The Real Estate market started out around 1972 -1973 with the sales program for the original 100 acre parcels which were being promoted and sold by the developer MGIC. Mortgage Guarantee Insurance Company out of Milwaukee Wisconsin. They had subdivided the Ranch into 100 acre parcels, 8.5 miles of beaches, over 150 miles of roads and had created over 5,000 acres of common areas. There were 136, 100 acre parcels being sold in several phases. All of the parcels belong to the HR owners association and have rights to all the common areas and beaches of the Ranch. The western most parcels were sold first. Many of those parcels were very mountainous and rugged. The developer wanted those difficult parcels sold first so they allowed 12 separate owners on title in order to make them easier to sell. It took several years to sell all the parcels which were priced based upon their location in relation to the beach, access, views and useable land.
Dan got involved in selling the Ranch in 1977 and was involved in some of the first resale’s of parcels to happen on the Ranch. He worked directly with David Murray who had been working with MGIC on the original sales program. Together they were exclusively listing and selling the Ranch as the only full time agents. Back then nobody really knew what or where the Ranch was. It was the northern most outpost in the southern section of Santa Barbara County, remote and empty of people. Since then Dan has created and shaped today’s real estate market on the Ranch with the 100’s of transactions he has completed. As the market trends have passed, the interest, knowledge of and the demand for the Ranch has grown. Each appreciating market the demand more than doubles from the previous market. It now has reached a point where the inventory of parcels available remains low even in brisk or slower markets. It will remain to be a some what tight real estate market. Once owners have spent some time being involved in the Ranch they realize it is not the kind of investment they can replace. Existing owners usually stay in for the long term investment, realizing just how lucky they are to be able to be part of this rare area of the California coast. Once the Ranch is in your blood it becomes part of you and your families most cherished asset’s, not easily parted with. It has many times been passed down from one generation to the next.
In the late 1970’s and 1980’s there was a greater supply of 100 acre parcels being resold usually from the original owners who had purchased and had not started the development of their properties. Since then the market has changed. With the demand for the Ranch growing many owners of whole parcels wanted to raise capital out of their equities in their parcels and still keep an interest in their land. With the association C,C&R’s of the HROA allowing three separate families to own a 100 acre parcel, owners were selling off portions of their parcels in 1/3rd interests with the right to construct the main residence, the guesthouse or a barn/or an employee residence with an agricultural project. This has caused the market to evolve into what it is today. Most of the sales from here forward will be 1/3rd sales or undivided interests in whole parcels. The sale of 100 acre parcels will be more rare because the majority of the parcels have been already divided into three family ownership properties. Also many of the original 100 acre owned properties are being passed along in the families and or kept for investment. The time between the last full parcel sales was over three years and just three full 100 acre parcels have sold in the last six years. The 1/3rd ownership has worked well in many ways. It has allowed families to share management and association fees, development costs, own at a fraction of the cost and it gives most families enough of what they want from the Ranch without having to own or maintain such a large property as 100 acres. Owners still have the same use rights of all the beaches, and all of the common areas as a full parcel owner has.
Many of the sellers in today’s market are owners who have been on the Ranch for for long periods of time and have a need to change for family or lifestyle reasons. They have run their course and enjoyed this special place and have a new life plan. For the buyers it is usually people wanting a piece of a better lifestyle that doesn’t exist in the areas they currently live in. They see how owning on the Ranch will improve and enrich theirs and their families life’s. Today’s buyers are looking for that special place to escape to when they need to relax.
The number of parcels available for sale at any one time can range from five or six different interests to twelve to fifteen. They would vary from the 1/3rd interests, 1/6th or the 1/12th access interests. The majority of the time the 1/3rd interest would have a building right or a structure associated with it. The 1/6th or the 1/12th interests are usually for access to the beaches, the common areas and use of the parcel only. Many times buyers find themselves having to wait for a few months for the right type of property to become available. Having the patience to wait on the sidelines ready to buy can ultimately really pay off with the right type parcel coming along. Having Dan as your connection to the inside deals that many times don’t even make it to the open market will be a big advantage to you as a buyer. His experience and connection to the 100’s of owners he has worked with will help locate that perfect interest on the Ranch that you are waiting for.
