20 Years of Wine Country & Horses
In June 2003 I founded my real estate practice after leaving Silicon Valley and moving to my own horse property. A mutual friend introduced me to Betsy Bueno, running a fledgling horse rescue out of her tract home, stringing 11 garden hoses down the block to leased pastureland. She had tried for 2 years to find the true home for her horse rescue.
The Magic of Mustard in the Vineyards
The Magic of Mustard in the Vineyards: Every year, towards the end of winter, many Sonoma County vineyards come alive with a brilliant carpet of mustard beneath the bare grapevine trunks. The first time someone sees the landscape, it's mesmerizing. Mustard is more than just a feast for the eyes, it's a feast for the vines. It thrives just until bud break, when it is turned under to mulch and provides valuable nutrients to the emerging grape plants. To view the mustard, simply pick an area that's deeply populated with wineries and vineyards, and look out your car window. [embed]https://youtu.be/5r5Foh6uga4[/embed]...
Pardon Our Dust! Meanwhile Sonoma County Country Property Values up 37% since 2015
This website came into existence in summer of 2007 and we saw the end of a market runup and a catastrophic nationwide recession beginning in late 2007.The Sonoma County real estate market hit a low in February 2009 and bounced along the bottom for a few years. Since 2012 we have seen steady appreciation in prices and sometime in the last year the median value of Sonoma County homes exceeded the previous high. Currently the median price is just under $700,000. Country properties never saw the frothy runup that single family homes did in the previous decade but they have been making up for lost time every since. Over the last three years homes sitting on over an acre have increased in value by 37%. The home you used to be able to buy for $935,000 now will cost you a bit under $1,300,000. Why? At only an hour north of the Golden Gate Bridge, our beautiful country properties represent a tremendous value compared to the skyrocketing costs of an SF Bay Area home. And the stress and congestion of Bay Area freeways and urban living make our homes on acreage very appealing. As one of my clients recently told me when we celebrated her two year anniversary of buying her Healdsburg home, "This property helps me maintain my sanity and I am enjoying the peace i find up here even more than I hoped I would!" NOTE: We are in the process of designing a completely new website so pardon our dust while we work on that in the background! [caption id="attachment_2303" align="alignleft" width="300"] Here is a look at the median price of listed and sold properties over 1 acre in Sonoma County since 2015[/caption]...
Sonoma County Country Property Home Prices on the Rise
Today the median Sonoma County country home price with two acres or more is $1,095,000. While you will find country homes listed in the 6oo-800,000 range there is a good bet that there will be multiple buyers lined up for each one and sales prices are exceeding list prices in many cases, some times dramatically....
A Country Property Course for Realtors in Sonoma County
[caption id="attachment_2147" align="alignleft" width="300"] A view across a private horse arena in Blucher Valley Sebastopol[/caption] I have been away from posting for far too long. One of the things that has kept me occupied (besides the day-to-day of working with home buyers and sellers!) is my work this year as Chairperson of the North Bay Association of Realtors (NORBAR) Education and Technology Committee. I have volunteerd on this committee for over five years and find it rewarding to work with my peers to create and promote training for realtors throughout Sonoma, Napa and Mendocino Counties. We have developed new agent training (the practical kind) and many other courses on technology for realtors, etc. One of our most successful series has been the Country Property Series for Realtors. We have been working away on the latest round which will take place over five weeks in June and July. If you are planning to buy or sell country real estate in Sonoma County, you want to make sure you work with a realtor who is very qualified to help guide you through the complexities of a country property transaction. Here are the classes we are teaching. Our faculty consists of experienced realtors and subject area experts. These courses are only available to realtors but I just wanted to give you and idea of the scope of things to consider when buying or selling a country property! This is a list of topics! Week 1: Market Study--sales trends in country property. I will be teaching this with Mike Kelly of Keller Williams. Septic Systems Mike Treinen is teaching this class. He is a licensed septic consultant and used to work for the county of Sonoma in that capacity. He is the guy my clients hire to analyze and inspect their systems, current and proposed. Wells, Springs and Water Quality County Resources (an overview of the Sonoma County Permit Resources and Management Division (aka PRMD) Week 2: Zoning and Permits These two topics alone will take up a whole afternoon of our time and we will only scratch the surface. If you are buying a property you want to be as sure as possible that the zoning matches your planned purposes for residential use, vacation rentals, agriculture, livestock, etc. Week 3: Survey, Grading and Drainage Issues Environmental Issues (toxic waste and endangered species anyone?) Legal Issues (easements, encroachments, boundary disputes, ask me about my current...
