Real Estate Insights

February 2025

A quick 6 minute read

Improving Fire Safety

The recent fires in Southern California that devastated entire neighborhoods have put us all on notice that even those of us in suburbia need to pay attention to fire safety. The Woodside Fire Protection District has some excellent information on home hardening and defensible space (available here) that is very much worth reading. I will touch on a few key points below.

Immediately surrounding your home is the "Ember Resistant Zone" which extends 5 feet out from every structure. In an ideal world this is all hardscape; no combustibles like plants or wood chips allowed. Tree limbs that extend into this zone should be trimmed at least 10 feet away from the siding and roof. In addition, combustible furniture, doormats, etc. should be removed. It all makes a difference. The survival of Lahaina's "Miracle House" is largely attributed to its perimeter ember resistant zone and metal roof. If you haven't seen the pictures, google "Lahaina miracle house."

Extending from 5-30 feet out from your home is the "Lean, Clean and Green" zone. Here, irrigated plants are generally acceptable, but any dead or dying foliage or plants that don't get regular water should be removed. Also, the lower branches of trees should be removed (see document for guidance). Note that fences, sheds and play structures should also have a resistance perimeter.

The document also contains guidance for beyond 30 feet, I leave that for you to read.

If all of this feels a little overwhelming, maybe approach it in phases. If you have plants and trees in contact with your home, trim them back - which, by the way, will help extend the life of your roof and siding regardless! As you replace plants, be mindful of where they are being planted in relation to your home. That pretty bark or mulch? Relocate it or at the very least don't refresh it.

We had Woodside Fire inspect our home (for free!), and they recommended the removal of 2 medium oak trees overhanging our and our neighbors homes. San Mateo County (Ladera is unincorporated) didn't balk at the removal of the usually protected oak trees since they posed a substancial fire risk. Now, we do have a strip of irrigated citrus bushes near our front door that we were advised to keep below 3 feet tall. The concern here is that the trees could become a "fire ladder" enabling heat and flames to blow out the windows and reach the eave and roof above. Also on our to do list is to keep a couple of very large trees that overhang our roof trimmed to maintain the recommended 10 feet of separation.

Once again, the complete document is here.

Tips from a Green Thumb

A special guest article by Janie Barman!

As we march into March (how crazy is that?!), it’s time to think about the garden if that’s what you are into. Here are some pointers for a bountiful spring and summer:

• Now is a great time to prepare your soil for spring planting. Make sure you have amended it with all sorts of goodies to ensure that your favorites are successful. If you are planting tomatoes, please learn from my mistakes. NEVER plant potatoes anywhere near tomatoes; they do NOT play well together. Maybe add calcium in the area where your tomatoes will be to keep blossom end rot at bay. If your soil has a high clay content add in some peat to loosen it up and promote good drainage.

• Identify your early spring crops! We love sugar snap peas (the easiest thing ever to grow), carrots, radishes and kale. I will be planting my first round of sugar snap peas in a few weeks, with additional plantings every two weeks until early April. This provides a nice continuous crop for about 2 months. Peas do NOT like the summer sun & heat of July so no need to plant any later than April as they yield in about 60 days.

• Late February/March is a great time to focus on pruning many fruit trees (not all). Once they start to bud and show signs of growth, and after the last frost, it’s time! There are numerous websites that give excellent advice on just how-to and when for each variety of tree. My trusty favorite is still my 2012 Sunset Western Garden Book (yes, I’m *that* old). 

• Now is also a very good time to plant trees and shrubs as mother nature will hopefully help establish them with a little more rain before the hot summer sun bakes them. Planting in the summer is harder on many varieties and requires a lot more watering.

Most importantly, have fun digging, growing and harvesting!

*We often have extras. If you want some of my spring & summer bounty, please text or email me directly (janie.barman@compasss.com) and I’ll drop off some goodies as they become available. Zucchini not included!

Local Market Trends

We have access to a tremendous amount of real estate data, most of which is way more current than you read in the press. If you want to take a deeper dive into the latest numbers, start here:

San Mateo County Real Estate Report

Santa Clara County Real Estate Report

Links not working? Email jbarman@compass.com and I will send you a PDF of the same info.

Want to see the data for a specific city? Let us know and we will gladly forward that along!

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Janie and John Barman

DRE #01270223 & #01281597

Realtors®

M: 650.759.1182

jbarman@compass.com

JanieandJohn.co