Wine Country Real Estate Trends in April 2016

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Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate – Wine Country Group Results for April 2016

 Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate – Wine Country Group had 53 closings in April 2016 compared to 51 a year ago and 42 last month. In April, we closed homes with a total value of $33 million compared to $30 million a year ago and $30 last month. The average selling price of the properties sold by the Wine Country Group in April was $626,435 compared to $586,689 a year ago and $714,437 last month. The Sonoma office had 15 closings in the month, the Santa Rosa office had 9 and the Sebastopol and Healdsburg offices each had 8. The Sonoma office had $9.5 million in dollar volume for the month while the Healdsburg office had $8.2 million.

BHGRE – WCG opened 49 new escrows for the month compared to 85 a year ago and 68 last month. The Group had 30 new listings compared to 22 in April 2015 and 30 last month. We currently have 58 pending sales with a value of $42 million dollars. We have 88 active listings with a value of $85 million dollars. Our average listing price is $964,000. This is 2% lower than the $986,000 average a year ago.

Wine Country Real Estate results for April 2016:

Sonoma County: The inventory of single-family homes and condominiums for sale in Sonoma County at the end of April stood at 743 compared to 772 a year ago and 599 last month. This is a 4% decrease on a year over year basis and a 24% increase from last month.   It is only 24% of the inventory that the County had in April of 2008 (3,138). New sales (539) in April were 5% below that of last April (568) and were 12% ahead of the pace of last month (481). There is a 1.4 months supply of inventory in Sonoma County based on the existing sales pace. In April 2008, there was a 6.6 months supply of inventory. The time it takes to sell a home in Sonoma County (Days on Market) is 60 days – about the same as a year ago (56). The median price of homes closed in April in Sonoma County was $530,000. This is a 5% increase over the median price in April 2015 ($504,000). The median price has ranged between $500,000 and $530,000 over the past twelve months and double-digit appreciation seems to have abated except in certain markets and price ranges. The current median price is 10% below the peak median price for the County ($589,000) recorded in June 2005.

Sonoma County Luxury Homes: About one quarter of the inventory in Sonoma County can be characterized as Luxury Homes (listing price in excess of $1,300,000). There has been a 9.4% increase in the number of Luxury Homes closed (257) from 5/1/15 to 4/30/16 compared to 235 from 5/1/14 to 4/30/15. The pace of closings of Luxury Homes in April (14) was 33% below a month ago (21) and was 46% below a year ago (26). New sales (29) were 26% ahead of last month (23), but were 6.5% below a year ago (31). There were 193 luxury properties in inventory at the end of April compared to 152 last month and 179 a year ago. The Days on Market for Luxury Home sales was 95 days this April compared to 50 days a year ago. This compares to 60 Days on Market for all closed properties in the County in April. There is a 6.7 months supply of inventory of luxury properties based upon the current sales pace compared to a 1.4 months supply in the overall Sonoma County market.   It appears to be leaning towards a “Buyers Market” in the high end.

Coastal Sonoma: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale in Coastal Sonoma (Bodega Bay, Jenner and Stewart’s Point) at the end of April (21) was 28% below the inventory a year ago (29) and slightly below the inventory last month (22). There were 10 new home sales for the month of April compared to 7 a year ago and 5 last month. The Days on Market of the 6 homes that closed in April was 201 days compared to 99 days last month for the eight properties that closed then.   Clearly, some of the older inventory closed in April.

Healdsburg Trends: The inventory of homes and condominiums available in Healdsburg at the end of April (69) was 17% higher than last month (59) and was 13% ahead of last year (61). There were 25 new sales for the month. This is about equal to the pace in April 2015 (24) and 19% ahead of the pace last month (21). The months of available inventory based on the current sales pace is 2.8 months. The Days on Market for the 15 homes closed in April was 122 days compared to 76 days a year ago and 108 days last month.   The high-end quartile (top 25%) of inventory in Healdsburg at the end of April started at $2,500,000.   Of the ten units increase in inventory last month, 5 of the properties were in the top quartile.   The months of available inventory in the high-end is nine months compared to 2.8 months for the overall market.

