Under all is the land
After a couple of price swings, sellers and buyers figured out market pricing for Fountaingrove lots around March of 2019 when the trend stabilized. Three charts below show lot values trending steadily and gently down
The first ten lot sales after the fire are now final. Half a dozen are from Coffey Park and the others are in Larkfield and Fountaingrove. These are mainly smallish lots from around 5,000 square feet up to a quarter of an acre. It’s impossible to rank the lots as far as views or amenities, so I am going to stick with “just a lot” for now. Prices ranged from a low of $20 per square foot to a high of just under $40 per square foot. The highest value per foot was for a 6,000 square foot lot in Mark West Estates.
Approximately half the prices were over $30 per square foot and half were under. One outlier that I excluded from the calculations was a parcel just over 6 acres in the Riebli/Wallace Rd area. It sold for $620,000 which was more than double the price of any other lot, but was only $2.30 per square foot. That still works out to nearly $100,000 per acre which is an aggressive price for Sonoma County planted vineyard, but high for a rural homesite.
When you are evaluating large property for sale or purchase, it’s still best to use a standard analysis of utility, location, views, water and septic, and other factors to establish the value of the core home site and then figure the additional acreage at a reduced rate.
There are dozens of additional listings that are either pending or contingent, so we will have more granular data to look at over the next few weeks. In the meantime, you can use $30 per square foot as a first guess at value. Feel free to get in touch if you would like help analyzing a lot sale or purchase. One warning to anyone shopping for a lot. Median days on the market for this first batch of lots was 20 days. Not 20 days to get an offer, but 20 days from listing to closing with many cases of multiple offers. Be prepared, my friends. Be prepared.
Since the fires there have been dozens of Fountaingrove lots listed for sale. Here are the results for different areas:
Skyfarm and Cross Creek area
Fir Ridge area
Owners of property in the Fountaingrove area have specific requirements related to rebuilding embedded in their Declaration of Conditions Covenants and Restrictions. I am excerpting some of a FAQ from the FRMA website:
Who rebuilds our homes?
Each owner is responsible for rebuilding his or her home unless you are in a sub-association that has the obligation to rebuild.
Can an owner choose not to rebuild their home?
For homes that are not in a sub-association, an owner may choose to remove all structures and debris and landscape the lot. The owner and lot will still be subject to assessments and required to maintain the landscaping on the lot, even if the home is not rebuilt.
Do we have to rebuild exactly the home we lost?
The CC&Rs provide that an owner is required to rebuild in substantial conformity with the appearance and design of the home immediately prior to the destruction. However, an owner can apply for architectural approval for changes to the exterior appearance of the home. The Architectural Committee will approve changes if the committee finds the new design is still harmonious with other homes in, and the natural topography of, the neighborhood. Owners can change the interior as they desire without approval of the Association – only exterior changes require approval.
When do we have to rebuild?
Owners must put their lots in safe condition as soon as possible. The CC&Rs require owners to commence reconstruction within 90 days and diligently pursue completion. We understand that with the scale of loss in our City, it will not be possible for many owners to start construction in 90 days; but each owner should start the process of getting plans drawn and engaging a contractor within 90 days, even if actual construction cannot start during that time.