Here is the detailed set of tables and charts looking at the sales statistics for million dollar plus homes and ranches in Sonoma County. It would be difficult to break this data down and look at trends in the rate of sales in different communities such as Healdsburg or Sonoma since the sample size is so small. That is why we so often look at the county as a whole. Typically the most desirable locations will see the quickest rebound and highest activity. Good sales activity doesn’t mean sellers can overprice their properties and hope to be successful, but they can be more positive about bringing well-presented and well-priced properties to market, because the buyers are out there.

Trends of note–the number of expired listings has declined steadily over the last year. During the depths of the market downturn many properties were pulled off the market when they didn’t sell. A lower rate of expired listings is obviously coupled with a higher rate of newly open contracts and closed sales. While we may have had some price declines in this segment as recently as 2011, all the signs point to stabilizing prices and possible modest price appreciation in the years ahead. All data is pulled from the BAREIS Multiple Listing Association. That is, it is provided by the various brokerages in the county from their actual listing sales data.

After lunch we walked a mile or so over to the Oxbow Market and I have a new (for me)  foodie destination for a quick meal or snack when I am in the area.  I would actually drive out of my way to stop here.  Oxbow is a wine country spin on the concept of the Ferry Plaza Marketplace in SF, bringing together food and wine from seafood to ice cream, wine to cheese, charcuterie to fine coffee and more.  Most of the products are locally sourced or from local vendors, following the locavore trend.

Anyway, I didn’t intend to write a PR puff piece for Napa.  It is just that I live driving over the county line, and feeling like I am on an instant vacation!   Back to your regularly scheduled Sonoma County programming shortly!

Sonoma County Country Property Sales Report

Country Property Sales up 238% from Market Bottom in 2009

Contrast this with the overall rate of newly signed contracts for all single-family residences in Sonoma County. Compared to SFD’s, country property sales really took a dive when the market did the same, while sales in 2009 were focused on inexpensive single family homes and condos. The change in rate of sales for all single family homes (including country properties) has increased, but risen only 21% from the trough year in 2009.

So what does this mean? In short, if you have a nice country property to sell in Sonoma County and have been on the sidelines, this spring and summer might be the right time for you to sell. Inventory is becoming more balanced between buyers and sellers, and there is strong demand. I believe that will only continue to grow, as Sonoma County’s lifestyle and close proximity to San Francisco make it such a desirable place to live. Please give me a call or drop me an email if you would like to learn more!

Cover shot from Shift and Shout by Dewey and Susan Watson

And seriously, Dewey and Susan give a nice overview of the varied communities and the high points of Sonoma County’s history. Good stuff for anyone considering moving here.

Shift and Shout.

Here is a link to Hollyn’s Review in a local paper. Let me know what you think!

I had originally met them when they first decided to return to the US from France. I introduced them to all of the beautiful towns and Sonoma and Napa. Unfortunately family stuff kept them in France until recently. We stayed in touch via email and phone–we shared some common interests in good food and wine and they kept an eye on the market. Just recently they decided it was time to return to the US.

Of all the places in the world they could go, they chose Healdsburg. I couldn’t agree more. Sonoma County and especially Healdsburg is a beautiful place to be.

My clients flew in from France to get started on their new home search. It was mid-January and there was almost nothing on the market. They had decided they wanted a quality vintage home walking distance from the Plaza in Healdsburg, ideally with a decent sized lot as they were coming off five acres and loved to garden. Guest quarters and a pool, with some architectural interest and high quality rounded out the bill.

Being well connected to our local real estate market, By networking with other realtors all over the county, not just in Healdsburg, I was able to find the perfect property that was not yet listed on the market. I knew it was a good bet when two different agents both suggested it. We had about six properties to look at and a weekend to find them something as the shipping container was shortly to be filled with their possessions and strike out across the Atlantic.

My clients loved the “stealth” house, made a good offer and got into contract almost right away. Just in time to as threats of two more offers came in just hours after our offer was accepted and the seller’s friend tried to buy it out from under us once he found out the property was being sold.

Fortunately, we were in contract before any problems could start.

My clients are now flying back to France to finalize the sale of their Provence home and will be returning to Healdsburg and their new dream home. Meanwhile, I arranged for all the necessary inspections and attended them, and arranged for bids on some of the items that came up in the initial round of inspections. They were back in France packing like mad. We handled the entire escrow and final negotiations via phone and email and electronic signatures.

