Real estate developers of Santa Barbara proudly announced that "Sonoma County's Lowest Priced New Homes" is now being offered at the Paseo Vista subdivision in southwest Santa Rosa.
The houses in the said subdivision have a starting price of $329,000. All 29 properties that is being offered during the first phase of the project are already reserved by prospective buyers. There are also buyers that are still in the waiting list for the second phase of the project.
Sonoma County Supervisor Efren Carrillo, who represents the Roseland neighborhood where Paseo Vista is located, said that the project is all about housing that is affordable for a larger portion of the community.
Mike Gasparini and his business partner, Allan Henderson, are the developers of the project.
"Many local families can't afford to spend more than $350,000 for a home," said Gasaparini. "So we're filling that niche with a real quality product."
Otto Kobler, branch manager of Summit Funding in Santa Rosa, said that a buyer with conventional financing would need an annual income of about $52,200 for the least costly unit. Kobler and the developers claim that the monthly mortgage payment of the houses they offer, including taxes and insurance, would be $2,158. This is about what renters are now paying for similarly sized apartments and houses in the county.
Press Democrat reported that the prices of the homes in that area are being kept down via higher density development and by using a Santa Rosa company that builds key sections of the homes in a factory.
Shaun Faber, founder and creative director of Hybrid Core Homes, said that their company can build the house "core" sections in half the time and for 20 percent less cost compared to traditional, "stick-built" homes.
The project site has a total of 12 acres of land that will include three project parks and one acre donated for part of a future public park.