A century-old estate in Montecito, Calif. is returning to market for $39 million, a $10 million reduction from its most recent list price. Named Solana, the estate originally sought $57.5 million in 2012 with Sotheby’s International Realty, then saw its price reduced to $49 million in 2013. Riskin Partners at Village Properties Realtors now has the listing. “When we relaunched this property we wanted to be able to gain as much interest as we possibly could,” said Riskin Partners’ Dina Landi of the latest reduction. MORE: A Sneak Peek at One of Miami's Most Expensive Listings Built around 1915, the Neoclassical mansion sits on over 11 acres with ocean and mountain views, according to owner Sandi Nicholson. The main house, with five bedrooms plus staff quarters, measures about 20,000 square feet. On the lower level there is a gym, massage room, Pilates room and a beauty salon where Ms. Nicholson gets her hair done. The grounds include a guesthouse, a swimming pool, a greenhouse, a bocce ball court and gardens with about 200 fruit trees and 500 rose bushes. When the Nicholsons bought the property in the late 1990s for $5.25 million, “it was in terrible condition,” said Ms. Nicholson, whose husband Bill is the former chief operating officer of Amway, which sells its own brands of cosmetics and personal products. She said the couple spent more than $20 million renovating and restoring the estate. MORE: Plans for an $80 Million Penthouse in Manhattan Have Been Scrapped The couple, who live primarily in Houston, is selling because they don’t use the property as much as they would like, she said. Ms. Nicholson said the couple will look for another property in Santa Barbara that needs to be reworked, “but smaller.” The high-end Santa Barbara market has struggled in comparison to other luxury markets around the country. Last year “El Fureidis,” the Montecito estate where scenes of the movie “Scarface” were filmed, sold for $12.26 million, down from its original asking price of $35 million. Write to Candace Taylor at Candace.Taylor@wsj.com This article originally appeared on The Wall Street Journal. MORE From Mansion Global:
