Halleck Vineyard, Sebastopol, Sonoma County, CaliforniaThis area, 1-1/2 hours north of San Francisco and only 8 miles from the Pacific Ocean, is ideal for growing pinot noir grapes, and Halleck Vineyard has mastered the art of producing award-winning pinots.No open houses for me this afternoon, so I was able to be part of a group of 8 friends at a private wine tasting presided over by one of the owners and vintners, Jennifer Halleck. The prelude to pours of 5 different pinots was a tasting of their Sauvignon Blanc and a Dry Gewurztraminer, both gems.If you like small, intimate gatherings located off the beaten path, Halleck Vineyard might just be perfect for you. Check out the Hallek Vineyard website for details.A votre santé 08/06/2017

What's My Sebastopol Home Worth? August 2014 32 - Number of Homes Sold55 - Average Days on Market$627,500 - Median Sales Price$681,652 - Average Sales Price1816 - Average Size in Square Feet$389 - Average Price Per SFLittle red riding hood, tin foil hats, metal sculptures, hippies, weekend street corner protests, perpetual farmers market, yuppies, granola and  au naturel ... learn more about this diverse community and Sebastopol's current real estate market.   Check out available homes for sale in Sebastopol right now~!   What's My Sebastopol Home Worth? August 2014     09/16/2014

What's My Sebastopol Home Worth? July 2014 Single Family Residences:24 - Number of SFR's sold in July65 - Average Days on Market$551,000 - Median sales price$638,574 - Average sales price1887 - Average square footage$367 - Average price per square footSebastopol, like many areas in Sonoma County, has experienced a low amount of inventory which has driven Single Family Home prices up. During the month of July, however, lower priced homes dominated home sales in Sebastopol, so the statictics show an actual 1% decrease in value compared to 24 months ago. As of this writing, the absorption rate is 1.7 (months), meaning if no new listings were introduced to the market, there would be no homes left for sale within 52 days. The absorption rate, which is the # of properties currently available ... 08/22/2014

The Sebastopol Real Estate Market, like most of Northern California is experiencing a tightening of high quality, desirable homes for sale.  While the days on market show a relatively flat change year over year, it does not account for quality of product on the market.  Many homes are stagnant and have less draw to the consumer due to their tired condition and price.  On the contrary, any property that is listed competitively and demonstrates an appeal to the broad market consumer, will sell within a week.  Typically, Winter is not an ideal time to list a home for sale, but in this market it is an ideal time to sell a home in Sebastopol.   Preview of “Sonoma County - Sebastopol, Market Report, October, 2012” 11/16/2012

Buying a Home is Full of Details So Here are Some Tips! Saving money is hard! No mystery or hidden message there. If you want to buy a home money is a necessity and many people are finding it difficult to save. Now is the time to buy, but without the proper funding for closing costs and down payment and unforeseen purchases, buying a home can feel impossible. So what can we do to help? How about give some tips on what money saving tactics can implemented in your life. Trulia has offered this  First time home buyer’s guide to save for a down-payment. The six steps are as follows: Plan for Progress, Slow Your Spending, Spend less for Convenience, Drink more Water and Track your Expenses.   Along with these six steps to saving some money for your downpayment, thisarticle also has a good se... 06/21/2012

P2P Lending The Newest Details on the Newest Lending System To truly market yourself to investors, you must first think like an investor. For instance, no investor will want to get involved with something that sounds as if it may fall through or sounds like it’s something they can’t rely upon. There was once a time when coupon clipping for bonds was the way to dip your toes in, so to speak, to test the water. However, nowadays there are a hundred ways to invest and see returns quickly. Many have invested in Real Estate, others in social media they think will succeed and others have turned their eye to “P2P” investing. P2P investing is also knows as peer-to-peer lending. While this has actually been around for quite some time, it has just recently become consistent enough to be present i... 06/07/2012

Jump on the Bandwagon of Social Media! If You Haven't, NOW is The Time Social Media technology is the tough nut that everyone is trying to crack. There are so many new technologies rising to today’s media surface that it’s difficult to keep track! More so than this, many companies are struggling with how they’re approaching marketing their business and what will work for them. Trial and error is usually the best way to learn anything in the industry, but social networking and marketing is a whole different beast because it’s difficult to know where to begin. I was reading an article in The Costco Connection titled “New Age Marketing: Developing a Web-based strategy for success” and it offered some fantastic advice on where to begin and how to manage the social media world we are all a p... 06/01/2012

2012 Delinquencies Fall to Lows Can We Safely Extrapolate?  As all of you are well aware, there were many factors that contributed to the housing crash of 2007. Much of it was the banks, robo-signing, unemployment, the economy, etc. Since then there have been many changes on how the banks choose to both screen their borrowers and conduct their lending. However, since these changes began several years ago, there has not been that significant change in the mortgage world. That is until now when we now have statistics to back up the argument that changes are happening in the market. Throughout many of my blogs I’ve tried to look for positive change in the market, the economy, unemployment and, of course, the housing market. This morning I read an article in Forbes that is some of the best ... 05/17/2012