Petaluma: After jumping nearly 75% from February to March, new sales in Petaluma jumped another 30% from 60 in March to 78 in April. Sales were 20% ahead on a year over year basis. In a month that began with 48 units in inventory, there were 78 sales and the inventory ended the month with 68 units. The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale (68) in Petaluma at the end of April was 20% behind the inventory in April 2015 (85) and it was 42% ahead of the inventory last month (48). There is just a 0.9 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The median price of the 50 homes that closed in April was $646,000. This is 23% ahead of the median last April ($526,000). This is over four times the appreciation rate in the County as a whole and the highest for April in all of our Wine Country markets. The Days on Market for the closed sales for the month was 43 days compared to 43 a year ago and 44 last month. You have to be quick on your feet to buy a home in Petaluma in the current market.

Rohnert Park and Cotati: Rohnert Park and Cotati remains the most volatile market in Wine Country. New sales (47) settled back from 64 last month and they were about the same as the sales in April 2015 (50). Inventory began the month at 25 homes and ended the month at 30 homes. Inventory is 23% lower than it was in April 2015 (39). There is a 0.6 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The Days on Market for the 48 homes that closed in Rohnert Park and Cotati in April was just 34 days compared to 39 days a year ago and 55 days last month. The median price ($468,000) closed in April was 11% higher than the median price of closed homes a year ago ($423,000). This is about twice as high an appreciation factor than that for the County as a whole in April.

Santa Rosa: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale in Santa Rosa at the end of April (241) was 5.5% lower than that of a year ago (255) and was 25% ahead of the inventory last month (193). New sales in April (231) were 15% ahead of the pace of last month (201) and were 4.5% behind the pace of last April (242). There is only a one months supply of available homes in Santa Rosa based on the current sales pace. The median price of the 185 homes closed in April in Santa Rosa was $500,000 compared to $460,000 a year ago – a 9% increase. The Days on Market for the homes closed in April in Santa Rosa was 56 days compared to 52 a year ago and 58 last month.

Sebastopol Trends: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale (40) in Sebastopol at the end of April was 13% lower than that of April 2015 (46) and it was 11% higher than that of last month (36). There were 139 homes in inventory in Sebastopol in April 2009. There were 26 new sales for the month of April. This is 30% ahead of the pace last month (20) and about equal to the pace in April 2015 (27). There is a 1.5 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The Days on Market of the 16 closed homes in Sebastopol in April was 50 days compared to 65 days a year ago and 68 days last month.

Sonoma Valley: The number of available homes and condominiums for sale (132) in April in the Sonoma Valley (Sonoma, Glen Ellen and Kenwood) jumped almost 40% ahead of the inventory of last month (95) and was 17% ahead of the inventory in April 2015. There were 41 new sales for the month. This is 34% below the pace of sales in April 2015 (62) and it is slightly below the pace of last month (42). There is a 3.2 months supply of inventory in Sonoma based on the current pace of sales. The Days on Market for the 32 closed sales in Sonoma in April was 50 days compared to 65 a year ago and 64 last month. This is the lowest days on market number for the Sonoma Valley in recent memory. Over 58% of the inventory in the Sonoma Valley is priced at $1,000,000 or above while 39% of the new sales (16) were priced at $1,000,000 or more.   Of the 37 units added to inventory in April, 23 (62%) of them were priced in excess of $1,000,000. The months of inventory for the $1,000,000 plus properties is eight months compared to 3.2 months for the market as a whole. The high-end quartile (top 25%) of inventory in the Sonoma Valley at the end of April started at $2,500,000.   There were 48% more sales (46) in the top quartile (excess of $2,500,000) over the past twelve months than the prior twelve months (31). Of the 37 units increase in inventory in April, 12 (32%) of the properties were in the top quartile. The months of available inventory in the high-end is sixteen months compared to 3.2 months for the overall market.

Windsor: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale (37) in Windsor at the end of April is up 42% from the 26 homes in inventory in April 2015 and it is 16% more than the 32 homes last month. There were 29 new sales in Windsor in April. This is 6.5% behind the sales in April 2015 (31) and 32% ahead of the 22 sales last month. There is a 1.3 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The median price of the 20 sales that closed in April in Windsor was $575,000. This is equal to the median price ($575,000) of the 27 homes closed last April.

