbara, log onto www.DistinctiveRealEstateOnline.com for a complete list of homes for sale in Santa Barbara.  For more detailed information, statistical analysis or to schedule a tour of homes for sale, contact Wendy Elizabeth Gragg, President, Distinctive Real Estate 805.565.0246