A couple of months later, they were firmly ensconced in their new home in Healdsburg, and we have managed to celebrate more than once over some of that good wine country food and wine.

Call me if you would like to find your dream home in the Wine Country.

One such person in my life has been Andrew Fluegelman.  We first met in the late seventies through Stewart Brand (of Whole Earth Catalog fame) at the Coevolution Quarterly in Sausalito.  Andrew shared many of the same interests, from environmental awareness and sustainability to sailing.  We met again in the early 80′s in Marin county where we were both involved in the software business and very active in the early days of personal computing.  I also managed to get him sailing in SF Bay on Hanalei Express, my Santa Cruz 27.
I remember how effortlessly our conversation ranged from PC’s and software to sailing and solar power.  There were no boundaries to the topics we enjoyed discussing, tacking back and forth across the city front and back over to Tiburon and Angel Island.  We didn’t have to talk about how to sail the boat, that came easily and quietly.

Andrew died tragically in 1985.  His car and a suicide note were found at the north tower of the Golden Gate bridge.  My understanding was that he had a terrible reactiion to the medication he was taking for a serious medical condition.  It was an incredible loss, for me and for many others.  At the time he died Andrew was the founding editor of PC Magazine, which is where he achieved most of his fame.   He also wrote a software program for the original IBM personal computer called PC Talk.  It was one of the first “shareware” programs.  He gave it away and made some pretty good money from it.  In 1985 I spoke at a memorial service for him and was one of the few people there who knew Andrew from before his life in personal computers.   At the time I said that I was sad not to have Andrew around anymore, not just because he was a kind, warm and loving person, but because I would always be curious to see what he would be up to next so we could compare notes.   Who knows, maybe someday I would have run into Andrew up here in Sonoma County?

PS I know this hasn’t much to do with Sonoma County real estate, but I wanted to share this video recently uncovered.  It was made in 1987 at a celebration of Andrew’s life.  There is also a decent recap of that life here.

And there is a strange tie to my real estate business.   A couple of years back I was at a home inspection in Healdsburg. While we were waiting for the inspector to do his thing, my clients and I were having a comfortable talk. They are from San Mateo and were  buying a weekend home in Sonoma County.  For whatever reason, I don’t know how it came up, it turned out that they had named their son after Andrew.  I think Bob used to race with him on San Francisco Bay.  Again Andrew made such an impact for good on the people he knew.  We still miss you Andrew!

You would think that since the water source is from deep undergroung it typically is not contaminated by surface bacteria and pathogens, and you might be right. However the well seal could have been compromised or somehow surface water pathogens can contaminate your well water. After the rainy season it is very possible that your well could be tainted with coliform bacteria. Fortunately that is easy to treat by “shocking” the well with chlorine bleach. But you might never know that the contamination exists without testing. Bacterial complication is not something to panic about, as it is easily treatable. I once saw buyers pull out of a country property purchase since coliform bacteria was found in the water. It was unfortunate for them and for the seller. The buyers’ agent had little country property experience. She could have arranged for the well inspector to talk to the buyers. Maybe they could have had their fears assuaged and gone through with the purchase. Who knows? Some people may not be cut out to buy country property.

What else should you test for besides bacteria? Most wells here offer water with a very high mineral content, typically lots of iron and or manganese. It is helpful to know what the mineral concentration is. So what are some of the items we test for?

Besides bacteria and mineral content, there are other frequently found metals or contaminants found in our water. The well inspector will help you as a buyer determine what to test for. Commonly arsenic (which percolates from rocks in the soil layers) and nitrates (from decades of agriculture and chicken farming) are seen in our water. Fortunately water purification treatment systems can adjust for most of these items. It is important that water sampling be done directly from the well and, if there is a water treatment system, after that system so that you can determine if it is doing its job.

In certain areas of Sonoma County boron is a concern. Boron and grape vines do not get along. Parts of the Chalk Hill and Lytton Springs area of Healdsburg have high concentrations of boron in the water. If you want to plant grapes, you will definitely want to test for boron. If you are doing some serious vineyard planting, you will want to do much more elaborate water (and for that matter soils) testing than we are discussing here.

For more detailed information on Sonoma County wells and water quality, the Sonoma County Department of Health Services has a number of links and documents here.