Home Prices Improve in Major Metro Areas Expect to experience repercussions A month ago Trulia launched the Trulia Price Monitor and the Trulia Rent Monitor to be used as indicators of how asking prices and rent prices are trending nationally. And the results for April are in! In this Forbes article Trulia compared these trends to trends in the previous three months and found some excellent results. In April “quarter-over-quarter price increases were found 92 of the 100 largest metros. Meanwhile, rents rose 5.6% nationally year over year.” During 2011 the housing market hit virtual bottom, which is brilliant for those of us selling homes in 2012 because housing prices are now on the rise. Asking prices were up 1.9% since last quarter. Prices have changed from sinking lower and lower to ... 05/03/2012

No More Low-Ballers!  Why This Trend is Petering Out Times are changing and so is the market. In the past several years we’ve seen the market scoop upward, decline sharply, plateau… rinse and repeat. So in these times of a recovering market economists are looking to the ‘low-ball index’ to get a sense of what’s currently happening in local real estate markets and how it could affect the market nationally. All of this information can be found in the article this blog is based on, through the link below. This time last year NAR (National Association of Realtors) researchers took a monthly poll and found that the members surveyed were complaining of low-ball offers on their listings. This latest survey conducted in March of this year had 4,500 agents and brokers surveyed. Of these 4,500 th... 04/24/2012

Another reason it’s time to buy a home now;  Many banks are jumping into the lending environment in order to make any spread at all & are driving low prices even lower, as well as again lowering credit underwriting standards.  Read more about our economic signs of recovery.   01/03/2012

Despite the real estate  market having it’s ups & downs in 2011, it’s up to us Agents to pass along the truth of the upcoming 2012 year: Home values are improving and selling prices WILL increase - so stop pushing those low-ball offers.  Here is an interesting fact sheet I came upon that gives a good view of the 2012 market prediction.     12/28/2011

I hope everyone had a fantastic, family filled Christmas! 2012 will soon be upon us and I thought it only fitting to pass this quick video along. It’s too true how sharing successful tips/strategies will only improve our Real Estate market with Home Buyers….it is up to us to prove the values of homes ARE improving so prices are going to rise. http://www.carlssaturdaystrategy.com/2011/12/this-is-why/ 12/27/2011

Some other really good reasons why buying and/or selling a home during the wintery Holiday seasons IS beneficial: http://www.marycraneproperties.com/index.asp 12/21/2011

Check out this article for good home maintenance tips – no more 1-800-Landlord! You’d be surprised how you can save money on your home….if you do it right especially for you first time homeowners. http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2011/02/11/home-maintenance-for-the-first-time-buyer/ 12/16/2011

Click this link to the see the Flipper Chicks and hear some great ways to brighten up your new homes and your offices to get into the holiday season!    http://www.icontact-archive.com/1gigMEPPmt0ODYXpAo3NhxPkKxGp1zC5?w=2 12/12/2011

So here you are, minding your own business, hanging out in downtown Sebastopol. All of a sudden, a worker runs out of Copperfields book store screaming "Zombies!! Zombies!!". Do you turn and run as fast as you can? Or do you grab your camera out of your purse and start snapping photos? If it hadn't been the day before Halloween, I would have done the former. But I had a feeling Copperfields had something up their sleeve. I'm kind of surprised there wasn't a fender bender or two, this occurred at one of the busiest intersections in town and the traffic went nuts when the Zombies crossed the street. Just another day in Sonoma County California. 10/31/2011

Sebastopol has consistently been one of Sonoma County's steadiest residential markets. The superb schools, active community, hospital and related medical services, and great shopping choices have usually attracted a steady stream of new buyers who wanted to participate in the community. When the housing downturn started biting the rest of Sonoma County (and everywhere else), Sebastopol home sales seemed immune to the trends. Gravity and market forces eventually took hold and Sebastopol has gradually resumed its place as a normal Sonoma County city. Still with great schools, a wonderful housing stock, and a strong sense of community, but no longer standing immune from the correction in housing values. Sebastopol has had fewer REO and short sales than Windsor and Rohnert Park, two larger ... 09/25/2011

  The 65th annual Apple Blossom Festival and Parade kicks off in Sebastopol on Saturday, April 16th and continues through April 17th. This years theme is "Blossoms on Safari". Sebastopol was once known for miles and miles of apple orchards and a fruit processing plant. The plant has been repurposed and most of the orchards have been replaced with vineyards. Although Sebastopol has changed, their love of their Apple Blossom Festival and Parade hasn't. The fun starts at 10:00AM on Saturday when the parade kicks off. The parade route begins at Analy High School and continues South on Main Street, ending at Calder Ave. After the parade, join the festivities at Ives Park and the Sebastopol Veterans Memorial Building. Saturday: 10:00AM - 6:00PM Sunday:   10:00AM - 5:00PM Admission: $10.00 Ad... 04/15/2011

I remember Little Shop of Horrors as an odd and scary movie, but it was certainly entertaining. OK, maybe warped is a better word to describe it. California Carnivores plays on that movie, yet they do it in a delightful way. At the road to the entrance, you are greeted by a giant Venus Flytrap. And that pretty much sets up your expectations for what's inside. Carnivorous plants, as you probably know, are plants that derive some or most of their nutrients from trapping and consuming insects. The Venus Flytrap in Little Shop of Horrors ate more than insects, which makes this place a little spooky. Dubbed as the "Largest Carnivorous Plant Shop in the United States", California Carnivores is home to plants with names like Bladderworts, Butterworts, Cobras and Sundews. There are plenty of V... 11/16/2010