Challenges face first-time home buyers in Sonoma County

Steven Schindler was surprised last spring when his actual estate agent told him to prepare to visit 30 to 40 homes in order to buy.

�I laughed,� said Schindler, 35, a plumber & first-time buyer. They told himself there was no way his spouse, Allison, & they would require to view that plenty of homes.

The Schindlers are pleased that they persevered, & they advise other first-time seekers against getting discouraged if house hunting takes longer than expected.

It turns out the couple did look at over 40 homes as they sought priced between $500,000 & $550,000. In September they done the acquisition of a four-bedroom home in east Petaluma, the town where Allison grew up.

�It�s an hard market out there said Allison Schindler, 32, who works in retail.

The number of first-time buyers has markedly declined over the past six years as home prices rebounded from a historic market crash.

Leslie Appleton-Young, chief economist for the Los angeles Association of Realtors, predicts that more young couples will leave the state in order to buy homes. The impact of that exodus will be both economic & personal.

Today, only a quarter of Sonoma County households can afford the median-priced home. As a result, owning a home seems out of reach for plenty of more youthful families.

For now, a huge number of first-time buyers still have the wherewithal to buy less-expensive homes in the county. Finding an appropriate place often requires an extensive search, financial help from relatives & the chance of competition from buyers with greater resources.

�They�re our future,� Appleton-Young said. �They�re our kids. & we�re pricing them out of the market.