Heard on the Grapevine: Cool country property not yet on the market
Just got back from a sneak preview of an upcoming country property in the wine country of NW Santa Rosa on approximately 3 acres at the end of a private lane. 2 story farmhouse style with a wrap around porch and deck, HUGE 2 story shop building, a diversity of trees, a seasonal creek and small setup for horses. Very comfy and could take a nice update. Has the potential to be the quintessential wine country farmstead with endless vineyard and sunset views. Surrounded by horses and wine country! Please contact me for details and an early showing. Price to be determined but in the $1 to $1.2 million range....
Horses and Wine Country
When I started to ride seriously as an adult, my Hanoverian/Thoroughbred cross Reilly and I trained with Sarah Sheehy, Terry Church and Siri Larssen, all in either Marin County or Sonoma county at the time. I have stayed in touch with them over the years and just received word of an updated website, Natural Sporthorse.com which links them all together and promotes Natural horsemanship, inspired by Tom Dorrance and others, for the disciplines of hunters, jumpers and dressage. The purpose is to develop a partnership with your horse based upon improving the rider's balance and feel so as to allow the horse to develop their utmost potential in a sound, healthy and natural way. There are many practitioners of natural horsemanship in Sonoma county. Natural Sporthorse links to some of the best and has links to many other resources as well. Worth a visit! ...
Rising Real Estate Sales Trend continues in Sonoma County
Buyers are out in force searching out bargains in Sonoma County real estate with the number of open escrows (ratified sales contracts for home purchases which have not yet closed) reaching the highest level in over two years. This appears to solidify a trend first noted in this blog in early February. The newly ratified purchase contracts will not close till 30 to 45 days after ratification on average and some will no doubt not close, but indications continue to be positive for the state of this spring's market for real estate sales in Sonoma County. Many of these sales have been in the under $500,000 market, where first time buyers and investors are feasting on the large inventory of bank-owned or REO properties where some terrific bargains can be found. For a list of bank-owned properties, please email me. Meanwhile, the following chart shows the sales trends for both new escrows and closed sales for the last two years of real estate sales in Sonoma County....
Inventory, Inventory: Who's got the Country property inventory?
Help! There is not enough country property for sale in Sonoma County. I have buyers and very little to show them at the moment. Sebastopol, Healdsburg and the Valley of the Moon in particular are very low on new country real estate for sale. A really lovely piece of land with two legal units in an estate setting between Graton and Forestville just went into escrow with multiple offers. A charming farmhouse with two studio buildings and a small horse setup privately situated just 5 minutes outside of Sebastopol is in contract with multiple offers. An all cash buyer, rumor has it, plopped down nearly 2 million in cash (pending inspections) for a GORGEOUS 20 acre piece with a classic coastal home and large studio building within a week of entering the market. I think sellers are hunkering down due to the negativity in the press and uncertainty and fear in the economy. But well-priced, well marketed and properly prepared homes in Sonoma County, particularly country property, will sell quickly. There are a lot of buyers out there who have gotten off the (classic 3 rail wood board) fence who are looking for new homes or weekend getaways. If you have a country property in Sonoma County that you want to sell, please contact me for a free market analysis!...
Sonoma County going to the Dogs?
I was surprised to note how many of the people who visited my open house last month at a cute farmstead in Sebastopol were looking for property for their dogs! This property was in a great location at the end of a private lane well away from main roads and neighbors who might be disturbed by the occasional bark. Well I shouldn't be surprised since one of the main reasons I moved to Sonoma County was to have more room for my two dogs (Vizslas) and the horses as well as the humans of course, yet still be within an hour of the Golden Gate Bridge. Finding a safe property off the main thoroughfares was a key priority to me, and is to many of the buyers of Sonoma County real estate I meet. Friend Sandy Lurins, was so on top of the trend that she founded the very successful Fetch (thepaper) in her copious free time (not!) while not working at her day job at Autodesk. Sonoma Pets is a print publication and on-line pet directory for Sonoma County published by the Santa Rosa Press Democrat. There are many excellent small animal and equine veterinarians in the county, so much that many pet owners from the Bay Area will travel here for specialty care. ...
Equus Hall of Fame Banquet tonight!
