RealWise Sonoma County: a Real Estate Podcast with Stephanie Johnson

Stephanie Johnson - RealWise Properties - eXp Realty
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Thinking about moving to Sonoma County? This podcast is for you. I'm Stephanie Johnson — I left San Francisco for Sonoma County in 2021 & now I help relocating buyers do the same. Each week: real estate, relocation & lifestyle for buyers from SF, Marin, Oakland, the Peninsula and beyond. What your money buys in Petaluma, Sebastopol, Sonoma, Healdsburg, Santa Rosa, the Sonoma Coast and the Russian River. What changes when wine country becomes home. Real numbers, real tradeoffs, real stories — from a top-producing Bay Area to Sonoma real estate agent who made the move herself. DRE# 01496050

  1. 4d ago

    Sonoma County Q3 2026 Market Update

    Sonoma County real estate agent Stephanie Johnson walks through the third quarter 2026 numbers for the county and for seven areas within it: the Sonoma coast, Healdsburg, Sebastopol, Sonoma, Petaluma, Santa Rosa, and the Russian River. County-wide, sales, median price, and days on market barely moved from last year. Price per square foot jumped, and she explains why that doesn't mean homes got more expensive. She also covers the gap between homes above $1.5 million and everything below it, what high-end buyers are asking for, why more of them are looking in West County, and why winter may not be a bad time to sell. Along the way, she shares where a home sold for $38.5 million this quarter. I'm Stephanie Johnson, a Sonoma County real estate agent helping people navigate life and real estate here in wine country. If you're thinking about buying or selling in Sonoma County and want numbers for your town or price point, I'd love to help. Reach out anytime. If you're still in research mode, download my buyer's guide. It walks you through how to prepare for a purchase in Sonoma County, including your lifestyle priorities, where in the county you'd like to land, and your lending options. You can also watch this video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/FO1CHH5IMlA Host: Stephanie Johnson, RealWise Properties RealWiseProperties.com 707-234-8788

  2. Oct 14

    My Favorite Places in West County, From Someone Who Lives Here

    Sonoma County real estate agent Stephanie Johnson shares the West County spots she goes to as a local after five years of living here. These aren't picks for weekend visitors. They're the coffee shops, bakeries, family-friendly cafes, and restaurants she visits on her own time. The route starts in south Sebastopol and heads west through The Barlow, Graton, Freestone, Occidental, and Bodega, ending near Bodega Bay. Along the way she covers a weekend-only coffee cart in Graton, a playground cafe built for parents of young kids, a dive bar in Bodega with a surprisingly good kitchen, and a Michelin-recognized restaurant for special occasions. She also talks about what it's like to live gluten-free in Sebastopol. I'm Stephanie Johnson, a Sonoma County real estate agent helping people navigate life and real estate here in wine country. If you're thinking about a move to West County or anywhere in Sonoma County, I'd love to be your guide. Reach out anytime. If you're still in research mode, download my buyer's guide. It walks you through how to prepare for a purchase in Sonoma County, including your lifestyle priorities, where in the county you'd like to land, and your lending options. You can also watch this video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/E60WMXgQWww Host: Stephanie Johnson, RealWise Properties RealWiseProperties.com 707-234-8788

  3. Oct 7

    Fire Risk, Insurance, and the FAIR Plan: What Sonoma County Buyers Need to Know

    Sonoma County real estate agent Stephanie Johnson explains how fire risk affects home insurance for buyers. She starts with a question from clients who were just quoted a California FAIR Plan policy on a home in Bodega Bay. She covers the two separate systems that rate fire risk, and how the 2025 fire hazard map changed in Healdsburg, Sonoma, Petaluma, and Sebastopol. She also explains what the FAIR Plan is and what it does and doesn't cover. She goes over which carriers are writing policies in California right now. She closes with a seven-step checklist to work through before you write an offer or remove your insurance contingency. I'm Stephanie Johnson, a Sonoma County real estate agent helping people navigate life and real estate here in wine country. If you're planning a move to Sonoma County, I'd love to be your guide. Reach out anytime. If you're still in research mode, download my buyer's guide: realwisebuyerguide.realwiseproperties.com/main. It walks you through how to prepare for a purchase in Sonoma County, including your lifestyle priorities, where in the county you'd like to land, and your lending options. You can also watch this video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/wsHD-4KQN4A Host: Stephanie Johnson, RealWise Properties RealWiseProperties.com 707-234-8788

  4. Sep 30

    Sonoma vs. Petaluma: 30 Minutes Apart, Built for Different Lives

    Sonoma County real estate agent Stephanie Johnson compares two towns in the southern part of the county that sit about 30 minutes apart and feel very different to live in. Petaluma is a small city of about 60,000 with strong schools, a river running through downtown, and a year-round calendar of events. Sonoma is a small wine town of about 10,500 with a median age of 57, a busy tourist season, and some of the best hiking in the county. She walks through demographics, schools, culture, and outdoor life, then pulls single family home sales from July through mid-September to show what homes are selling for in each town. She also covers the drive back to the Bay Area and the public transit option available from only one of these two towns. I'm Stephanie Johnson, a Sonoma County real estate agent helping people navigate life and real estate here in wine country. If you're considering a move to Petaluma, Sonoma, or anywhere in Sonoma County, I'd love to be your guide. Reach out anytime. If you're still in research mode, download my buyer's guide: realwisebuyerguide.realwiseproperties.com/buyers-guide. It walks you through how to prepare for a purchase in Sonoma County, including your lifestyle priorities, where in the county you'd like to land, and your lending options.  You can also watch this video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/vrsMjLzGHNA Host: Stephanie Johnson, RealWise Properties RealWiseProperties.com 707-234-8788

