Father Junipero Serra knew good real estate when he saw it. He picked the best location for the Santa Barbara mission. It's a drop-dead gorgeous place, situated on a hill with a view of the ocean to the south and the mountains to the north. House prices here have headed up ever since. Shoulda bought in 1770.





Yeah. It's not like the Mission District in San Francisco. The neighborhood that has grown up around the Santa Barbara Mission is where you want to live. If you can afford it.





There's a lot of houses for sale here. Most are listed by Southeby's, and you know what that means.

I checked out some listings. You can get started for around $6 million and trade your way up to $25 million. Sigh.