The Home Page | Picture-Perfect Houses and Sweet Trees

Open Houses, Road Trips, and Sunshine

Credit: Blake Bronstad

This edition of The Home Page was originally emailed to subscribers on June 30, 2024. To receive Sarah Sinclair’s real estate newsletter in your inbox each Sunday, sign up at independent.com/newsletters.

There are so many great-looking open houses today and here are just two of my favorites:
1011 Rinconada Road G, a three-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath home in the quintessential Santa Barbara Spanish style, tucked away in a hidden enclave right in the center of downtown. Offered by David Kim Group, and shown above. Visit Devin and David from 1-4 p.m. today.

Here’s my fave in San Roque: 3512 Madrona Drive, a super-cute cottage with all sorts of charm inside, including the kitchen, shown above. The backyard — with a big lawn, patio, and a hot tub — sounds like the perfect combo for these warm summer evenings where the sunset melts gently into star-filled skies. Visit Ali Evans from 1-4 p.m. today.

Where were you 99 years ago? The devastating earthquake that shaped the face of Santa Barbara occurred on June 29, 1925. Pearl Chase Society board member, author, and Indy contributor Cheri Rae gathered newspaper reports that give an in-the-moment glimpse into that day. Mr. WH Scott, a guest at the California Hotel, shown above, reported that the quake shook him awake as the walls of his room moved back and forth like an accordion. Scott promptly fled the city in his pajamas. The full article is in this week’s issue here.

I’m partial to pink, I love a house that sits above the street, and this Zillow Gone Wild home in Los Angeles checks both of those boxes. But what got me is their declaration that they included a photo of a particular tree because “growing old is seeing a nice tree and saying “Damn, that’s a nice tree.”” Guilty!

I sure saw a lot of nice trees last week. A quick weekend road trip up to Sequoia National Park, with a hike on the way home at Mount Pinos plus a few other picturesque stops provided more than a few opportunities to utter, “Damn, that’s a nice tree.” If this is growing old, I’ll take it!

I hope you get outside on this beautiful Sunday … to visit open houses, play in your own garden, or whatever makes you happy. Enjoy!