House & Home Spring 2020

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HOUSE & home REAL ESTATE SHOWCASE

Sonoma County’s Spring 2020 Market

Local real estate market facing unprecedented times PHOTO ROLLIE ATKINSON

NEW SHELTER, NEW PLACE — Sonoma County’s need for more housing is another victim of the COVID-19 pandemic and current public health emergency. Eventually projects like Portello, located in Windsor, will return to an active market. This project will include 89 homes with nine different floor plans in a wide choice of prices. For a virtual tour, visit JKBWINDSOR.COM. has been conducted in “virtual” communications remodel experts like LEFF Construction report a for decades. It’s not business as usual, by any fair volume of client talks and planning. What means, but the biggest thing missing right now is better motivation is there than to be cooped up the personal handshakes at the end of a closed with extra time to survey existing floorplans and deal. begin to wonder, “what if ?” Sonoma County properties are part of the Elaine Lucia, marketing director for LEFF Construction said the staff is staying connected national and international market where By Rollie Atkinson with lots of ZOOM meetings and conference calls. investments also include business acquisitions, Sonoma West Staff “The most important aspect for safely keeping the bond investments and stock market trading. business going, our employees working, and our When all those investment opportunities fill up ow do you buy or sell a house when with uncertainty and volatility, lots of people turn clients serviced is constant communication,” she everyone is under orders to “shelter in to the security of real estate. said. “I honestly don’t think our team has felt place” to avoid personal contact during the There were 208 individual home sales recorded closer together than we are now as we go through public health emergency from the COVID-19 in January, just before the caronavirus news his crisis.” Before the pandemic alerts, local pandemic? This crisis is having multiple impacts began hitting the front page of local newspapers. builders already were in emergency status, on all individuals, households, local businesses catching up from projects impacted from the two Selling prices remained stable and the median and industries but consider being a real estate wildfires in 2017 and 2019, plus the demand housing price was $662,500, according to local professional where the market is basically offeverywhere to build new housing units to address MLS surveys. limits to everyone. California’s housing shortage and affordability It also seems that people shuttered in their As it turns out, there was the usual amount of homes are floating ideas about future home problems. mid-winter transaction being settled and recorded improvement projects and property prior to the March 17 order to “shelter in place.” enhancements. Several general contractors and See Market Page 4 And, a big portion of today’s real estate industry

COVID-19 pandemic is limiting activity and transactions

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