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Healdsburg Commons

By Dave Roberts

Real Estate Agent with Healdsburg Sotheby's International Realty

July 31, 2008 10:00 AM

604 Healdsburg Avenue family room Healdsburg Sotheby's International Realty is proud to announce our listing of the Healdsburg Commons.

These in-town single family homes are designed for a walkable lifestyle with easy access to the Healdsburg Plaza, restaurants, shopping, and entertainment.

There are five different floor plans to meet the needs of our clients, ranging from two bedroom, one and a half bath units of 1,096 square feet to the larger three bedroom, three bath units at 1,927 feet.

The room on the left can be used as a family room or downstairs bedroom in many of the models and has a classic pocket door to separate the living room from this extra space.

604 Healdsburg Avenue master bedroom The homes are built with great attention to detail and quality features. Ceilings in the downstairs are ten feet high, and upstairs they are nine and a half feet as shown in the master bedroom on the right.

The foundations are pier and grade beam, so all the floors are raised and insulated. The windows are all Marvin and the bathrooms include marble floors and frame-less shower enclosures. The units are all fully sprinklered for fire protection. The builder pulled on his many years of experience to craft this development which offers an opportunity to live in Healdsburg within easy walking distance of the famed Healdsburg plaza, Dry Creek Kitchen, Cyrus, the farmer's market and many other draws for this Sonoma County wine country town.

604 Healdsburg Avenue Kitchen Of course, even though you can find fabulous meals all day long in Healdsburg restaurants, a kitchen is still nice to have. if you want to whip up some CK lamb, Love Farms vegetables, or just cut up some local cheese to go with your day's wine tasting treat, you will enjoy the beautiful kitchens that Healdsburg Commons provides. All top quality stainless fixtures, granite countertops, and abundant natural lighting make these great work spaces for anyone who loves to cook.

We're keeping these units open from Friday through Monday. Please contact me for specific times

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Cindy Brandon

Santa Rosa, CA

CDPE, EcoBroker, GRI, CRS, ePro

Very nice presentation Dave. What price range are these selling for?

Aug 03, 2008 03:42 AM

Dave Roberts

Healdsburg Sotheby's International Realty - Healdsburg, CA

Cindy,

These units range from $595,000 to $795,000. For brand new high quality construction just three blocks to the Healdburg Plaza they are priced very reasonably. I think they are perfect for weekend wine country visitors or retired people looking for a walkable lifestyle.

Aug 03, 2008 04:09 AM

Anonymous

Doug Oteri

Dave, I'm wondering your take on fractional real estate in Sonoma (and specifically Healdsburg). Recently, I saw a listing for the Ranch on Soda Rock (http://www.theranchonsodarock.com/). I'd love to read your thoughts on this and other similar properties popping up around town.

Thanks!

Aug 14, 2008 05:14 AM

Dave Roberts

Healdsburg Sotheby's International Realty - Healdsburg, CA

Hi Doug,

We are researching the possibility of putting one of the larger units on Healdsburg Commons as a 5-share fractional ownership unit. Quite a few of our newer clients are looking for second or third home opportunities in Healdsburg and fractional interest has appeal to people who want a great property but can't justify a full price investment they will only use a few months of the year.

I'm familiar with the Ranch, and think it's an interesting offering, particularly for people with a strong interest in wine.

Dave

Aug 14, 2008 05:27 AM

Anonymous

John

I would be interested in any thoughts you have on the current financial turmoil. My wife and I have been sitting on the sidelines waiting to buy our first house. We are in our mid 30s and thought we had thought we had been doing the right thing by saving nearly $50k for a downpayment.

But now we're hearing that you need 20% down to get a mortgage, which is the historical norm. Is this true? That would mean we could afford a $200k to $250 home. That clearly prices us out of even the cheapest unit in this complex.

We would love to live in Healdsburg but are coming to the realization that it probably won't be a possibility. But I'm trying to figure out who has $100-$150k lying around for a downpayment on one of these units? With property taxes and a mortgage of $500K after the downpayment, I just don't see how people can afford these units or any home in Healdsburg for that matter.

Nov 10, 2008 04:19 AM

Dave Roberts

Healdsburg Sotheby's International Realty - Healdsburg, CA

John,

Don't be discouraged. If you have good credit and good job history you can probably qualify for an FHA loan. They currently require 3% down, but that will be going up to 3.5% after the end of the year. Let's say you negotiated aggressively for a purchase price of $449 and put $49K downpayment on the property. That would put you in the ballpark of $2,400 a month for a brand new home. I don't know if that's in your range, but that's the state of the market today for someone with a decent downpayment. With FHA you wouldn't have to put up the $49K, but could put up 3% or about $14K.

Nov 10, 2008 04:29 AM

Anonymous

John Grieb

Talk about a quick reply. Thanks!

The problem for us is that even if we get the mortgage payment down to $2400, with HOA, property taxes, and homeowners insurance it pushes it to over $3200 if my numbers are correct (just using an online mortage calculator). Unfortunately that is just too much for us as it would eat up well over half of our take home pay. Isn't the rule of thumb that you shouldn't pay more than 1/3 of your takehome pay towards the mortgage after tax deductions?

Also, thanks for the info on FHA loans. I didn't think we qualified as I thought they were reserved for low income households. Maybe that is an option, but I assume it would also push up the mortgage payment. Overall, I'm just worried that if the housing market continues to fall the downpayment we've worked hard to save up disapears with future home price declines. A friend in Southern California put down over $50k on a condo in 2007 but now the place is worth over $100K less than the purchace price a year and a half ago. I know it's a different market but I'm not convinced the same couldn't happen up here. Look how many places are still for sale at the Commons.

I look foward to your future posts on the local market. This is by far and away the most informative site I've found on Sonoma Country real estate. The graphs with precentage of sales below and above asking price were a great way to look at the data.

Nov 10, 2008 05:26 AM

Dave Roberts

Healdsburg Sotheby's International Realty - Healdsburg, CA

John,

There is one unit at the Healdsburg Commons that falls under the Healdsburg Inclusionary Zoning guidelines. The list price for the home is $299,000 and there are restrictions on income and resale that you would have to review with the city of Healdsburg. It sounds like your income might qualify you for this property. You may not want to participate in a program where your upside potential is limited, but it is probably worth some effort to research this.

Thanks for your complimentary words about the site. I've been slacking off during election season, but it's back to work on my blogs. I have a new REO map-based searching tool that I'll be unveiling soon.

Dave

Nov 10, 2008 05:55 AM