Hope Ranch Real Estate through time......
The first mention of Hope Ranch was in 1769 when Portola wrote
about it in his diary. He was greeted by the Canalino Indians
which were somewhere between where Modoc and US Highway 101
currently run. The Canalinos had been there almost 10,000 years
at the time and we're probably pretty surprised to see Portola.
The first time somebody actually owned Hope Ranch was in 1843
when Lt. Narciso Fabregat of the Santa Barbara Presidio was
given the deed to the ranch. The grant was known as the "La
Calera" (The Line Kiln) and was used by the Mission fathers to
make mortar for building the Mission. The kiln was located on
what is now Las Palmas, the main entrance of Hope Ranch
The first Sale of Hope Ranch Real Estate occurred in 1861 when
Thomas Hope purchased it from Mrs. Robbins (not Robinson) for
the princely sum of $8,000. The area reminded Mr. Hope of his
native Ireland and the first thing he did was drive a flock of
some 2,000 sheep across his new possession into Santa Barbara.
The sheep went forth and multiplied up to about 5,000 and
provided the wool needed for soldier's uniforms during the Civil
War. This made Mr. Hope a very wealthy man.
Because of his prosperity in selling wool Mr. Hope decided to
build himself a very spiffy home. Peter J. Barber designed what
was called "The Mansion." This home located on Nogal Dr across
from the Vieja Valley School cost $10,000 and was completed in
1875. Today it's a County Landmark listed in the National
Register of Historical Places
In 1873 Thomas Hope gave the county a very cool 120 foot wide
strip of land to be used for a road. This strip which became
Hollister Avenue went all the way up to the current Turnpike Rd.
In 1887 after her husband's death Mrs. Hope sold the western
half of "Las Positas y La Calero" as Hope Ranch was called in
those days to the Pacific Improvement Company. The company had
some illustrious members including Mark Hopkins, Charles
Crocker, Collis Huntington and Leland Stanford. The sale was for
$250,000 which was pretty good for a $10,000 investment. But
Hope Ranch Real Estate has usually been a good investment.
The Pacific Improvement Company didn't improve much, but there
was the Potter Country Club, on the site of current La Cumbre
Country Club which got laid out and lots were offered for sale.
Unfortunately sales weren't too brisk. But in 1923 along came
Harold Chase who purchased the easterly 825 acres of the Ranch
and started Santa Barbara Estates, Inc., and we were off to the
races.
Mr. Chase organized a second syndicate called La Cumbre Estates,
which purchased the 1200 acres of Las Palmas and Robles Drives
which united Hope Ranch under one control. The installation of
roads, utilities and bridle paths soon followed along with an
increase in the water supply.
The first homes in Hope Ranch were constructed for the directors
of the La Cumbre Estates Corporation. Mr. Chase's home was
called "Las Terrases" and was completed in 1925. Then Peter
Cooper Bryce built "Florestal" as well as the Wilson and
Dickenson homes. Falling under the category of, "I shoulda'
bought then," home sites originally went from $100 to $2,500 per
acre. And to purchase these sites the terms were One-quarter
(25%) cash at time of purchase, with the balance to be paid
within three years at 6% per annum of deferred payments." (Still
not too bad an interest rate) Currently there are 686 residences
and there are about 18 vacant lots still available for
development.
The highest priced sale for 2005 has been $7.75 million and the
least expensive sales this year was $1,875,000. Some of the
properties currently available are:
* 4Bedroom 2.5 Bath home for $2,495,000 * 4 Bedroom 5 Bath
property for $2.975 million * 3 Bedroom 4 Bath home for $4.195
million * 5 Bedroom 5.5 Bath property for $8.795 million * And
the highest priced listing currently on the market is 5 Bedroom
5 Bath home for $21.5 million
Well that's about it for now for Hope Ranch Real Estate