Wine Country home sales on the rise despite threat of wildfires

Real estate market in California’s wine country is booming — even amid multiple wildfires and dangerous drought.

Napa County had 57 homes sell for more than $2 million in the second quarter, compared with 17 that sold at that price a year earlier, the Wall Street Journal reported. Sales are rising in Sonoma, too, even though insurance companies typically raise premiums in fire-prone areas and homeowners tend to flee.

One reason, say local real estate agents: California’s wine country has scenery and a low crime rate. Not even the seasonal fire risk, and an accompanying risk of poor air quality, is enough to scare them away.

The pandemic has also boosted home demand. And prices are also getting a boost as fires displace residents and decrease the number of available homes. In addition, a dearth of contractors is pushing up building costs and helping drive up prices.

Metropolitan areas such as Silicon Valley had the fastest-rising real estate prices before the pandemic. The shift to working at home drove people to more affordable rural and suburban areas that are now being hit by the fires.

People living in the similarly priced Lake Tahoe area have been forced to evacuate due to the proximity of the blazes.

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[WSJ]— Victoria Pruitt