Homebuyers and renters from Santa Rosa, CA and other communities affected by the unprecedented wildfires are searching for replacement housing. Rick Laws, senior vice president for the Pacific Union International real estate agency, said his agents have been putting together more deals with buyers who have lost homes; the deals were typically for 10 percent over the sellers’ asking prices.
Experts anticipate housing prices to rise in the wake of the wildfires, as Sonoma County was already experiencing a housing shortage. The Press Democrat reports that lenders will be unable to approve mortgages in certain areas as insurance companies are not writing new residential policies for much of Sonoma County.
Glenn Gephart, general manager and one of four owners at Century 21 NorthBay Alliance real estate agency in Santa Rosa, wondered whether the value of a “lucky” home that survives a neighborhood firestorm may rise because of scarcity or fall because buyers won’t want to live near a cleanup and rebuilding project that could take years.
“I have no idea which one of those factors is stronger,” Gephart said.
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