The Home Page | Sparkling Pools and Twinkling Lights

Credit: Rafael Bautista | Credit: Rafael Bautista

This edition of The Home Page was originally emailed to subscribers on January 14, 2024. To receive Sarah Sinclair’s real estate newsletter in your inbox each Sunday, sign up at independent.com/newsletters.

It’s January, and since storms are wreaking havoc throughout the rest of the country, it’s the time of year that tropical vacations sound so appealing. Perhaps that’s why the sparkling pool was the first thing that caught my eye on the listing for this beautiful home: a four-bedroom on almost a half-acre in the award-winning Mountain View School District. Offered by Dianne and Brianna Johnson, who are holding an open house from 1-3 p.m. today. Visit 5670 Cathedral Oaks Road in Goleta: You might not want to jump in the pool in January. But you can dream!

The swimming pool behind this Painted Cave listing was a dazzling surprise. This three-bedroom cottage in the hillside community with idyllic views was built in 1934, and it hasn’t been on the market in 45 years. It’s a unique residence, with handcrafted stonework and woodwork, great gardens, a detached studio, and … that pool! This eclectic fixer is priced accordingly. At $875,000, it’s the lowest-priced single-family home in the area. It’s listed by Jeff Oien. I can’t promise it’ll still be available by the time you read this!

Here’s another Painted Cave charmer of a different sort. This custom-built tri-level home has three bedrooms: one on each level, plus a bonus room and a detached finished office/workshop/yoga studio. On the top floor, the primary bedroom has peeks of the ocean and islands, and on the main level, the living room opens to an amazing wraparound deck. The owners describe the views from that deck as one of their favorite reasons that they’ve loved living here, that living above the marine layer makes it feel like you’re on a “cloud island” much of the year.

Is it just me? I’ve been thinking about food a LOT lately. Okay, okay, truth: I’ve been thinking about AND eating a lot of food lately. I blame it on the holidays, but it doesn’t help that as I look through the current real estate listings, kitchens keep catching my attention. The sleek white kitchen above belongs to a brand new listing that’s open today from 1-3 p.m. in a totally renovated three-bedroom townhome near More Mesa. The home at 5083 Rhoads Avenue, Unit F, is offered by Carmen Galzerano and Randy Glick. Go see Carmen and imagine cooking and living in this beautiful home.

So I’ve already admitted it: I’ve maintained my holiday caloric intake all the way into mid-January. I was in San Jose this week and enjoyed everything from quintessential diner food at The Coffee Shop above — housed inside the 4th Street Bowl across the parking lot from my hotel — to killer tacos two days in a row at La Victoria Taqueria.

“La Vic” was also next door to my hotel. Lest you think I’m averse to public transportation, I took the train to Berkeley one night for dinner with my son James. We chose Japanese fare at Iyasare…

…including their signature kakiage tempura shown above, and this hamachi donburi, so good that we grabbed a piece of sashimi before I remembered to take a photo:

In honor of my food tour this week, here’s a photo of me and James amid the twinkling lights of Fourth Street in Berkeley:

I’m back home and will dive into this week’s issue to catch up what’s going on here in town, as well as all the real estate news, including a look at a local home from a century ago. Enjoy your Sunday!