Santa Barbara ranch with 1920s home and abalone farm seeks $39.5 million

What does $39.5 million buy in Santa Barbara? In the oceanfront community of Gaviota, that amount is good for plenty of space, plenty of homes and plenty of — snails? Yep.

Rancho Dos Pueblos, a 214-acre ranch, is on the market for $39.5 million, down $9 million from its original price tag. In addition to a quarter-mile of private beach, a 1920s Spanish-style home, nine guest residences and 50 acres of agriculture, the compound is home to one of four abalone farms in California.

Abalones are a type of sea snail, and the on-site Cultured Abalone Farm raises them from hatchery to market-size using seaweed and water from the Santa Barbara Channel. In addition, the ranch cultivates avocados and cherimoyas.

With no public access to the ranch or its beach, the only entrance is a private, gated road, which winds past a freshwater pond to the main house. Inside, there are five bedrooms and seven bathrooms across 5,000 square feet.

The living room holds a fireplace with a stone surround under coffered ceilings. Wood-paneled walls touch up the dining room and billiards room, and the kitchen is anchored by a center-island.

Out back, a brick patio wraps around a swimming pool. A series of barns and operational facilities fill out the rest of the grounds.

Kerry Mormann of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties holds the listing.

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