This weekend, April 7th-8th (right now in fact), the Amador Flower Farm (22001 Shenandoah School Road, Plymouth) is holding its annual Spring Fling, featuring demonstrations by gardeners and the industry.  Sunday there’ll be a visit from the Easter Bunny and an Easter Egg Hunt.  For more information, contact the Flower Farm at 209-245-6660.

On Saturday, April 14th, The Fiddletown Preservation Society will celebrate Fiddletown’s gold rush legacy with Fiddletown Heritage Day.  To learn more about the Fiddletown Preservation Society’s work and especially their preservation of the legacy of Chinese pioneers in the area, see the recent article the Ledger Dispatach.  Events will include a gold panning workshop and demonstrations of other gold mining techniques, so if you’ve been looking to quit your day job, now’s your chance!

Amador County’s real estate market for March showed a good recovery from February’s dramatic, but apparently temporary, downturn in prices.  This year’s average home in Amador County sold for $344,655, only 1.5% behind last year’s $350,008.  During the same time, the sold price per square foot dropped somewhat more dramatically, from $208 to $198, or 4.8%.

On the other hand, from March 2006 to March 2007, the median selling price for residential property in Amador County rose some 9.6%.

Average days on market for sold homes were up substantially (60.5%), from 114 in March of 2006 to 183 in March of 2007.

Jackson California’s real estate market in the first quarter of 2007 was off compared to a year ago.  The average sold price per square foot was down 4.2%, from $190 to $182.   The price of the average home that sold in Jackson dropped 3.5% during the period, from $309,714 in the first quarter of 2006 to $299,000.  The median dropped from $299,000 to $289,000, a 3.3% decline.

Unit volume was down as well, from twenty-one units sold in the first quarter of 2006 to nineteen in the first quarter of 2007.  Inventory is currently quite high at some 14.9 months.

We’ve updated our charts showing the price curve for Amador County real estate from 2003 to the present. These charts have grown somewhat large over time, so rather than try to cram it all in, the thumbnails below will take you to the larger image.

Amador County Average Sold Price Per Square Foot

Residential Real Estate

2003 to the Present

Amador County Average Sold Price Per Square Foot

Residential Real Estate

2003 to the Present

There was a pretty sharp decrease from January to February, but we recovered most of that in March. Right now prices stand at roughly where they were in April / May of 2005.

I have high hopes for a sort of Amador County Renaissance here soon. Elite Properties began in Amador County, as the brainchild of Hal Fishler and Bridget Felmley-Gay. Later, as Hal Fishler became somewhat less active in the area, Elite took on a new broker, me, and that’s how I come to be blogging about Amador County, even though, from an Amador perspective, I live way up heck and gone in western El Dorado County.

In my own defense, however, I live in the foothills. I say this because those of us who live in the foothills are sometimes inclined to call those of you who don’t “flatlanders”. That’s not to say that they live in Flatland, necessarily. Actually I’m not sure what we’re trying to say, other than we live on a hill and you don’t.

If you’re not sure how perjorative a word is, it’s probably not too bad. When teenagers are punished for using the “F” word, it turns out that “Flatland” is not the offender.

But whatever, I’m not a flatlander. Route 50 goes up two or three respectable hills to get to my house. Try it.

Even though Elite Properties began in the also not flat land of Amador County, a lot of our growth lately has been in working with our Sacramento clients. We have a lot of them. But now we’re poised for growth in Amador County as well, and we may well be hiring our first talented but somewhat newer agent soon. (Most of our agents have from four to twenty-six year’s of experience, whereas our newer agent has one year under her belt). But we haven’t hired her yet. We’re just putting on our happy faces, hoping she’ll come play with us, because of how nice and professional we are and how nice and professional she is.

I hope she likes to write. I could go on all day, but either the Sacramento blog or a client or someone pretending to be a client usually cuts a hole in my whole day. So I don’t go on all day on this blog very often, except when we’re poised for growth or we’re having an open house or something.

It turns out both are true right now.

I should write about the open house separately.

The Sacramento Bee today released an article about a law suit filed by Amador County against a proposed Casino in Plymouth.

