Homeowners can take steps to improve sales potential
By Heather Macdonald
The Gold Rush returned to Nevada County in 2020. Real estate was hot. Buyers were desperate. Sellers were riding high on the money wave. Then, in the summer of 2022, the wave froze.
Will it melt in 2023?
“The market is not dead!” exclaims realtor Diane Helms. A Nevada City realtor with more than 40 years of experience, Helms says the crazy real estate market of 2020-21 was not sustainable. Interest rates were down to 2 percent, COVID-19 fears sent buyers from the city to the countryside, and companies allowed employees to work remotely. This all made Nevada County’s Gold Country extremely desirable. Residents couldn’t believe what buyers from areas such as San Francisco and Los Angeles were willing to pay.
Home sale tip: Fire resistance certification adds appeal
“It was totally crazy,” Helms recalls. “Out of whack.” In 2022, inflation rose and so did mortgage interest rates. While no one can predict the future, Helms says the slowdown had to happen. “It is not the bubble of the last recession, just adjustments that needed to happen,” she adds. People can improve their property’s sales appeal by taking steps to make it fire-resistant, Helms suggests.
Two local entities can inspect your property and make recommendations for fire hardening:
readynevadacounty.org
areyoufiresafe.com
The FireSafe Council can issue a Wildfire Prepared Home Certification after working with a property owner. This certificate can help sell a home in Nevada County in the current market, Helms says. Having firewise landscaping also improves a property’s curb appeal.
The FireSafe Council makes it easier for homeowners to get recommendation to make their properties fire resistant, without involving county officials. Its role is to help, not to enforce county code, and no information is shared with any enforcement agency, council Executive Director Jamie Jones says.
A FireSafe Council advisor first walks the property with the homeowner. They do everything possible to help the homeowner, from devising a plan for employing defensible space and land clearing; to how to make the house itself fire resistant with new “fire proof” materials such as noncombustible decking, siding and roofing. They will even create reflective, easy-to-see address signs and chip brush cleared for defensible space. Low-income senior residents or those with medical disabilities may qualify for free assistance in defensible space clearing.
Still a good time to sell
Despite the challenges posed by wildfire, it is still a sellers’ market, Helms says. Nevada County remains one of the most beautiful rural and historic areas in California.
“There will always be buyers who want to live here,” she says.