  5. Sep 23

    The $3 Million Showdown: Comparing 2 Historic Homes in Downtown Healdsburg

    Sonoma County real estate agent Stephanie Johnson tours two historic homes in downtown Healdsburg, priced at $3 million and $3.3 million and both walking distance to the plaza. One is a 1936 Craftsman on Tucker Street with a detached ADU that needs a facelift. The other is a turn-of-the-century home on Fitch Street that's already been meticulously restored, down to the detailed millwork. She walks through both properties room by room, points out what each one gets right, and lays out what it would actually take to bring the Craftsman up to the same finish level as its fully restored neighbor a few blocks away. I'm Stephanie Johnson, a Sonoma County real estate agent helping people navigate life and real estate here in wine country. If you're looking to purchase a home in Healdsburg or anywhere in Sonoma County, I'd love to be your guide. Reach out anytime. Host: Stephanie Johnson, RealWise Properties RealWiseProperties.com 707-234-8788

  6. Sep 16

    $2 Million Showdown: Sebastopol vs. Santa Rosa

    Sonoma County real estate agent Stephanie Johnson compares two homes priced right around $2 million that could not be more different from each other. One is an established property down a private lane in Sebastopol with plenty of square footage and real charm. The other is a newer build on a hilltop in the Larkfield-Wikiup area of Santa Rosa, with 360-degree views and 11.5 acres. She walks through both properties as a primary residence and as a working short-term rental, with real income numbers and real trade-offs. If you're trying to decide between space and privacy or views and proven rental income at the $2 million mark in Sonoma County, this episode breaks down what each property actually delivers. I'm Stephanie Johnson, a Sonoma County real estate agent helping people navigate life and real estate here in wine country. If you're looking to purchase a primary residence or an investment property in Sonoma County, I'd love to be your guide. Reach out anytime. You can also watch this video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/BQ50HJg4U_s Host: Stephanie Johnson, RealWise Properties RealWiseProperties.com 707-234-8788

  7. Sep 9

    $1 Million Broker Tour: Santa Rosa, Windsor, and Sebastopol

    Sonoma County real estate agent Stephanie Johnson takes you along on a broker tour of three homes priced at or just under $1 million: one in Santa Rosa, one in Windsor, and one in Sebastopol. She walks through what makes each property and each town different, from a renovated starter home near Montgomery Village to a spacious Windsor house with a backyard that outshines the rest of the listing to a mid-century Sebastopol property on two thirds of an acre with its own guest cottage. If you've got around a million dollars to spend in Sonoma County and haven't chosen your town yet, this episode breaks down what that number actually buys in three very different places. I'm Stephanie Johnson, a Sonoma County real estate agent helping buyers make the move to wine country. If you're seriously considering relocating from the Bay Area or beyond to Sonoma County, I'd love to help you explore what that could look like. Let's talk about your goals, reach out anytime. If you're researching a move to Sonoma County, subscribe to this channel for weekly videos on real estate, neighborhoods, and the Sonoma County relocation process. You can also watch this video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/VgsmBc89QdA Host: Stephanie Johnson, RealWise Properties RealWiseProperties.com 707-234-8788

  8. Sep 2

    Sonoma Map Tour: Every Neighborhood, Every Price Point, Every Story

    Sonoma County real estate agent Stephanie Johnson takes listeners on a full map tour of the town of Sonoma, starting at the historic Sonoma Plaza and working outward through the neighborhoods that surround it. She covers real price ranges, from walkable condos on the square to affordable senior housing in Temelec to private lakefront estates on Lake Josephine, along with the history behind the plaza and the Bear Flag Revolt, where locals eat and taste wine, what healthcare looks like without a full hospital in town, and how long the drive back to the Bay Area really takes. If you've been picturing Sonoma as one kind of town, this episode will show you just how many different ways there are to live here. I'm Stephanie Johnson, a Sonoma County real estate agent helping buyers make the move to wine country. If you're seriously considering relocating from the Bay Area or beyond to Sonoma County, I'd love to help you explore what that could look like. Let's talk about your goals, reach out anytime. If you're researching a move to Sonoma County, subscribe to this channel for weekly videos on real estate, neighborhoods, and the Sonoma County relocation process. You can also watch this video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/af-do-WhqTk Host: Stephanie Johnson, RealWise Properties RealWiseProperties.com 707-234-8788

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Thinking about moving to Sonoma County? This podcast is for you. I'm Stephanie Johnson — I left San Francisco for Sonoma County in 2021 & now I help relocating buyers do the same. Each week: real estate, relocation & lifestyle for buyers from SF, Marin, Oakland, the Peninsula and beyond. What your money buys in Petaluma, Sebastopol, Sonoma, Healdsburg, Santa Rosa, the Sonoma Coast and the Russian River. What changes when wine country becomes home. Real numbers, real tradeoffs, real stories — from a top-producing Bay Area to Sonoma real estate agent who made the move herself. DRE# 01496050

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