Napa County: The inventory of homes and condominiums available for sale in Napa County at the end of April (350) is about equal to the inventory in April 2015 (354) and is 19% ahead of the inventory last month (295). New sales (145) were 3% behind the pace last year (149) and 23% ahead of the pace of last month (118). There is a 2.4 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The Days on Market for the 106 homes closed in April was 79 days compared to 94 days a year ago and 87 days last month. The median price of homes closed in April in Napa County ($627,000) was 4.5% ahead of the median price of a year ago ($600,000). The current median price remains 7% below the peak median price for the County ($675,000) recorded in June 2006.

Napa County Luxury Homes: If one takes the highest quartile (25%) of available inventory as the “Luxury Market”, the Luxury Market begins at $2,200,000 in Napa County at this time. The number of sales (60) of Luxury Homes (sales price in excess of $2,200,000) in Napa County is 27% ahead for the period 5/1/15 to 4/30/16 compared to 5/1/14 to 4/30/15 (52 homes). There were 89 luxury homes in inventory at the end of April 2016 compared to 76 at the end of April 2015. There is a 6.8 months supply of available Luxury Homes based on the current sales pace compared to 15.2 months supply last year.

Napa: There were 186 available homes and condominiums in inventory at the end of April in the City of Napa. This is 7.5% below the inventory a year ago (201) and it is 17% ahead of the supply last month (159). New sales (97) were 10% below the pace of April 2015 (108) and they were 8% ahead of the pace of last month (90). There is a 1.9 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The Days on Market for the 72 homes closed in April in the City of Napa was 61 days compared to 84 days in April 2015 and 76 days last month. The median price of the homes that closed in Napa in April was $645,000. This is 11% ahead of the median price of the homes closed in April 2015 ($580,000). The median price in April is just $5,000 below the peak median price in the City of Napa ($650,000) recorded in August 2006.

Up Valley Napa County: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale (119) in the Up Valley Napa County market (Angwin, Calistoga, Deer Park, Oakville, Rutherford, St. Helena and Yountville) at the end of April 2016 was 13% above the level of 105 in April 2015 and it was 24% ahead of the level last month (96). There were 22 new sales for the month compared to 25 (-12%) a year ago and 16 (+37.5%) last month. There is now a 5.4 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. This is a relatively low for the Up Valley market. The Days on Market for the 23 closings last month was 130 days compared to 161 days in April a year ago and 103 days last month. The overall county has 79 Days on Market.

Closings: The following agents enjoyed closings for the period from April 1 to April 30, 2016:

In our Bodega Bay office: Barbara and Paul Cronick had two closings.

In our Healdsburg office: Debbie Alder had two closings and Gina Cleaver, Mike Downes, Bernie Curley, Debby Hendershot, Tom Lawrence, Diane Harris, Linda Farwell and Rose Macy each had a closing.

In our Napa office Kacy Kinder had two closings and Melinda Capp, Teresa Castrillo, Ida Clark Ramos and Kacy Kinder each had a closing.

In the Petaluma office, Anne Marie Eskilsson had two closings and Mehrunnisa Baig, Diane Quinn and Paul Claeyssens each had a closing.

In our Santa Rosa office: Laurie Parris had two closings and Sarah Carlson, Jade Capriotti, Greg Gunderson and Mark Payne each had a closing.

In our Sebastopol office: Randy Coffman, Geri McCauley, Bette Meritt, Martha Saly, Liz Uribe, Jeffrey Seligson and Christopher Williams each had a closing.

in our Sonoma office: Sheila Deignan, Mara Kahn, Diane Litchfield, Leo Merle, Patty Markin and Tracy Reynes each enjoyed two closings and Mari Johnson, Dan Gallagher and Patty Keiser each had a closing.

And, in our St. Helena office: Rianne Pasquariello enjoyed two closings and Linda Alioto and David Barker each had a closing.

Congratulations to all