If you’ve watched the Prince Harry and Meghan Markle docuseries on Netflix, you’ll be familiar with the stunning Santa Barbara home that they filmed it in. Now, the grand Montecito property can be yours — for $33.5 million.
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The bright and airy living room is where the couple filmed many of their confessionals, but the series also showed off a few other areas of the grand abode that’s, quite literally, fit for royalty. Built in 2006, the Mediterranean and Spanish Revival-style home has six bedrooms, six bathrooms, and two half-baths. Multiple living spaces allow for entertaining and relaxing, and an outdoor kitchen area is the ideal spot for year-round al fresco dining under the Californian sunshine.
The estate spans 13.5 sq. ft. and is fully equipped for both large, lavish events and small, intimate gatherings. A neutral color palette and contemporary furnishings dominate the bedroom designs, while exposed beams and vintage-style decor gives the open-plan kitchen and living area a cozy, lived-in feel. Kitted out like a five-star luxury resort, amenities include a gym, theater, bar, game room, pool, sauna, library, and a five-car garage. The property also includes a tranquil guest house surrounded by lush gardens, complete with a separate private entrance that allows guests to feel like they have arrived at their very own home away from home.
Outside, pebbled pathways and stone walls are surrounded by tropical landscaping. Organic vegetable gardens, a chicken coop, and beehives ensure that residents are never without fresh produce straight from their backyard.
Throughout summer, and beyond, the massive pool and spa area is ideal for relaxing with friends and family. There’s also a fully covered cabana is suitable as an outdoor massage and yoga platform.
Finally, the home offers unobstructed views of the Santa Ynez mountains, further enhancing its curb appeal.
888 Lilac Drive is listed with Ryan Malmsten of Riskin Partners Estate Group and is available to view now.
This is the time of year when everyone buzzes about what will be trending in 2023, including those in real estate. Home buying, interest rates, and the “new normal” of remote work were some of the biggest stories of 2022. So like me, you’re probably wondering what the new year holds, which is why I reached out to real estate agents from all over the U.S. who are fantastic forecasters of future trends. Real estate agents see it all, from the latest designs in new construction and popular colors of wall paint, to the lifestyles needs of first-time homebuyers and drastic housing market fluctuations.
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According to this group of real estate pros, we can expect home developers to get creative in how they incorporate home offices into new builds. We’ll see a jump in real-estate minded entrepreneurs operating short-term rentals. And there will likely be a shift in the housing market that gives buyers more purchasing power than they’d had in years. Monica Kramer, a real estate agent in Philadelphia, typically represents first-time buyers who approach the process with a ton of anxiety. “It’s a breath of fresh air,” says Kramer. “Sellers are becoming more flexible, and we’re seeing price reductions, so people that were priced out of the market last year are beginning to circle back.”
And if you were wondering about the style trends that’ll blow up in 2023? Expect lots of vibrant colors. Read on for more details.
It’s a seller’s market no more.
At the height of the pandemic, homes flew off the market. Low inventory, low interest rates, remote work, and a mass departure from crowded cities resulted in fierce competition among house hunters. To give themselves an edge, many buyers overbid, waived the home inspection contingency, and overpaid.
“While we are still technically in a seller’s market according to the data, the slowly changing trend feels like a really big shift because we are coming off this frenzy,” says Jill Talty, a realtor from Raleigh, NC. Now that inventory and interest rates are going up, sellers are no longer seeing as many offers as they did in 2021 and early 2022. This means the pressure on homebuyers to settle for whatever they can get will let up in the new year. “With the market slowdown, buyers have been able to check eight out of the 10 boxes, instead of five on their list of criteria for a new house,” shares Talty. “That will most likely remain the case in 2023.”
Kramer felt the sea change the day they got a call from an agent who represented sellers with a non-traditional request. “Their home, a really nice three-story house in a desirable area, wasn’t selling,” says Kramer. “The sellers knew my clients were looking to buy and wanted to make them an offer. Wow! The market is really shifting. This never would have happened six months ago.”
