Helping People Live the Paso Style,  Events, Wine, Food, Living  July 2008

Wine Notes: (Local RE and Wine News)
 Atascadero Wine Festival:
The Paso Robles Wine Festival has become a major wine celebration,  but often overlooked is the Atascadero Wine Festival.  This annual event supports the Charles Paddock Zoo and serves as an opportunity to taste wines from many smaller, independent wineries who don't participate in  the more famous Paso Wine Festival.  There were over 80 local wineries pouring some excellent wines this year.   The Atascadero Wine Festival is the place to taste the future wines of the region before they are "discovered".  I highly advise a visit to Atascadero and the Charles Paddock Zoo.

                        

 Blue Belly Winery: 
Yes, that's right "Blue Belly Winery"!  I hadn't heard of it myself until the Atascadero Wine Festival.  Blue Belly has  one of the best Zins I have ever tasted.  Mike Knodl, owner and winemaker of this small estate winery near Santa Margarita concentrates exclusively on Zinfandel.  It's one of those little gems of a wine that you want to keep a secret, but at the same time you know the world deserves more good Zin Bitches.  
Quick Real Estate Facts: (Calif)
Median home price - 
    $384,840
Highest median home price
    Santa Barbara So. Coast $1,199,000
Lowest median home price 
     High Desert $200,740
Mortgage rates - week ending 03/27:
  -30-yr. fixed: 6.42%; Fees/points: 0.7%
  -15-yr. fixed: 6.02%; Fees/points: 0.7%
  -1-yr.   adj:   5.19%; Fees/points: 0.6%
 
Food Corner:  (Personal recipes and Favorite Restaurants of the Paso Wine Country)   
Flank Steak with Prosciutto and Fontina:  This recipe is from the Food Network,  Bobby Flay. 
4 Shallots, coarsely chopped
1 cup Paso Robles Cabernet
1/4 cup Olive Oil
2 lbs Flank steak, butterfiled
1/4 lb Thinly slice prosciutto
1/4 lb thinly sliced fontina cheese
14 fresh basil leaves

   Whisk together shallots, wine and olive oil.  Let steak marinate in this for 4 hours. Take the steaks and lie flat and season.  evenly spread the prosciutto, cheese, and basil on the steak.  Gently roll the steak and bind with kitchen string.  Grill over high heat until all sides are seared.  Move to indirect heat and cook until internal temperature is 125 degrees.  Serve with a wine reduction sauce. 
     Enjoy!

Wine & Local Trivia:
 What does the term "Toasted Head" refer to?
  a) A Rock Band
  b) A brand of Wine
  c) Scorched ends of Wine Barrels
  d) All of Above

(Please visit http://www.pasostyleliving.com for the answer)

Paso Style Living Real Estate: (Real Estate market conditions in Paso Wine Country)
   Our local stats don't reflect it,  but across the state home sales are up.  As prices have dropped many people who missed the opportunity to buy a home previously are now able to afford one again.   There is anecdotal evidence of activity locally.
    The 2008 Paso Robles Economic Forecast indicates Paso Robles will fair better though the economic slump than most of California and probably better than the remainder of San Luis Obispo County. 
    Something which I mentioned a couple of months ago needs to be reiterated again. When the market turns around, Paso prices will have to jump!.  There is virtually no new construction taking place locally.  Building permits for new residential construction are at historic lows for the city. In addition the fees the city charges for residential construction are up dramatically.  The City fees for Impact,  Water, Schools, etc which a developer pays to build a home are now over $50,000.  A significant number of homes on the market today are priced below their replacement construction cost.
    I've changed the stats I present below this month to separate Sold from Pending.  The traditional measure of residential inventory levels  is Available/(Sold+Pending).  Pending stats have become misleading recently because escrows are lasting for several months.  An accurate reflection of the local market inventor would be Available/Sold.  So specifically, Paso Robles has 7 months of housing inventory.  
 

Area  (6/1/08-6/30/08)

Avg Price

Homes Available

 Sold

Pending

Atascadero

$443,219

242

 23

29

Paso Robles

$367,956

342

 48

47

Templeton

$575,000

114

 5

4

All Paso Wine Country

$403,523

824

 80

87

Paso Wine Country contains the following real estate areas (Paso Robles, Atascadero, Templeton, San Miguel, Creston, Shandon, Santa Margarita, Bradley, and Chalome) (Single Family Homes, SFRSB)
Real Estate Hot List  ( Special Properties for Sale in the Paso Wine Country)

● Lowest price Single Family Residential Property

● Most Expensive Single Family Residential Property

The above properties are listed in the Central Coast MLS and may or may not be listed by  Home and Vineyard Real Estate Brokerage.  The presentation of this information is not meant to imply any advertisement of these properties.
Ron Johnson
 Broker, RealtorŪ
 (805) 423-1902
 www.pasostyleliving.com
945 12th Street, Suite F
PO Box 1981
Paso Robles, CA 93447
www.homeandvineyard.com