homesmillbrae.com

The project is among a handful of development proposals challenged by the state Attorney General’s Office in a new legal front aimed at reducing California’s wildfire danger. The crackdown comes as devastation in Santa Rosa, Redding and other cities shows how housing sprawl can not only be hit by fires, but help fan flames across large urban areas.

“Today’s decision by the superior court affirms a basic fact: Local governments and developers have a responsibility to take a hard look at projects that exacerbate wildfire risk and endanger our communities,” Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement after the ruling. “We can’t keep making shortsighted land use decisions that will have impacts decades down the line. We must build responsibly.”

The Guenoc Valley Project, situated in rolling hills about 90 miles north of San Francisco, calls for 1,400 homes in a resort community across 25 square miles. Proposed by developer Lotusland Investment Group of San Francisco, the project could include five boutique hotels, a golf course and a culinary school. Lotusland did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the ruling.

Many in Lake County have supported the plan, recognizing the need for housing and economic development in a relatively underserved part of the state. The county Board of Supervisors approved the project two years ago.

While the developer sought to reduce the risk of fire by including a number of safety measures such as fire breaks, fire cameras and safe places to flee, critics said it fell short.

In August 2020, the nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity, later joined by the attorney general’s office, sued the county. The lawsuit, among other things, alleged that the environmental impact report did not fully evaluate the fire risk.

The area at least partially burned in 2020, 2018, 2015, 2014, 2006, 1996, 1980, 1976, 1963, 1953 and 1952, according to the suit.

The ruling said that while many of the risks were adequately identified, the impacts of a mass evacuation of the proposed development, which could send thousands fleeing on small, country roads, were not sufficiently assessed.

The decision forces the county to rescind its approval of the environmental impact report and the project. In order for the development to move forward again, the report would have to be redone, perhaps requiring changes to the project.

Lake County officials expressed disappointment following the judge’s ruling.

“As I have publicly stated on previous occasions, Lotusland had made considerable efforts to mitigate potential environmental concerns,” said county Supervisor Moke Simon in an email. “The investments proposed, including adding housing supply and even a fire station and helipad, offered the potential for lasting regional economic benefits. If the ultimate result of this decision is the project not moving forward, that will be a tremendous loss.”

Project critics, though, praised the decision as a lesson to be learned across California.

“This has statewide implications,” said Peter Broderick, a staff attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Developers need to start looking at the impact of development to the surrounding communities in fire-prone areas.”

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — Uncertainty over the prolonged pandemic may be factoring into an extreme drop in homes available for sale in the Bay Area.

A new Zillow report shows while home values are soaring, not many of them are being listed on the market.

KRON4’s Philippe Djegal spoke with an economist who believes this may be setting up for a busy spring housing market.

High demand from home buyers coinciding with a historically low amount of homes available for sale is contributing to a rapid appreciation in home prices across the nation.

And, the Bay Area is no different.

“I think the rise of the omicron variant could have contributed to a bit of a pullback by sellers this winter,” said Zillow senior economist Jeff Tucker.

It is no secret that many Bay Area residents have flocked to other parts of the country, looking for more space and financial flexibility while the virus circulates through communities.

This as some employers have made working remotely an option.

But Tucker says that has not translated to a sharp increase in homes available on the market.

Instead, what is available is selling at lightning speed.

Bay Area homes are typically spending just two weeks on the market before going pending.

People with big pockets are closing quickly, while the average buyer is left behind.

“For the bay area, so San Francisco and San Jose were down about a fifth from this time last year in terms of active listings,” Tucker said.

Tucker says it’s possible and even likely sellers are trying to time the market.

Wait and see how the virus plays out and then possibly list their homes for sale in a typically busy spring in real estate.

Meanwhile, rent in the San Francisco metro area is up 10.4 percent from last year.

In the San Jose metro area, rents are up 9.2 percent.

“As this for sale shortage goes on, it kind of backs people up to stay in the rental market and contributes to those rising rents,” Tucker said.

For renters and buyers, demand is high, and Tucker says its may just be a matter of time before supply catches up.

Article source: https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/bay-area-housing-inventory-drops-prices-rise-zillow-report/

Article source: https://oaklandnewsnow.com/real-estate-inflation/

What can I do to prevent this in the future?

If you are on a personal connection, like at home, you can run an anti-virus scan on your device to make sure it is not infected with malware.

If you are at an office or shared network, you can ask the network administrator to run a scan across the network looking for misconfigured or infected devices.

Article source: https://therealdeal.com/sanfrancisco/2022/01/13/divcowest-buys-site-of-south-sf-life-science-conversion-for-165m/

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (KRON) – If it seems like for-sale signs outside of East Bay properties are lasting longer than usual, it’s not your imagination but does that mean home prices are trending toward a buyers market?

Real estate experts are beginning to notice that the recently red hot East Bay home market is beginning to show signs of cooling off, with homes lingering on the market. 

“We dug into the details a bit, especially for the East Bay. We checked out Alameda County and saw the median home is going pending there in about 13-days. From the moment it hits the MLS as an active listing to when it gets marked pending. It’s under contract. By historical standards, that’s still very fast but it’s a bit of a slow down compared to 9-days back as recently as May,” Zillow Senior Economist Jeff Tucker said.

“Two of my recent listings have been sitting on the market for over 30 days,” Sandi Porter, realtor, said.

Sandi Porter of Berkshire Hathaway Homes has over 25-years of experience in the East Bay real estate market. 

She says a primary reason homes sales are slowing down, buyer burnout.

“They’re taking a break. For many buyers, it’s football season. Sunday, I had an open house. I’m like where’s all my buyers? They were watching the 49ers game and the Raiders game. The serious buyer is going to go out there regardless of the weather, regardless of who is playing because they really want to buy a house,” Porter said. 

“As the autumn goes on there will be more options to choose from. They’ll have a little bit more bargaining power. A little more balance between buyers and sellers. Definitely not a buyers market!” Tucker said.

Article source: https://www.kron4.com/news/real-estate/east-bay-homes-lingering-on-the-market/