Amador County officials, fearful of the impact of another casino in the Plymouth area, have filed a federal lawsuit challenging whether the group planning the casino actually is a legitimate tribe.

The county’s suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Sacramento, challenges the U. S. Department of Interior’s acceptance of the Ione Band of Miwok Indians as a federally recognized tribe.

The department decided in September that 228 acres in and around the town of Plymouth qualify under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act as “Indian lands” on which the Miwoks may conduct gaming. But that decision “constitutes an abuse of discretion and is arbitrary, capricious and contrary to law,” Amador County alleges in the lawsuit.

Read the full story in the Bee.

     It looks as though spring is in the air! Along with Spring comes the fury of home buyers and sellers looking for the best deal in town. I have the totals for the number of homes and properties sold in Pymouth, Fiddletown, River Pines, Sutter Creek, Ione, and Jackson during the month of February, I am anxiously waiting  to compare these numbers to March in a few weeks. According to the Amador MLS none of the homes in Plymouth or Fiddletown sold, however one property sold in River Pines, and the little (growing) town of Ione sold 7 homes with an average price of $245,285.00! A total of 6 homes sold in Jackson with an average price of $264,666.00 and in Sutter Creek 4 homes sold with an average price above all of $490,250.00.

Remember Ross Perot? Reform party presidential candidate whose voice sounded a lot like Frank Perdue’s.

Now there was a little short guy with big ears who loved his charts.

Lately I’m starting to feel like Ross Perot, because I’ve become enamored of charts. (Fortunately I’m still tall, and my ears are pretty average, and I have a nice baritone).

Anyway, this chart frenzy is probably a passing thing, a result of having created the mother of all Amador County real estate statistics spreadsheets.

But until the fever lifts, here’s the latest one — and I must say I really like this one because I’ve been able to draw an hourglass, using only Excel and MLS and some Polynomial Trend Lines.

Don’t feel bad, I had no idea what a Polynomial Trend Line was until I started falling under the influence of Ross Perot-ism. Fortunately for us, Microsoft’s Excel support tells us:

A polynomial trendline is a curved line that is used when data fluctuates. It is useful, for example, for analyzing gains and losses over a large data set.

The chart is below, and shows units sold and average days on market.  As you can see, as the seller’s market reached its peak in late 2004 and early 2005, as we would expect, unit volume was up and the value for average days on market was down.  Of course, as the market cooled, homes took longer to sell, and less of them sold.

As always, the real data is a jumbled mess, but by golly you get a pretty nifty picture when you throw in your polynomial trend lines.

I don’t know why Maureen Francis thinks statistics are dull.

HOPE Flyer    Are you looking to buy a home in Amador or El Dorado counties? We are holding a workshop to help you prepare yourself for the home buying process,  on Saturday March 10th from 9am-1pm at Placer Title in Jackson, you will have the opportunity to talk with lenders, Amador County Realtors, Title & Escrow officers, and receive assistance in understanding your credit.  Please call or e-mail Bridget at Bridget@BridgetSells.com  (530) 306-9111 reservations or required. We will have a list of homes in various price ranges in areas such as: Plymouth, Ione, Sutter Creek, Jackson, Pine Grove, Mt Aukum, Fairplay, and River Pines.

I have had the honor of listing one of the most exquisite homes and settings I have ever seen. From the creek, pond, and lake to the detailed rock & brick work to the conveniences of dual heating & air. This paradise has it all. Situated in the “Heart” of Fairplay Viticulture, located in El Dorado County, this homes rests on over 6 usable acres with deeded access to a private lake located just a short walk across the road. There is plenty of room for a couple acres of vines, horses, alpacas, or whatever you have in mind. You can view more of this home at www.BridgetSells.com. Some of the possibilities might be a Bed and Breakfast, vacation retreat, or just an amazing place for your family to call home. 4 bedrooms 2 baths family/dining combo room, living room, and updated bathrooms. Rock fireplace and a beautiful propane stove. If you would like more information or to schedule your own private tour please call Bridget at 530-306-9111 or e-mail me at Bridget@BridgetSells.com.