What makes Paso Robles different or better than say Napa and Sonoma?

I would think first about Paso Robles when I think of a wine region, over Napa or Sonoma. I’m saying that a bit tongue in cheek because I live here and I get to sell the life experience of being here. I think we’re overcoming Napa, not just in the quality or number of award-winning wines they produce - both regions are really heavyweights in that. But in terms of the lifestyle and tourism experience. I think we’re becoming more popular, and a lot of that is because we have a younger crowd and a younger vibe here. A lot of the winemakers are very trendy, they’re mom and pop shops, and try different, new things. They’re not as stuffy as say Napa. When my family moved here about 15 years ago, I could tell this area was about to pop. Then Forbes rated it as one of the best wine regions, and one of the newspapers in London, I can’t remember which, rated it as one of the best wine destinations. This was 15-16 years ago when a lot of people who were into wine had not yet heard of Paso Robles. Since that time, what I’ve seen is younger winemakers coming here because they can try different things and do things that wouldn’t be successful in Napa. It’s a homegrown wine region that grew up in the shadow of Napa, and like any younger sibling is really trying to stand on its own and push boundaries outside of how Napa does wine. I think a lot of this comes from the cowboy culture in San Luis Obispo County that goes back to the old ranching days that is only now fading away. This area still has that very independent-minded, “California forged the west” spirit today, and it carries through to the winemakers. It’s also just easy to come here from the Bay Area Peninsula. Before I moved here, I loved the feeling of coming down and having this getaway. 

What in your area is lovely to visit or experience? Anything like community events, your favorite spots, or of course, wineries.

Oh gosh, where to begin! There really is something for everyone…food, wine, culture. 

My very top recommendation is always the Templeton Farmers Market on Saturday from 9:30a-12:30p. Since it is a wine country, of course wine is a draw. My favorite winery would be Calcareous Vineyard. This is 10 minutes from downtown Paso and named after the type of soil we have here. It’s perched up in the hills with stunning views, they have live music weekly and really good food, too. There’s also CASS Winery + Geneseo Inn , with excellent food. And of course, everyone has a membership at Villa San-Juliette Vineyard & Winery - you feel like you’re in a European chateau. Shale Oak Winery is a gorgeous space with incredible stained glass windows. It’s so small yet so wonderful, and like many places here, very environmentally focused. Outside of wine, there’s a great beer making culture and a few distilleries in this area, too. 

For arts and culture, Sensorio is a fabulous light show installation by internationally acclaimed artist Bruce Munro you must see. In nearby Grover Beach there’s a theater that does four great productions every year of The Great American Melodrama, and San Luis Obispo is nearby too with an international performance art theater. We have a great music scene, too, like all of the events that happen at the Vina Robles Amphitheatre which is affiliated with Vino Robles Winery.

There are a lot of large events throughout the year to experience, too. For starters, the Mid-State Fair, which is the county fair in the central state and it draws a lot of great music and of course, a rodeo. The Garagiste Wine Festival is a great way to find undiscovered, artisan producers who are making some of the most exciting wine. And of course the rodeo is HUGE here. The Creston Classic Rodeo has been going on since 1996.

For areas to visit, there’s Atascadero Lake Park, just south of Paso Robles. Atascadero Lake Park is a great walking/running trail around a lake with a park, a little zoo, and a great place to run into people. They do great seasonal events like orchestras there and the houses that surround the park do decorations and food handouts. They also have an annual wine festival that’s really fantastic. I always tell people to visit Tin City, and make sure you watch the great documentary on Amazon Prime about this, too! If you want the ocean, it’s 25 minutes to Cayucos, which is such a lovely old California surf town or Cambria is just north of there and this is built like an old English town with a great Christmas Market. 

There’s just so much to do here. I have a great newsletter where we share what’s going on in the Central Coast, and it’s almost impossible to cull down what we include!

Why does that area make a great investment and retirement destination?