Pam’s Pick: West County Broker Tour Stunning Contemporary on 29 PLUS Acres…
I am still daydreaming about the gorgeous West (Sonoma) County estate property I saw yesterday. I knew I had to share it with you. Not only does the home sit on 29 +- stunning classic Occidental acres off Frati Lane, but it features one of the most thoughtfully designed contemporary country homes I have every seen. In addition, there are two adjoining buildable/probably also plantable lots surrounding this parcel. You could have a total of 66 +- acres to enjoy now and hold for investment value or as an idyllic family compound. Occidental can be problematic when it comes to water but this is a Zone 3 property and the listing agent, Randy Rousseau, quoted some pretty high production rates for the three installed wells. (my comments continue below the listing info.) This would be great for horses but the personal estate vineyard potential could be significant. [idx-listing mlsnumber="21301206" showpricehistory="true"] The main home has wonderful flow indoors and out, great privacy, very high design and materials quality. You can tell it was designed for function and usability and simple elegance. Minimalist and I could easily picture living there myself! ;) There is a salt water lap pool and a solar system and geothermal heat pump for sustainability. The property is priced at $2,300,000. It is rare to find this type of contemporary design in Sonoma County, particularly in West County. When you add the location, setting and abundance of land and water, old apple orchards and redwoods, you have an unbeatable combination. I believe that the property could have been price higher but it should sell quickly as it is. The entire package of home and two buildable lots at 66 acres +- is on offer for $3,600,000. If you would like to see it email or call me and I can arrange a showing. The location feels like the end of the world but it is only 5 or 10 minutes to downtown Occidental, about the same to Graton and a few minutes more to downtown Sebastopol. Vineyards, wineries, world-class dining and the stunning Sonoma Coast are all in easy striking distance of this week's Pam's Pick tour property!...
5 Less Famous Sonoma County Towns Where You Can Find Your Dream Wine Country Home
If you are looking to move to the wine country, here are some lesser know communities in Sonoma County which may contain your dream home. ...
The Road Less Traveled: Could Your Sonoma Wine Country Home Be in One of these Less Known Spots?
[caption id="attachment_1925" align="alignleft" width="300"] Nearly every home in Sonoma County contains at least ONE apple tree, if not many more.[/caption] I had dinner recently with clients who bought a country property in northeast Santa Rosa's Mark West area about five years ago. I love visiting their home as it feels like a mini-vacation! The pool is on a hillside overlooking dramatic wooded ridges. You cannot see another home from the extensive decks around the house, even though the lot is only 2.5 acres. For Jeff and Brian who spend nearly every weekend at the property, it is a welcome and necessary respite from challenging careers in San Francisco. Monday through Thursday they live in Noe Valley, but Fridays after work they head up to Northeast Santa Rosa with their springer spaniel, Margo for a relaxing wine country weekend. Vacations and holidays are mostly spent here and family and friends ensure a social life that extends from the Bay Area to the wine country. At dinner on the deck we were talking about their house hunt back in 2007. Brian was remarking how much they love their location between Santa Rosa and Calistoga--how beautiful it is--how convenient to SF, to Napa and St. Helena and how affordable it was compared to Napa County. "We had no idea that Santa Rosa had so much beautiful country! We didn't realize how many wine country alternatives to Napa and Sonoma that there were. We had no clue about Sebastopol, Forestville or Santa Rosa!" All they knew about Sonoma County was the Russian River resort area, or Healdsburg or Sonoma. They had no idea that they could find the wine country experience they were seeking in any of several Sonoma County towns. In fact, Jeff and Brian are like many of the out of town buyers I work with. They are not married to a particular location when they buy a country home or estate. Rather they are looking for a certain experience. So, with all due respect to the more well-known towns of Napa, St. Helena, Sonoma and Healdsburg, here are some surprising alternatives where you may find a perfect wine country home or estate. A good country property agent (myself included) will have a good feel for country property inventory throughout the county, and more importantly, they will know the ins and outs of wells and septic systems and zoning regulations, which are especially critical when...
Glen Ellen's Got a New Star
[caption id="attachment_1776" align="alignleft" width="225" caption="The New Kid in Town: Glen Ellen Star Restaurant"][/caption] Yesterday morning I went over to Glen Ellen to check out some new country properties on the Sonoma Broker Tour. As agents we hold our new listings open so that the agent community can preview the new inventory without having to make an appointment. We just show up. Ideally refreshments are provided Sometimes there is a drawing for a bottle of wine or a gift certificate. Yesterday I was able to look at two beautiful new country property listings in Glen Ellen and also to check out the hottest new restaurant in town. Glen Ellen must have one of the highest ratios of restaurants to business establishments of just about anywhere, and now there's a new spot to check out. We ran in to look at the menu--it is only open for dinner. Looks promising. And here is a link to Heather Irwin's first look review in Bite Club, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat foodie blog. Oh, and those new listings were pretty interesting too. The first is on 26 acres on Enterprise Road. It has a rambling country house with nice views of the surrounding countryside and the horse pasture below the property. This really is a "Wine Country and Horses" property as it also has a several acre zinfandel vineyard. You can ride in to Jack London State Park and come home and sip wine from your own property afterwards. Not a bad combination. The house was very comfortable with beautiful old wide plank floors and woodwork with a lot of character. The master suite had some of the best views on the property. If you want my opinion on the asking price of $4.2 Million, please call me to discuss. [idx-listing mlsnumber="21213674" showfeatures="true" showlocation="true"] The other property is on Chauvet Road and you could easily walk to the Glen Ellen Market or any of the MANY good restaurants in town. You could also get up in to Jack London pretty easily from here as Chauvet runs in to London Ranch Road. I should do a post on Jack London State Park as it is easily one of the most beautiful and interesting places in Sonoma County, whether you bring your horses or hike or drive in. This particular new listing on Chauvet will probably sell very quickly because it is the type of country property that will strongly appeal to someone...
Detailed Country Property Sales Report for Sonoma County
Yesterday I published a post about the dramatic increase in country property newly pending sales compared to the depths of the recession in 2009. Here is a link to the complete report. Enjoy! PLease feel free to comment or send questions. I'd love to hear from you. Sonoma County Country Property Sales Report...