(More) short-term rental homes are coming to a neighborhood near you.
Due to the entrepreneurial spirit of investors, homes that offer short-term rentals are increasingly in neighborhoods nationwide, and not just in the touristy spots. California agent Jon Shefsky, who specializes in long-term rental real estate, breaks the phenomenon down here: “Airbnbs, VRBOs, and vacation rentals are becoming a middle-class road to higher income,” he says. “It hasn’t peaked just yet, but there’s an emerging market of software companies that help hosts manage their rentals around the globe. There’s a lot of opportunity for good investments in that space.”
The return of business travel keeps the rental industry going strong. “People who travel for long stretches for work are looking for what we call mid-term home rentals,” explains Shefsky. “Their stays are usually two or three months long.”
Color therapy is making a comeback.
If you walked through a newly renovated home in the past few years, chances are you saw a lot of gray. For a time, Kramer was seeing tons of gray, too, but now predicts that gray is on the way out as we move into 2023. “We’ve all experienced huge levels of stress collectively, and people are wanting to move toward calming spaces. I’m seeing much more white and off-white on the walls, and white laminate floors, which are easier to maintain than grain flooring, and affordable for developers to install,” says Kramer.
If you’re ready for an interior makeover in the new year, but find white a little too plain, a retro-inspired trend is on the rise. It’s the return of the “supergraphic” — large geometric shapes in bold colors, a design element popular in the 1960s. “We’re also noticing a lot of people creating these graphic murals on their walls as an accent. It’s even trending on TikTok,” shares Kramer. People want to transition their homes from dark to bright.”
Home offices are here to stay.
“The home office is going to continue into next year,” says Shefsky. Buyers remain on the lookout for enough bedrooms so that one can be converted into a home office, and residential developers are introducing workspaces into their design and construction called “flex spaces.”
A flex space is the term for an area of the house, like a loft or alcove, that provides the family with flexibility as their lifestyle needs change. Flex spaces can morph from playrooms to schoolrooms to offices or home gyms. “New houses are also being designed with what developers call a ‘Zoom room,’ which is not exactly big enough to be an office,” explains Jill Talty. “It’s more like a closet off a hallway or the kitchen with some counter space, so you can just dip in quickly, close the door, and take a video call.”
But, unfortunately, there’s more to finishing up a big move than just unpacking boxes. You want to make sure you — and your most precious possessions — are safe, too, and that often means double-checking that your new home’s details are suitable.
But what should this to-do list include? I asked real estate professionals to share their five most important tips below, including the first thing you should do as soon as you move in. While the answer is not, “Have a dance party,” you can always turn up the music once this job is done.
First, you should change your locks.
It’s impossible to know how many copies of the keys were made before you moved in — or where they might be floating around — so for security purposes, it’s necessary to rekey your locks or replace them entirely with new ones.
“Locks, like any technology, are getting better,” says Drew Coleman, an Oregon-based realtor and founder of Opt Real Estate.
But Washington, D.C.-based Harrison Beacher, managing partner and realtor at Coalition Properties Group, says it’s also a great time to upgrade to a smart lock instead. “You should not be using a physical key as your primary method of entry into your home,” he says. “Consider smart locks, or at least keypad locks as the way to get in and out of your home.”
In addition to changing the locks, buyers should also have the home professionally cleaned, including the air ducts, says Andrew Bloom, founder and chief executive at BVO Group and team leader at the Cunningham Group in Santa Monica, California. “This will reassure you that any previous dust has been removed, and you can enjoy a healthy and fresh new home,” he added.
The EPA and the National Air Duct Cleaners Association (NADCA) say the average cost of air duct cleaning for an apartment or home is between $450 and $1,000, depending on the square footage.
Beacher also recommends updating your wall outlets to include USB and USB-C ports directly in the outlet so you won’t need all those bulky bases for charging anymore. While you’re at it, he says, “look at every bulb you can change in the home and change them to LED.”