Yes, this is an excellent investment area. There’s going to be high demand, low supply for the foreseeable future. It reminds me of San Mateo County in 1998 in terms of how pricing and demand was starting to go up. It’s also a similar area in that 60-70% of the land here, like in San Mateo County, is agricultural land or protected open space. What this means for both places is there isn’t a lot of space to build, which right away means limited housing supply. The biggest difference is that there aren’t a lot of high paying jobs here, so prices aren’t as high as San Mateo County. This is changing though as the cities and county are working hard to attract other industries, specifically the aerospace industry, here. That in itself means the long term outlook and growth potential from an investment standpoint is good. In addition, the vacancy rate is less than 1% and it’s very hard to get a rental here. Also like in San Mateo County, unless you’re putting more down, you’re not going to cash flow tremendously immediately, but there’s a good ability to get a good bang for your buck on a long-term investment. 

What is it like to buy in that market, and how does it vary from the Bay area?

I work with a lot of Bay Area buyers. There was a blip in 2021 where things were getting 10-20 offers and going crazy but that fizzled soon. One big difference is that here you’re not getting property and pest inspections up front, which buyers coming from the Bay Area are used to getting. This is becoming more and more common, maybe 35%, but it’s still not the norm. I’m one of the only agents that have full disclosure packets when we go on the market. There’s not really a standard rhythm either of setting an offer date, it’s like the wild wild west. So if something comes on the market, you have to go see it right away because you just don’t know what the agent is going to do. The other thing is that sellers don’t really stage either, and overall there’s not a lot of prep before going on market. I’ve gotten to use the “Request for Repair” form for the first time! Sometimes sellers will repair things, or give credits to buyers, but we’re moving more to things being sold as-is.

Tell me a little about the market (inventory, "hotness", average prices, etc).

Right now we have very low inventory, especially since COVID but really in the last 5 or 6 years, inventory is trending down. We used to have decent inventory, but it’s really starting to mirror the Bay Area where there isn’t much and if it’s good it moves quickly. Average price in north county (Paso Robles) is around $700k. For under $600k you can still get a house with a yard, but it will be very small. That window is closing though, and anything in this price range goes quickly. Overall, between $600k-$800k, you can still get a decent 1500-1700 sq ft house. Also, most of the housing stock is newer built in the last 10-15 years. There isn’t a large inventory of luxury homes, most of these are out on land. There are a few gated communities going for $2M-$3M. These have really incredible details and very good quality construction and finishes (even better than the Bay Area), plus most have pools, and rest on an acre or more.

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What makes Temecula different or better than say Napa and Sonoma?

I feel pretty equipped to make this comparison, given I was born and raised in the Bay Area and have been going to Napa and Sonoma since I was in my 20’s. I wouldn’t say its better however there are a few key differences. The first is that it’s much more casual here. The general vibe and how people dress, whether you’re at a winery or an event, you just feel it’s decidedly more casual. This is just inherent to the area, of course, and makes all the wineries feel warm and welcoming. Most of the wineries have incredible views of the Temecula Valley with sprawling patios and live music, then add in the great weather and it really creates the beautiful wine lifestyle that anyone can truly enjoy. The demographics are generally different as well. It’s younger here, from the winemakers to wine management, to staff, and even the consumers… Despite that we have transitioned in quite nicely. I had to get a pair of High Top Air Jordan’s. The winery scene here offers much more family-friendly events than I ever found up north. We are love love loving the fact that we don’t have to travel more than ten minutes to get to any of our frolicking fun wineries.

Why is your area lovely to visit (maybe a few highlights of community events, your favorite spots to visit, etc)? 