After feeding the horses, and then dressing up, I am headed out with a group of friends and clients (many times one and the same!) to tonight's Equus Awards, Sonoma County's Academy Awards for the horse community here! It is the annual benefit for the Sonoma County Horse Council, and its only fundraiser of the year. WineCountryandHorses (this blog) has put together a table of ten and we are looking forward to perusing the silent auction items. I have advised everyone to bring their checkbooks, and friend and tablemate Christine DeLoach of Hook and Ladder Winery has also graciously donated several cases of Hook and Ladder Third Alarm Chardonnay to the Council for this evening's festivities. I think a few bottles of red may find their way in tonight as well! I guess Rush (below) will have to eat dinner at home with Giles and Missy while we party! ...
Is Daylight Savings time bringing out the buyers?
I just got off a phone call with fellow Realtor Donna Nordby of Diversified Lending and Real Estate. We were comparing notes about our busy weeks when she told me that she showed 22 homes in the $300,000 to $350,000 range last week to some clients. Most if not all were REO (bank-owned) properties that had been through foreclosure. Fully FIFTY percent of them had already received anywhere from 10 to 15 OFFERS each. She literally put the listing agents' office on speaker phone so that her clients could hear the news with her as they called one property after another and got the same news. The nice properties in nice locations were the ones with multiple offers. The rougher ones in less desirable locations comprised the fifty percent without offers.    At one property (not her listing), she had opened it up to show clients and three potential buyers walked in the door and asked her if they could see it. Meanwhile I had a full house yesterday with a record amount of traffic at the country property I was hosting. Had some great talks with a steady stream of buyers and the consensus was that now was the time to buy. Late last year the thinking was more a wait and see attitude.  I have a feeling we are going to have a warm and lively spring....
Wonderful Sebastopol Mini-Farm with 4 BR/2BA
Sunday afternoon, March 9, I will be hosting an open house at a lovely country home on just under 2 acres in South Sebastopol. It would be suitable for horses or 4H, orchards and possibly vineyard. The 4BR/2 BA home sits on a knoll at the end of a private country lane, equidistant between 101 and the quaint town of Sebastopol, a vibrant community with everything from world class dining, excellent schools, a Whole Foods Market, weekly farmers markets and a small community theater and cinema. With the sunshining you will be able to appreciate the fabulous 360 degree views, including Mt. St. Helena. Please come see me tomorrow, March 9 at 5611 Hessel Avenue in Sebastopol, Ca 95472 from 1 pm to 4pm. If you click on this link it will take you to the interactive Press Democrat open homes guide. Type in your criteria such as the town of Sebastopol, price range, etc. and you will get a map of the homes open this weekend, along with directions and a route guide. The home I am hosted is listed by my good friend Izetta Feeny, and is extremely well-priced at $725,000. See you there! 5611 Hessel Avenue, Sebastopol Open House this Sunday 3/9 from 1 to 4 pm ...
Heard on the Grapevine
Just got a call from an agent today about an up and coming interesting new country property listing in a very close in Sebastopol location but a nearly 2 acre parcel on a country lane, so it sounds like the best of both worlds. A country feel, room for horses or grapes, privacy...
Finding great real estate deals requires a laser beam approach
I enjoy looking at market statistics for the Sonoma County real estate market. As a realtor and full time professional in the market, I look to statistics to confirm or enlighten me vis a vis my own perceptions. I also know the damage that can result from a broad brush focus on statistics. Witness the overall drop in Santa Rosa real estate values year over year of over 15%. (according to Zillow) Not only Zillow but lenders use this sort of data to tar any Santa Rosa home, when the truth is the hardest hit have been the large tracts of entry level inventory that Sonoma County communities such as Santa Rosa, Petaluma, Rohnert Park/Cotati and Windsor have. These communities have the highest preponderance of entry level single-family tract homes which were hardest hit by the sub-prime crisis. All of these communities have some wonderful country properties, vineyard properties and horse farms which will be negatively impacted from a lender's eye in terms of valuation, relative to equivalent properties in Sebastopol, Healdsburg, Kenwood, Glen Ellen and Sonoma. They could be equally or more scenic, have oodles of wine country juice but are harder hit from a statistical eye. That is why the laser beam approach is best when you are actively in the market for real estate, or are planning to sell a property for that matter. As my colleague in coastal San Mateo county, Marian Bennett said recently, "Coastside real estate is very “location specificâ€. Trends can be information but they are not the whole picture if you are ACTIVELY in the market. In our office alone, 2 homes sold within hours of being listed last week. Part of that may be heading into the spring buying time and/or the seller had the golden triangle (my phrase) of Location, Price, and Presentation. "...