Future of Russian River area redevelopment becomes clearer

Pathways along the Russian River for pedestrians and cyclists. A bigger plaza in Guerneville. A theater. A community center. And a social services center.  Reliable wireless service from Guerneville to Monte Rio. More plants and trees. Clean public restrooms. A drop-in center for the homeless. A teen center. And, of course a skateboard park.

The list of redevelopment projects that could revive Russian River communities with an infusion of about $8 million a year could go on and on. And it does, because the strategic plan approved by Sonoma County supervisors is 91 items long.

(read more at the Press Democrat article linked in the title)

Is Sonoma County's real estate market stabilizing?

Home sales remained strong in May and supplies continued to shrink, signs that Sonoma County’s housing market could be starting to stabilize, according to a new report.

But a new wave of foreclosures is looming on the horizon and one analyst warned that prices are not expected to hit bottom until the end of the year, at the earliest.

The region’s 412 homes sold in May was the highest for the month in four years, according to The Press Democrat real estate report prepared by Rick Laws with Coldwell Banker in Santa Rosa.

(see the full story at the title link)

One fourth of sellers reduce asking price

From Inman.com:

Sellers dropped their asking price on nearly one in four homes listed for sale on Trulia.com during the last year by an average of 10.6 percent, the company said today in a report identifying the markets experiencing the most and biggest price reductions.

Although Trulia's analysis did not include foreclosure properties, it showed that asking prices are being slashed more severely in areas hardest hit by foreclosures.

Price reductions averaged 23 percent in Detroit, 16 percent in Las Vegas, 15 percent in Miami, and 13 percent in Phoenix and Mesa, Ariz., Trulia said.

But luxury markets like New York City also saw price reductions exceeding the national average. Homes with a selling price above $2 million were reduced by 14.3 percent on average, compared with 9.7 percent for homes under $2 million.

While 23.6 percent of homes listed for sale nationwide on Trulia between June 1, 2008 and June 1, 2009, saw at least one price reduction, the percentage was considerably higher in some markets. Among the 50 largest U.S. cities by population, the 12 with the greatest percentage of listings with price reductions were scattered around the nation, Trulia said. They were:

* Jacksonville, Fla. – 36 percent
* Tucson, Ariz. – 32 percent
* Boston, Mass. – 32 percent
* Los Angeles, Calif. – 32 percent
* Columbus, Ohio – 31 percent
* Dallas, Texas – 31 percent
* Honolulu, Hawaii – 31 percent
* Minneapolis, Minn. – 31 percent
* Austin, Texas – 30 percent
* Washington, D.C. – 30 percent
* Baltimore, Md. – 30 percent
* Las Vegas, Nev. – 30 percent