Review your inspector’s punch list.
Bloom says buyers should check their home inspection report for a list of items that should be addressed in the first year you own the home, but keep in mind that most will not include inspecting leaks in irrigation and sprinkler lines. If you have an outdoor space that needs to be watered, “it’s advisable to have a thorough inspection by a landscaper to mitigate any leaks,” he says.
And don’t forget to purchase and maintain a home warranty on your new home as well. “This will prevent unexpected costly repairs,” says Bloom. “Home warranties are renewable every year and should be maintained for your entire homeownership.”
Consider adding a security system.
Coleman recommends doing some security basics as soon as you can, such as purchasing and installing a security or monitoring system, or paying for a professional to install one instead. “There’s no such thing as a ‘safe’ neighborhood,” he says. “Crime can occur anywhere.”
The year is coming to an end, and if you’ve strapped yourself into the real estate rollercoaster for the past twelve months, then you probably have a few questions.
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As we bid adieu to 2022, what might be in store for us and our homes? How has the real estate market been impacted by interest rate hikes, along with changes in consumer culture and desirability?
I spoke to three real estate agents to find some answers, from what they think the most unexpected trend to come from 2022 is, to what could be coming in 2023. Here’s what they had to say.
There were so many interest rate hikes this year.
Perhaps the most unexpected real estate trend to come out of 2022 was a fact you heard everyone talk about: interest rate hikes.
“I don’t think we expected this much to be done from the Federal Reserve standpoint,” says Drew Coleman, Oregon-based realtor and founder of Opt Real Estate. “That creates pretty amazing opportunities for buyers. Contrarian investing can be really powerful.”
Buyers have more leverage now, and will later.
We’ve moved from a sellers market to a buyers market — and that’s expected to continue into 2023, says Harrison Beacher, Washington, D.C.-based managing partner and realtor at Coalition Properties Group. “The real trend to discuss is leverage for buyers,” he added. “A normalizing market equals the opportunity to negotiate on price and terms for listings.”
Andrew Bloom, founder and chief executive at BVO Group and team leader at the Cunningham Group in Santa Monica, California, agreed. “We will continue to see the shift in the market throughout 2023, with home sales at about 40 percent below the 6.1 million home sales of 2021, and 20 percent fewer than the 4.8 million home sales in 2022, according to data from The National Association of Realtors,” he says.
For buyers, the list of pros are long, and the cons are short. “The pros include: more inventory, more time to consider your options, and more seller-paid closing costs and repairs,” Bloom says. The only con, of course, is the higher interest rates that are reflective of 30-year averages.”
What does all of this mean in full? Buyers can now “Marry the house they love and date the rate,” Bloom says. For sellers, Bloom says there are still some pros, such as moving to a larger home with recent equity gains, or perhaps downsizing to a smaller home with cash in pocket.
Location will always matter, but 2023 will continue a shift.
But there’s also another surprising trend happening in terms of location, Coleman added. “There’s excitement and desirability of rural areas,” he says. “For so many years, there was an urbanization trend, and now it’s the opposite — which was brought on by the pandemic.
“People are looking around and thinking, ‘Instead of 800 square feet, why not take the same money and get more space?,” Coleman says. “The pendulum is swinging back. We haven’t seen that happen since the early 1990s.”
Next year, expect homes to have more color.
“From a design and building perspective, pre-pandemic homes were often monochromatic — white on white on white on white,” says Beacher. “I believe that since people have been using all of their light and bright cabinets and countertops, they either got bored with them, or decided that they need some contrast, variety, and color.”
The coming year may see homes on the market that shy away from flipper gray for more daring shades. And who knows, you might like that look much more on your house hunt.
Lauren Wellbank is a freelance writer with more than a decade of experience in the mortgage industry. Her writing has also appeared on HuffPost, Washington Post, Martha Stewart Living, and more. When she’s not writing she can be found spending time with her growing family in the Lehigh Valley area of Pennsylvania.
