Page 4 - Considering Moving to Lake County?
By Rob Ishihara
CPS Country Air Properties
contact Rob at rob@countryair.com
or visit www.theprimerealestate.com
The most desirable types of properties Lake County has to offer are properties with acreage and privacy, vineyard properties, and most of all, lakefront homes. Even with the values appreciating 30 to 40% a year over the past few years, buyers are still able to obtain these properties for half what they cost over the hill in Napa and Sonoma Counties and for around the same price as they might pay for an average house in the bay area with the neighbor literally 10 feet away. They can cash out their million dollar house in the Bay Area and buy a nice lakefront home for almost half that and still have money left over. Affordability is a huge reason so many people are electing to move to Lake County, which still has a median home price around $300,000. The median home price in the state of California is now over half a million dollars and over the hill in Napa and Sonoma Counties it is $600,000 and $700,000. It’s no wonder so many people are choosing to move to Lake County.
Besides the affordability, why do buyers choose Lake County over the Napa Valley, Lake Tahoe and other popular tourist destinations? It’s simple: Lake County has everything the other places have, all in one location, at a fraction of the cost and is half the distance to travel. Charles Bennett, CEO of California Land Title in Marin County, with many years in the business, recently purchased a second home in Lakeport. When asked why he chose Lake County, Mr. Bennett said, “I had been there before and really enjoyed my time there. I also wanted a place my kids and their friends to go within close proximity to home.” This seems to be a shared way of thinking for others in Mr. Bennett’s position. He can walk out his front door and two hours later he is miles away from the hustle and bustle of the city, enjoying the peace and serenity Lake County has to offer. There is no doubt Lake County is growing and with all this development it begs the question, “where will Lake County be 5 years, 10 years, or 20 years down there road?”
In the past few years there has been a great deal of development, and it is only the tip of the iceberg. During last year alone there were over 500 building permits taken out by developers for different projects planned around the lake. A private lake with estate sized homes in Hidden Valley, an 80 plus home subdivision in Lakeport, 150 homes on a 57 acre vineyard near Middletown, and over 80 homes set to go in the Kelseyville Riviera, all set for 2006. A copious number of trends and funds all point towards Lake County as a highly sought-after place to live and visit. With its growing reputation for world class wines, water sports, fishing, outdoor activities, wild life clean air, and peaceful country feeling it seems certain Lake County is quickly becoming Northern California’s premier resort destination.
