About Sonoma's Sonoma Valley

Sonoma Valley View.

My Sunday morning view looking down Sonoma Valley toward San Pablo Bay. With Mount Diablo in the distance, those wispy clouds in the brightening sky, and a light mist floating over the water, it's a view of Sonoma Valley that seems to say, "Look closer...look closer...and never look away!"

Slim Pickin's for Sonoma Homes.

Our Sonoma broker tour for Thursday, January 20th, is puny---just three new listings in all of Sonoma Valley! We've got one Sonoma REO listed at under 300K, another single family home priced in the mid-500's, and a new Sonoma home at $1.5 Million that I wrote a post about last week. Depending on your point of view, the listing shortage is either dismal or delightful.

It is dismal if you are a buyer or a buyer's agent looking for new Sonoma listings---some fresh inventory to get excited about. I'd like to see some new offerings. We've got less than 160 homes on the market here right now in all price categories....about 25% of these are distressed properties.

The shortage of non-distressed properties is delightful news if you are a Sonoma seller. Here's the backstory. I just love that term as a former reporter. It's a cool replacement for "background" which sounds so dry and boring. But I digress....

Sellers should be paying attention and starting to rejoice because here where flowers are blooming and convertible tops are down, in good times and bad, there is basically a never-ending demand for Sonoma real estate. While people are freezing in the Midwest and buried in snow on the east coast, it's gorgeous here. It was in the mid-60's today. The periwinkles are going into garden planters, winter veggies are growing, great wines are ever-flowing.

Sonoma homes are an hour from San Francisco, one of the most beautiful, romantic, and interesting cities in the world. Our breath-taking coastline is also an hour from my Sonoma Plaza office and if my skis were in my car I could wrap up my work day and be in Tahoe or Heavenly Valley in time for dinner and some night-skiing under tonight's full moon.

Here's what I'm saying: Spring's coming and it's beginning to feel a lot like sellers have their minds made up that this isn't the time to sell because unemployment is still dragging down the economy and government budgets are whacked out. In Sonoma those things don't matter all that much. And that's evident because we are seeing a gradual uptick in buyer activity. Slim Pickin's for Sonoma buyers could mean a good deal for Sonoma sellers if they step up this Spring.

Buying or selling? Contact me soon---time's a wasting'.

Bones in your Sonoma Backyard?

Old Sonoma homes are much more common than new Sonoma homes. When you live in Sonoma or buy a home in Sonoma Valley you are living with the ghosts...or as my mother says...the "Tinkerbells" of others. Whenever I visit an old home in Sonoma, a turn-of-the century farm house in Kenwood, or a Glen Ellen home built many years ago, it's fun to wonder about the skeltons that were once stashed away in closets --- what we'd hear if the proverbial "walls could talk." Thanks to Sonoma sleuth Arthur Dawson we can now find out about the history of Sonoma real estate. Arthur has a business called Baseline Consulting and, while his passion is historical hydrology, he's also got a niche business investigating old homes. It's created a lot of buzz.

For as little as $200 Arthur will dig up old maps showing the location of your place long before the neighborhood around you existed. If you want a complete written history, an extensive collection of maps and photographs, and detailed information about prior owners, Arthur's detective work can cost well into the thousands of dollars. He is offering a FREE 30 minute consultation if you are interested.

Arthur Dawson is a delightful, bright guy who has lived in Sonoma Valley for 20 years. He and his wife, Rebecca, are raising two children here---they are soon expected their third. He really knows his stuff---he's the author of the local 1998 best-seller, Stories Behind Sonoma Valley Place Names and two other books...one co-written with Rebecca. He's also interviewed old-time locals, including my mom (please don't tell her I called her "old"!!!) to further his ongoing research into the history of Sonoma Valley.

Baseline Consulting's website isn't up yet but you can reach Arthur at 707.996.8728 and his email address is baseline@vom.com. You're welcome to meet Arthur Dawson at my office if you'd like. I'm right off Sonoma Plaza, know a lot about the Sonoma real estate market and serve a great cup of coffee!

Better Than Girl Scout Cookies? 

I hope this post doesn't hurt sales of Girl Scout Cookies.  That would be downright un-American.  In some parts of the country I think it might even be criminal.   I'm simply suggesting another way to support the Girl Scouts of Sonoma Valley.   If you've got a Chirstmas tree you need to dispose of in Glen Ellen or Sonoma, the Girl Scouts will do it for a small donation.  Details and photographs of these hard-working young women can be found in the Sonoma Sun and Sonoma Index Tribune.

The last day for pick-up is tomorrow---Sunday the 9th.  The local Girl Scouts have been at this for two weekends and this weekend is the last for Christmas tree pick-up.

This might be a great way to support the Girl Scouts if you've decided your Girl Scout Cookie buying days are over.  I hope sales continue to be strong but there are legitimate reasons for some to quit buying them like diabetes or weight loss.  This is a wonderful way to keep supporting the Girl Scouts of Sonoma Valley because it's calorie-free and you're recycling the trees in an environmentally friendly way!

I'm still a cookie buyer and am looking forward to my next shot at a few boxes of Thin Mints plus I've requested a tree pick up at my house tomorrow.

Feathers are the Focus in Sonoma

The annual Sonoma Bird Count is scheduled for Thursday December 30th and the weather is looking better than many thought it might. Rainy days have been the norm lately in these parts but our weather forecast shows the chance of rain for the count is now about 30%. The day's activities are spelled out at SonomaBirding.org. I've volunteered for the count in previous years but can't this time because I have a family commitment. It's a terrific opportunity to learn about the many species of birds we have here in Sonoma Valley. The last time I participated it was pouring rain...but even soaking wet I enjoyed the hours spent focused on our fine feathered friends. They so out-number us and yet we rarely notice their presence. I hope a lot of people turn out this year---it's a very special event.