I'm realizing that agents and buyers alike are losing sight of the true value of Montecito and instead are almost unconsciously buying into the price game. Buyers are fixated on the prices of properties and are taking their agents with them and the unfortunate result is that many people who have the means to buy quality homes are instead choosing lesser properties because they feel they are getting "a deal." Instead of looking for a home that offers the most in terms of the basics....location, quality of finishes, amenities, floorplan, people are basing their decisions on where they will get the best deal. Buyers are so focused on not overpaying for a home that they are forgetting that they will be LIVING there! Say you have the means to buy a home for up to $5 million. You see a couple of homes that offer 4 or 5 bedrooms, hardwood floors, gourmet kitchens, fireplaces inside and out, expensive finishes and landscaping, etc. While you're looking, you are also shown a house that has a challenging floorplan, no pool or room to put one in, a so-so location, but it's also newer and priced in a similar bracket as the first two. But the seller of the third house is desperate....that seller will make a deal. You and your agent decide to go for that house as a hedge against any future downturn in the market. What is the missing element? What isn't being factored in? How about the idea that you have to LIVE in the house. On a day to day basis, you will be living in a bargain but you will have given up the opportunity to live somewhere you love...This potential buyer could have afforded any of these homes but decided based on getting a deal. "But what if the market goes down again?" So what?....real estate is cyclical just like the stock market....it goes up and it goes down. I don't know anyone who bought their home in the early 1990s who isn't still smiling....So what if there's another dip....you'll be living in Montecito in a beautiful home and enjoying a lifestyle that's unparalleled in almost any part of the world. If you're paying $4 million for a home, will it really affect your day to day living if instead you've paid $4.2? How much will it cost you when you realize you've made a mistake and should have bought the house you loved and then you have to sell your "bargain" and go back and try to find something else you actually love? Add in closing costs and commissions and you would have been better off going with your heart in the first place.

Price is just ONE PART of the equation....what about location, amenities, views/setting, and any upside potential? In recent times those aspects have been tossed out and the only focus has been placed on price. We all....buyers and agents alike, need to remember, the goal of buying a home=living in a home. Why choose something that offers you less day by day by day just to say you were smart and "saved" some money. What is the price of your everyday happiness? Montecito is all about quality of life....I personally think it's time to remember what that means.