Temecula has so much to offer in terms of goings on and fun things to do. We have forty lovely parks including several sports parks, a number of quaint museums, and quite picturesque ponds and lakes. There are over 50 wineries here and believe me were having a blast exploring them. Any night or day we can find live music and entertainment on a beautiful patio with stunning views. Nosh on appetizers and sip luscious wine.  Many are highly established and have a long history here. Big time artists and events are the soup de jour here. For example, I’m going to see Daughtry at South Coast Winery, which is this sprawling Mediterranean style winery with a beautiful spa and resort. There’s also Akash which has comedy night and delicious bites. Come visit and we’ll take you to our faves. A HUGE annual event here is the Hot Air Balloon Festival at Lake Skinner - it’s so fabulous, with artist booths, several stages of live music, and of course wine. Be on the lookout for my Peter Grimm bejeweled cowboy hat. Once it gets dark, everyone heads out to this giant field where they’re lighting up the hot air balloons. It was like nothing we ever experienced! Then there’s the annual Wiener Fest in South Temecula at Vail Ranch Headquarters where people from all over the United States come here to parade around with their Dachshunds and put them to the task of racing each other. Seriously one of the funniest entertaining events we’ve been to here. When you come to Temecula, you must visit Old Town Temecula which sprawls for many blocks and is exactly what it sounds like - an old western town. It has such charm, great energy and host many super cool annual events like The Rod Run chock full of classic cars. Our Fourth of July Parade is a real slice of America. The Gambling Cowboy Restaurant is a major go to along with so many other wonderful dining and watering hole options.  Head to the Blues Club to finish off a fun filled day. We have several  gorgeous Golf Courses here and we house one of the largest resort and casinos in the United States called Pechanga. You name it you can do it at Pechanga.   In summation Temecula is steeped in history and people are very honored and proud to live here. What’s not to love.

What is it like to buy in Temecula, and how does it vary from the Bay area?

It’s world’s apart and vastly different here. The logistics and how it functions, are totally different. It is somewhat competitive, but our inventory is not nearly as tight as it is in the Bay Area. One of the biggest differences, and it’s huge, is potential buyers receive no disclosures,  inspections, or information about a property before you get into contract. It’s all done on the back-end, and because of that we see a lot more contingent offers and an inordinate number of transactions fall out of escrow. What’s customary is that you negotiate for repairs, you negotiate terms after you get into escrow. I’ve always been able to move mountains for my clients and this is one thing I’d really like to effect. Once you buy a home though, if you plan on making upgrades it can be more advantageous than the Bay Area from a cost perspective.  I established my real estate business in the Bay Area over twenty two years ago so I know it’s one of the most demanding in all aspects of a transaction and I  believe this equips me to be highly effective and competitive on behalf of my So Cal clients. Thank you Dad for teaching me so many things and great thanks to all my mentors over the years.

Tell me a little about the real estate market in Temecula

The median price here is currently $749k. A great majority of homes are in HOA communities, and much like with the demographics here they cater to younger families. These homes are generally much newer than homes in the Bay Area, typically two stories, with gorgeous landscaping, and well-managed communities. The typical home is usually 3 bedrooms, and larger at around 2500 sq ft, on 7000-10,000 sq ft lots. The rest of Temecula are larger older homes (late seventies and up) on larger parcels of land. For example, I live in a magical community know as Meadowview which comprises 900 homes surrounding appx 400 acres of wondrous and gently rolling hills. There are lots of trails and breathtaking views affording the most amazing sunsets. Lots here are appx 1 ⁄ 2 acre to a little over an acre, and the average price over the last 6 months has hovered at $1,150,000 To the east is where you’ll find stunning vineyard and equestrian properties with substantial acreage, grand homes or even compounds with multiple structures. To the South, there’s Los Ranchitos and Santiago Estates, where you’ll get 4-10 acres and multi-million dollar custom homes also very equestrian in nature.  Then to the West there is the beautiful area called De Luz  with very unique multi-million dollar homes perched on hillside knolls with gorgeous views. All of these larger properties are often equipped with ADU’s.  There’s a home for everyone here in The Temecula Valley and you don’t have to feel like you’re living just to pay your mortgage.  

Does Temecula make a good investment area?

The prices down here are vastly different than San Mateo, Santa Clara, and San Francisco Counties. Just like in San Mateo County there are opening price point neighborhoods, and very expensive luxury price point neighborhoods. Rent here relative to the purchase price makes this a really good investor friendly region, where you could see some upside immediately. As a cost of living housing price ratio The Temecula Valley makes for good and smart investment choices. Come visit us. I’ll take you on the grandest of winery tours and you may never want to leave.

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