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The Two Rocks of Two Rock

We often speak place names without thinking about what they mean. For instance, there are four Grand Views in Sonoma County, one each in Sebastopol, Healdsburg, Petaluma, and Camp Meeker. Some of these live up to their name with truly grand views. Others, not so much.  There are oak place names all over  Sonoma County. We have Oak St and Oak Ln,  Oak Hollow, Oak Brook, Oak Vista, Oak Crest, etc. At some point, all those places probably did have oaks. Today, maybe or may not.

One place name that is quite unique is Two Rock. The native Americans on their treks to the coast used this formation of two rocks as a landmark for centuries. Early Spanish settlers called them Dos Piedras, or Two Rocks. The plural was lost in later translations to English, so this famous landmark is now simply Two Rock.

You can now buy the rocks…

It’s not every day that you get a chance to buy a historically interesting site with a history dating back to centuries of native American travel. You can always buy a house on an “oak” street or with a “grand view”, but Two Rock is unique.

The Two Rock property for sale consists of 23 acres overall with one unfinished house, a mobile home, a greenhouse, and some barns. I’d call it a fixer, for sure. According to what I have learned, the repairs on the house have been done with permits, but it’s not complete yet, and there is no certificate of occupancy.  That can make financing impossible hard, so the ideal buyers for this property will have acquisition cash available.

Other Listings on Two Rock Road

 

 

Posted in: Country Land, Fixers, Petaluma, Petaluma Real Estate, Places, Real Estate, Uncategorized

Santa Rosa Dominates Real Estate Sales

Santa Rosa rules the real estate market in Sonoma County. No city is close in population or number of housing units, so any chart either has to have an extended scale or leave Santa Rosa out of the figures. I made two charts to illustrate just how tough Santa Rosa makes it for the rest of the Sonoma County cities to show up on a chart.

Sonoma County Residential Sales Volume by city
Residential Sales Volume by City

The first chart shows the volume of residential real estate transactions in Sonoma County’s busiest markets. The 17 transactions in Glen Ellen marked the lowest volume I included, so many smaller cities like Monte Rio, Kenwood, Occidental, Penngrove, Geyserville, Jenner, and Graton don’t show up at all.

Even with the elimination of many cities with small sales volumes, the bottom of the chart shows very little differentiation among cities.  Even the middle of the chart with Sebastopol, Healdsburg, and Cloverdale make it hard to see much difference.

I created an identical chart without Santa Rosa. All of a sudden, the small changes among the cities are more visible. You can actually use the chart to make reasonably good estimates for the actual number of units sold.

Sonoma County Residential Sales Excluding Santa Rosa
Residential Sales by City Excluding Santa Rosa

In this example, it’s easier to see that Sonoma has almost exactly twice as many sales as  Sebastopol did during this time frame. Sometimes you have to make a chart excluding Santa Rosa to show trends that can’t show up when the scale is so distorted. So, no disrespect to Santa Rosa, the undisputed champion of residential sales in Sonoma County. It’s just that your shadow blocks the view for everyone else.

 

Top image is from Florence Street in Sebastopol

Posted in: Buyer Guide, Petaluma Real Estate, Real Estate, Real Estate Guides, Rohnert Park Real Estate, Sales Trends, Santa Rosa Real Estate, Santa Rosa Real Estate, Sebastopol Real Estate, Sonoma Real Estate, Stats

Sonoma County Small Acreage Homes

A place in the country.
A hobby vineyard outside Healdsburg.
A few acres of vines east of Sonoma.
A little ranch near Sebastopol.

Sonoma County country real estate is driven by buyers looking for their piece of the American dream. Cities are crowded. Suburbs are less crowded, but a garage or bedroom is what you’re likely to see when you look out your windows. The dream of having enough land to get privacy, views, and room to spread out is strong.

Sonoma County homes with one to five acres
Cities with one to five acre listings
I wanted to see what today’s market held for people looking for Sonoma County property with a house and from one to five acres. Many of the properties I found fit the classic definition of country with barns, pastures, crops, and a rural character. Others are more easily defined as large subdivision lots with nearby neighbors and a semi-urban feel.

The rural properties are concentrated in three cities; Healdsburg, Sebastopol, and Sonoma. The more suburban lots are likely to be found in Santa Rosa, but there are quite a few listings, particularly in north west Santa Rosa, that have the country feel that many are looking for.

Sonoma County property with one to five acre price averages
Pricing affected by REO and Short Sale Status

It’s impossible to ignore pricing for foreclosured homes and short sales in this segment of the market. Not every city is affected, but the average price for both REO and short sale property is significantly lower than the average price for the open market sale properties. If you are bargain hunting for a country property in Sonoma County it might be smart to start by looking at the one to five acre REO property that is available.
The biggest downside to rural bank-owned homes is the lack of disclosure. If you’re buying from an owner who knows the property they can report on issues like wells drying up in the summer or a leak in the barn that only shows up in rain that lasts more than two days. The banks who own the foreclosed properties neither know these details nor are they required to disclose anything. REO country property is definitely a buyer beware situation.

Sonoma County Country Property Searches

  • Healdsburg homes with one to five acres
  • Sebastopol homes with one to five acres
  • Santa Rosa homes with one to five acres
  • Sonoma homes with one to five acres
  • Kenwood homes with one to five acres
  • Glen Ellen homes with one to five acres
  • Petaluma homes with one to five acres
  • Penngrove homes with one to five acres

Posted in: Buyer Guide, Country Land, Healdsburg Real Estate, Petaluma Real Estate, Real Estate, Santa Rosa Real Estate, Santa Rosa Real Estate, Sebastopol Real Estate, Sonoma Real Estate

Petaluma Real Estate

Petaluma has a fascinating history as a gold rush food production town turned chicken headquarters turned broadband high tech headquarters. The legacy of sustained usefulness to society is a wealth of intersting neighborhoods, great houses, and plenty of regular suburbia for those so inclined. It’s the closest place in Sonoma County to San Francisco, the East Bay, and Marin and correspondingly has some bedroom community aspects both to the neighborhoods and to housing prices.

Petaluma Real Estate Map Search

Petaluma Single Family Residential Properties

Single Family Properties Between $0 – $100,000
Single Family Properties Between $100,000 – $200,000
Single Family Properties Between $200,000 – $300,000
Single Family Properties Between $300,000 – $400,000
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Single Family Properties Between $500,000 – $12,000,000

Petaluma Lots and Land Properties

Lots and Land Properties Between $0 – $100,000
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Lots and Land Properties Between $300,000 – $400,000
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Lots and Land Properties Between $500,000 – $5,950,000

Petaluma Mobile Homes Properties

Mobile Homes Propertie Between $0 – $100,000
Mobile Homes Properties Between $100,000 – $200,000

Petaluma Multifamily Residential Properties

Multifamily Residential Properties Between $0 – $100,000
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Multifamily Residential Properties Between $200,000 – $300,000
Multifamily Residential Properties Between $300,000 – $400,000
Multifamily Residential Properties Between $400,000 – $500,000
Multifamily Residential Properties Between $500,000 – $795,000

Petaluma Commercial Properties

Commercial Properties Between $0 – $100,000
Commercial Properties Between $100,000 – $200,000
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Commercial Properties Between $300,000 – $400,000
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Commercial Properties Between $500,000 – $2,999,000

Petaluma Business Opportunity Properties

Business Opportunity Properties Between $0 – $100,000
Business Opportunity Properties Between $100,000 – $200,000

Posted in: Petaluma Real Estate

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