Wine Country Real Estate Trends in April 2013
Company Values –
I find that it’s helpful for me to have the company values fresh in my mind, so I keep a sheet of paper with them by my desk. The values are: Commitment, Accountability, Personal Responsibility and Vision. I’m going to tackle one of these words in each of my next four Broker Blog postings. More later.
Wine Country Group Results for March 2013
The Wine Country Group had 75 closings this March compared to 107 in March 2012 and 49 last month. Our dollar volume was $38.9 million compared to $57.5 million last year. March 2012 was the highest volume month of March that we have ever had and this March is the third highest since 1999. Our Healdsburg office led with 17 closings in March while the Sebastopol office had 16. The Sebastopol office led in dollar volume with $10.9 million in closings while the Sonoma and Healdsburg offices were at $9.2 million. Our Wine Country average closing sales price was $518,420 comparing to $537,715 a year ago. Our escrow openings totaled 94 units compared to 98 in March 2012. We had 39 new listings compared to 44 a year ago. This wasn’t a bad month, but last year’s March was off the charts.
The Wine Country Group currently has 124 pending sales with a value of $90 million dollars. This is our highest backlog in the last twelve months. We have 115 active listings with a value of $109 million dollars. Our average listing price is $950,000 – compared to an average of $822,000 a year ago.
The Wine Country Group currently enjoys number one market share (in either (or both) units and dollar volume) in our Cloverdale and Healdsburg markets, and is number two in our Sebastopol market.
Wine Country Market – March 2013
Sonoma County: For the second month in a row Sonoma County had a small increase in inventory on a month over month basis. Inventory was 638 units at the end of March compared to 632 units at the end of February. It remains 38% below the inventory of March 2012 (1,032).
New sales (571) were 21% lower than last year (723) but 7.7% ahead of last month (530). There is a just a 1.1 months supply of inventory based on the existing sales pace – a stressed market. New listings for the month (413) were 23% lower than the pace in March 2012 (583). The median price of homes closed in March in Sonoma County ($378,000) was 26% ahead of the median price of a year ago ($301,000).
Distressed properties (foreclosures and short sales) currently make up 12% of the inventory and 26% of the new sales. One year ago, the distressed property inventory represented 25% of the overall inventory and distressed sales represented 53% of all new sales. There is 0.5 months supply of inventory of distressed properties based on the current sales pace. The median price of the 123 distressed properties that sold in the month of March ($326,000) was 26% higher than March a year ago ($258,000).
Cloverdale Trends: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale in Cloverdale (30) at the end of March 2013 was 19% below that of a year ago (37) and was equal to the inventory last month. Sales for the month of March (16) were 33% lower than the sales a year ago (24) and 20% lower than the sales reported last month (20). There is a 1.9 months supply of available inventory in Cloverdale based on the current pace of new sales. 17% of the inventory is distressed properties (bank-owned, short sale or foreclosure), 25% of the new sales and 20% of the closings for the month are distressed properties.
Healdsburg Trends: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale (52) in Healdsburg at the end of March was down 33% from that of last year (78) and it was about equal to that of last month (54). This continues to be a very low inventory for the Healdsburg market. New sales (27) were down three from the 30 new sales in March 2012 and were up one from the 26 sales last month. Sales have been fairly stable in the 20’s to 30’s per month over the past fifteen months. The months of available inventory based on the current sales pace is down to 1.9 months – the lowest in recent memory. Only 4% of the inventory (2 homes) in Healdsburg consists of “distressed properties” (bank-owned, short sale or foreclosure), but 15% of the new sales were distressed properties and 17% of the closings were distressed properties. There is a 0.5 months supply of inventory based on the sales pace of distressed properties. Some distressed properties, and some market sales as well, are coming on the market and closing in the same month – so they never really appear as inventory.
Petaluma: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale (60) in Petaluma at the end of March was 23% lower than a year ago (91) and it was slightly ahead of the supply last month (55). New sales in March (57) were 37% below the pace in March 2012 (91) and they were 32% lower than the pace of last month (84). There is less than a one months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The median price of the 67 closed homes in Petaluma in March ($405,000) was up 25% from the median closing price in March 2012 ($323,000). Distressed properties (bank-owned, short sale or foreclosure) make up just 7% of the available inventory, 26% of new sales and 33% of closings for the month. It seems that the market has absorbed almost the full supply of distressed properties in Petaluma.
Santa Rosa: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale (184) in Santa Rosa at the end of March was 46% lower than the inventory a year ago (342) but it was up for the first time in four months from the prior month (159). There were 186 new listings and 246 new sales for the month – you can see where that trend will lead. New sales in March (246) took a 22% leap forward from the 201 sales last month. Still, they were 17% below the pace in March 2012 (296). There is only a 0.7 months supply of available homes based on the current sales pace. The median price of the 177 homes closed in March in Santa Rosa was $340,000 compared to $281,000 a year ago – a 21% increase. Distressed properties (bank-owned, short sale or foreclosure) make up 15% of the available inventory, 26% of new sales and 27% of closings for the month. This compares to 34% of inventory, 58% of new sales and 54% of closings a year ago. There is a 0.4 months supply of distressed properties available. The median price of the distressed property closings for the month was 31% higher than in March 2012.
Sebastopol Trends: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale (54) in Sebastopol at the end of March was 30% lower than that of March 2012 (77) and it was about the same as that of last month (50). There were 32 new sales for the month of March. This is 28% higher than the new sales in March 2012 (25) and 16% lower than the 38 sales last month. There is a 1.7 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. There are only five distressed properties (bank-owned, short sale or foreclosure) available in Sebastopol. There were five distressed sales and five distressed closings. This market is essentially out of distressed properties at the current time. If they come on the market, they sell right away.
