The hotbed of real estate is not Silicon Valley anymore but wine country.
Sonoma County, located about a couple of hours drive from high tech San Francisco, has become the place to purchase properties for the rich and able. According to a recent report from cnbc.com, the listings for homes priced above the $1 million mark have jumped by 90 percent from the previous year.
The observation was made by Sotheby's properties, and they attribute the jump to tech millionaires pushing up the prices. According to Sotheby's International Realty's Chuck Lamp, "Because of the success of so many start-up firms in San Francisco, there's a lot of money that is being manufactured in the area. And a lot of it is going into real estate."
The most expensive listing in the area is a 20,000 square foot Austrian countryside villa inspired mansion that sits on 600 acres of prime land. The mansion has five bedrooms, a dozen bathrooms and amenities such as a home theater and an infinity pool. The price tag for the property is a cool $32 million.
It is currently owned by former Cisco Systems Chief Technology Officer Ed Kozel.
Aside from Kozel's property, there are about half a dozen other properties in the upward range of $25 million located in the area.
The area has been known as a weekend getaway for the rich and famous. Not only is it a real estate hotbed, it has been a rich source of income for the state of California. According to a report from vin-go.net, 90 percent of US wine exports come from the region, which generates about $1.49 billion in revenues for 2014. The warm weather, the rich cultural heritage and the wine traditions have made this area a favored home for the summer and winter not just for the rich technology moguls of late, but including celebrities and other rich and famous of the world.
