The Home Page | Welcoming February While Scout Takes Cover

This edition of The Home Page was originally emailed to subscribers on January 11, 2026. To receive Sarah Sinclair’s real estate newsletter in your inbox each Sunday, sign up at independent.com/newsletter

Happy February! Happy sunsets! And happy homes for sale! In between our storms, we’ve had some beautiful sunsets this week. I enjoyed the one above on Thursday at Hendry’s Beach, one of my favorite sunset-watching spots. It was one of those mesmerizing moments where I almost forgot to take a photo. Almost!

I’ve also had some beautiful properties come across my desk this week. Listed by Karina Matic, this gorgeous four-bedroom home has two fireplaces, beautiful finishes throughout, and the perfect indoor/outdoor setup to enjoy the views.

But the view that originally caught my eye was this before and after pic on Karina’s Instagram:

This shows a peek into the dramatic transformation of this home, which is listed at $4,395,000. One of my favorite things about it is the location: 1250 Bel Air Drive is close to Hendry’s Beach, home of sunsets like the one above.

Since February means it’s time to stop saying “Happy New Year,” it’s also a good time to review local real estate activity for the first month of this not-so-new year. I appreciate having the data at our fingertips, and I especially appreciate my friends who slice and dice it for easy access. Jessie Sessions’s newsletter is one of my favorite sources. Here is her presentation of all the sold properties for January by zip code and category:

Santa Barbara: 93101 — 93103 — 93105 — 93109 — 93110 — 93111
Montecito: 93108
Goleta: 93117
Carpinteria & Summerland: 93013 — 93067
Santa Ynez Valley
Manufactured Homes
Income Properties
Land

Subscribe to Jessie’s newsletter here to get this info emailed to you monthly. Shown above is just one of the houses that sold during this month: 621 Barker Pass Road in Montecito, which was listed by Mike and Kyle Richardson of The Richardson Team.

Stay safe during this week’s storms. Scout plans to stay cozy and avoid the rain as much as possible. I plan to catch up on every page of this week’s Independent, from front cover to back. No matter whether you’re jumping in puddles or hiding under the blankets, enjoy your Sunday.