Sonoma Valley: There were 99 available homes in inventory at the end of March in the Sonoma Valley (Sonoma, Glen Ellen and Kenwood) an increase for the third month in a row. The inventory is 30% lower than the inventory a year ago (141) and 5% ahead of the inventory last month (94). There were 50 new sales for the month. This is a reasonable number looking over the past six months, and 20% below the sales in March 2012 (62). There is a 2 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. Distressed properties (foreclosures and short sales) represent only 7% of the inventory, 20% of the new sales and 20% of the closings for the month. This compares to 16%, 47% and 40% a year ago. Distressed sales are less than half of the impact that they were having on our market a year ago.
Windsor: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale (14) in Windsor at the end of March was 70% lower than a year ago (47). It was 36% below the supply last month (22). Inventory has never been this low in Windsor. New sales in March (35) were 47% lower than the pace in March 2012 (66) and they were 35% ahead of the pace of last month (26). There is only a 0.4 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. A very distorted market. Distressed properties (bank-owned, short sale or foreclosure) make up 36% of the available inventory, 29% of new sales and 55% of closings for the month.
Napa County: The available number of units in Napa County finally took an up-tick after a steady eight-month decline. At 301 units, the inventory is 32% lower than it was in March 2012 (441) and 9% higher than last month (275). New sales (155) were 21% below that of last year (197) and were 25% ahead of the pace of last month (124). There is a 1.9 months supply of inventory based on the existing sales pace. New listings for the month (159) were 11% lower than the pace in March 2012 (178). The median price of homes closed in March in Napa County ($405,000) was 21% ahead of the median price of a year ago ($335,000).
Distressed properties (foreclosures and short sales) currently make up 8% of the inventory, 26% of the new sales and 22% of the closings. One year ago, the distressed property inventory represented 17% of the overall inventory and distressed sales represented 49% of all new sales. There is 0.6 months supply of inventory of distressed properties based on the current sales pace. The median price of 26 distressed properties that sold in the month of March ($295,000) was 13% higher than January a year ago ($260,000).
Napa: There were 156 available homes in inventory at the end of March in the City of Napa. Like the County, this is the first increase in inventory in eight months. The inventory is 37% lower than the inventory a year ago (249) and nine units ahead of the inventory last month (147). There were 96 new sales for the month a big bump over last month’s 69 sales. The sales pace is 24% below the sales in March 2012 (127) and 39% ahead of the pace last month (69). There is a 1.6 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. Distressed properties (foreclosures and short sales) represent 6% of the inventory, 12% of the new sales for the month and 17% of the closings for the month. This compares to 16%, 38% and 52% a year ago. Distressed sales are having about half of the impact in the City of Napa that they had a year ago.
Up Valley: There were 117 available homes in inventory at the end of March in the Up Valley Napa County market (Angwin, Calistoga, Deer Park, Oakville, Rutherford, St. Helena and Yountville). This is 18% lower than the inventory a year ago (142) but 23% higher than the inventory last month (95). There were 45 new listings for the month compared to 32 in March of last year. This is positive for the Up Valley market. There were 31 new sales for the month, the highest rate since last April. This is 41% higher than the sales in March 2012 (22) and the same as last month. There is a 3.8 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. Distressed properties (foreclosures and short sales) represent 3% of the inventory (4 units), and 22% of the new sales for the month.
Cash Sales: A quick remark on cash sales. In many markets across the country, we are seeing many more cash sales than in the past. Part of this is investors chasing distressed properties. Part, also, is difficult underwriting standards by lenders. For all of 2012 in the Orlando, Florida market, over 50% of the home purchases were for cash. In Phoenix, it was over 45%. For comparison, in Sonoma County last month, 36% of the closings were cash sales and in Napa County, 30.5% of the closings were for cash. This is an interesting trend to keep an eye on.
Closings: The following agents enjoyed closings for the period from March 1 to March 31, 2013:
In our Cloverdale office, Ron and Jane Pavelka had four closings.
In our Healdsburg office: Judy Csimma enjoyed three closings; Elissa Morrash, Diane Harris and Ann Amtower each had two closings; and Penelope La Montagne, Charlee Schanzer, Susan Montgomery, Maria Melody, Nicki Rector, Tom Lawrence, Patty Van Deren, Linda Farwell and Bernie Curley each had a closing.
In our Napa office: Lark Raymond had two closings, and Adam Ghisletta, Shawn Daee and Clark Harding each had a closing.
In our Petaluma office: Ryan Styles enjoyed a closing.
In our Santa Rosa offices: Donald Hamilton enjoyed three closings; Tommy Apostolides and Larry Tristano and Charles Himes had two closings each; and Mark Payne, Jill Rake, David Poulsen and Conrad Worthy each had a closing.
In our Sebastopol office: The Team of Doug Schaeffer and Cary Fargo enjoyed four closings; Michael and Pauline Pellini had three closings; Gene Bonino and Will Brown, Lisa Dawson and Laurie Parris had two closings; and Lori Allen, Pam Buda, Eric Lucas and Kay Henzerling each had a closing.
In our Sonoma office: Mike Caselli enjoyed three closings; Mari Johnson, Joyce Davison and Sheila Deignan had two closings; and Leo Merle, Isaac Raboy of Mason McDuffie Commercial Real Estate, Diane Litchfield, and Dan Gallagher each had a closing.
And, in our St. Helena office: Liz Manfree had a Wine Country Group high six closings and Linda Alioto had a closing for this period.
Congratulations to all!