It's hard to believe summer is half over! But there's still plenty of time to enjoy everything the North Bay has to offer this August before school starts again. Read on to get the facts about home values during recessionary periods, learn more about fire-wise landscaping, and get the scoop on all the late summer outdoor concerts in Marin and Sonoma counties!
Is It Still a Good Time to Buy a House?
The news is full of predictions that the U.S. economy is headed for a recession. While it remains to be seen whether this will occur, many home buyers are wondering whether it's wise to buy a home in the midst of so much economic uncertainty. So, is it still a good time to buy a home? The answer is yes!
The U.S. has experienced nine recessionary periods since 1960. Home prices either significantly increased or remained stable in eight out of nine of those recessions. The chart above illustrates home prices during the last four. The only recessionary period in which home prices actually declined was the "Great Recession" of 2007-2009. However, as recessions go, the Great Recession was a rare outlier.
Why? Because the 2007-2009 recession was preceded by the housing bubble of the early 2000s, when risky, non-verified mortgages were commonplace and people had very little equity in their homes. In addition, there was a surplus of homes on the market even before the recession began, and there was much lower buyer demand.
Today's market is the opposite. Inventory of homes for sale (particularly in the Bay Area) is historically low, and buyer demand continues to outpace supply by a wide margin. This is particularly true in Marin County, where protected open space often limits development of new housing. Thus, the combination of tight supply and robust demand should continue to drive home values up, albeit at a more moderate pace than we experienced in the last couple of years.
Fire Wise Landscaping
Late summer and early fall are excellent times to plant shrubs in your yard. The soil is warmer than it is in spring, and the plant will have several months (assisted by winter rains) to develop strong roots before it has to contend with the blistering heat of summer. And since wild fires are a fact of life here in northern California, consider the following tips from Fire Safe Marin to ensure your landscaping is as fire resistant as possible:
- Defensible Space Zones: Zone Zero is the area from 0-5 feet away from your home. No vegetation should be planted here! Zone One is the area from 5-30 feet away from your home. Fire-hazardous plants should be removed from this zone and replaced with healthy, properly irrigated, fire-smart plants.
- Tree Branch Maintenance: Remove all branches from tree trunks that are fewer than six feet from the ground. This minimizes the chance of the tree igniting from shrubs and grasses growing nearby.
- Plant Spacing: Leave a space of at least twice the full-grown size between shrubs.
- Mulch: Use inorganic mulch materials such as decomposed granite, rocks, or gravel within five feet of structures (Zone Zero). For areas within 5-30 feet from structures, large bark nuggets and composted wood chips may be used, but not in a widespread, continuous manner. Break them up with concrete or gravel paths, masonry walls, or other inorganic hardscape.
Enjoy August's Free Outdoor Concerts in Marin and Sonoma Counties!
San Anselmo Live on the Avenue Music Series: Every Friday and Saturday through October, San Anselmo Avenue is closed to auto traffic from 6 pm to 10 pm for shopping, dining, dancing, and live music. Concerts are held at Creek Park and Town Hall Plaza from 6 pm-8:30 pm. Go to San Anselmo Recreation Department for a schedule of musical acts performing each week.
Novato Concerts On the Green: (Novato Civic Green, 901 Sherman Ave.) On Augst 19th, The Soulshake will perform a free concert on the green from 6 pm to 8 pm.
Novato Hot Amphitheater Nights: (Hamilton Amphitheater, 601 N. Hamilton Parkway) On August 27th, The Blubyrds will perform a free concert at the amphitheater from 5 pm to 7 pm.
Corte Madera Summer Concerts: (Menke Park, 220 Corte Madera Ave.) Every Sunday evening in August from 5:00 to 6:30 pm, live bands perform free concerts in the Piccolo Pavilion.
Tuesdays In The Plaza: (Matheson St. and Healdsburg Ave., Healdsburg) Food trucks begin serving at 5:00 p.m., and local artists perform live music from 6:00-8:00 p.m. every Tuesday in August. Go to Tuesdays in Plaza to see the list of bands.
Summer Nights on the Green: (701 McClelland Drive, Windsor) Every Thursday evening in August at the Windsor Town Green, the Farmer's Market begins at 5:00 p.m., and free live concerts begin at 6:00 p.m. Check out the list of bands here: Summer Nights on the Green
