Coming 2 weekends will be the 30th annual barrel tasting weekend in Sonoma County. There will be food and lots of great wines to preview from the barrel. Tickets are $20,00 per person per weekend. It’s going to be busy, usually Sundays are less busy than Saturdays and rain keeps people away too…
Eric Trailer did a great article on the stimulus package : How Stimulating Will Raising the Conforming Loan Limit Be? Interesting article it is expected that the conforming loan limit in Sonoma County will be $ 625,000 so a lot more people will be able to either refinance or purchase a home with a conforming loan.
The market is picking up, this week we had 84 properties opening escrow, as of this morning, we had 414 properties opening escrow for the month. With 2462 active residential listings (count 7 am this morning) we have about 6/7 months of inventory. Here’s the chart for last 2 years:
Enjoy the weekend, should you go barrel tasting, let me know which winery/wines you liked best.
Mirjam (mirjam@c21alliance.com)
The spring is in the air, trees are blossoming, it’s beautiful. Although it will be a rainy weekend, it’s beautiful outside, perfect for some wine tasting -> just an excuse to drive through the county side, enjoy the scenery and taste some great wines (make sure you have a designated driver). Next 2 weekends will be the annual barrel tasting weekend which will be extremely busy. So may I suggest a visit to Alexander Valley this weekend, should you go, drop by Alexander Valley Vineyards, my favorite is their Wine Club Reserve.
Of course, don’t forget to check out Sue Bonzell’s XtremeGuide, there is a Wine and Cheese reception at Graton Ridge Cellars today.
Should you decide to do some spring cleaning, while your at it, you might as well take a home inventory. According to the Insurance Information Institute, in the event of a fire or other disaster, a current, detailed home inventory can help you obtain enough insurance to replace the things you own, get claims settled faster, and substantiate any losses on your tax return.
An other interesting fact to keep in mind while going through your house:
Nearly 30 percent of home electrical-wiring fires can be traced to the misuse of electric cords, such as overloading circuits, poor maintenance and running the cords under rugs or through high traffic areas. Source: InsWeb.com
Have a great day!
Mirjam (mirjam@c21alliance.com)
That’s the buzz word right now! It will be extremely beneficial for our local real estate market. As we discussed in our office meeting this morning, the most interesting part will be that the ‘conforming’ loan limits will go up but even more important, that the loan limits for FHA loan programs will go up.
Hmm for many agents …. FHA… let me think, that was a long time ago that we would even do these loans in Sonoma County, the current loan limit is around $ 380,000. Yep, but it’s going to be good, FHA (Federal Housing Administration) allows for 97% financing, it can be combined with gift funds (Nehemia program) and is very lenient with your credit score and the best part… the rates are great!
This increased limit for FHA loans might take an other month or before it can be used by lenders but it’s good news.
I am not going to repeat the stimulus program, please visit the info on the CAR website or this link to Inman News
An by the way… there are some tremendous deals out there right now, this property at 421 Manka Circle for $349,900 is one of them.
Have a great day!
Mirjam (mirjam@c21alliance.com)
It’s a beautiful week in Sonoma County, feels like spring. After all the rain we had in the last weeks everybody is cheering up. When I moved to California from Netherlands (where it usually rains) I could not believe how we are influenced by rain.
This weeks MLS meeting was a busy one. The Real Estate market has been picking up a bit over the last 10 days or so. There were quite a few agents that had ‘buyers needs’ -> were looking for a specific property in a specific/or not so specific neighborhood.
The real deals, priced well, good neighborhoods do get a lot of attention. I even do hear and see even short sales getting into escrow -> this means that the bank accepted an offer. Apparently the banks are able and willing to cut their losses. The fed rate cut did help the banks, their balance sheet looks much better now so this is a great benefit for the real estate market.
There was a nice selection of properties on tour. My personal favorites were:
4548 Fable Ct in Bennett Valley. Absolutely gorgeous, great setting consisting of 2 parcels. The original owner bough the lot next to the lot the house is on to have more privacy. It was worth it!
112 Junior - This property is in a tucked away neighborhood close of 4th lane across from the McDonald area. It’s a craftsman style home, great floorplan with an extra guest quarter/office above the garage
Should you like to see any of these, just call me.
Mirjam
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International Networking Week
February 4 – 8, 2008
International Networking Week™ is an initiative BNI started in 2007. In 2008, International Networking Week™ will feature a number of networking events across the world.
The goal of the week is to celebrate the key role networking plays in the development and success of businesses across the world.
Simultaneous events will be held globally to celebrate International Networking Week™.
Visit http://www.internationalnetworkingweek.com to learn more and visit YouTube to watch an 8-minute video about BNI’s International Networking Week™ initiative.
Denise on February 6th 2008 in Sonoma County info
It’s February already, can you believe it? I did see some early signs of spring this morning, some trees start blooming, the mustard seed looks pretty in ‘the naked vineyards’. Sonoma County is pretty.
I did promises some overviews for Sonoma County so here they are. These are overview of all residential properties.
First a 2 year overview of the homes that are for sale versus the ones that did get an accepted offer or sold that month. It’s interesting to see the yearly trends although this January 06 was a lot more favorable that this January.
However, the amount of properties on the market did go down…
There are plenty of great opportunities out there, it’s a great market for buyers who finally will be able to purchase a home in Sonoma County, for people who want to move up to a nicer home, and for investors. This market comes around only every 15 years. Might as well take advantage of it. Call me for an overview of interesting properties/great deals!
Mirjam - 707-486-2638
Mirjam on February 2nd 2008 in Sonoma County info