Wine Country Real Estate Trends in August 2016
Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Updates Brand Core Values Statement
In the past I have posted BHGRE’s Core Values Statement (known as PAIGE) in this blog. You may recall that the acronym stands for: Passion, Authenticity, Innovation, Growth and Excellence. Recently, the “I” in PAIGE was changed from “Innovation” to “Inclusion”. In a statement to the thousands of BHGRE staff, brokers and agents throughout the country, Sherry Chris, President and CEO of BHGRE, said: “With this evolution of our brand’s core values, we are publically stating the importance of embracing people across ethnicities, demographics and lifestyles and drawing inspiration from all industries to catalyze innovation in real estate”. So, the new “I” in PAIGE is “Inclusion – to embrace all people and ideas”. I believe that this is a timely and valuable change.
Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate – Wine Country Group Results for August 2016
Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate – Wine Country Group had 53 closings in August 2016 compared to 46 a year ago and 46 last month. In August, we closed homes with a total value of $42 million compared to $30 million a year ago and $27 last month. The average selling price of the properties sold by the Wine Country Group in August was $787,706 compared to $650,674 a year ago and $588,391 last month. The Sonoma office led the BHGRE-WCG with 15 closings in the month, and the St. Helena and Sebastopol offices had 9 closings in August. The Sonoma office led the Group with $13.9 million in dollar volume while the St. Helena office had $9 million and the Sebastopol office had $7.0 million.
BHGRE – WCG opened 55 new escrows for the month compared to 66 a year ago and 62 last month. We had a big jump in canceled transactions (20) and hopefully that is not a trend. The Group had 30 new listings compared to 22 in August 2015 and 44 last month. We currently have 48 pending sales with a value of $42 million dollars. We have 70 active listings with a value of $70 million dollars. Our average listing price is $997,000. This is essentially the same as the $996,000 average a year ago.
Wine Country Real Estate results for August 2016:
Sonoma County: The inventory of homes and condominiums available in Sonoma County at the end of August (874) was 9% lower than the inventory in August 2015 (961) and was 4% lower than the inventory last month (912). Typically, we will see inventory continue to decline through January of next year. New sales (559) in August were 15% ahead of last August (485) and were 9% ahead of the pace of last month (514). There is a 1.8 months supply of inventory in Sonoma County based on the existing sales pace. In August 2007, there was over a 12 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 (58). The median price of homes closed in August in Sonoma County was $560,000. This is an 11% increase over the median price in August 2015 ($505,000). The median price has ranged between $500,000 and $565,000 over the past twelve months. The current median price is 5% 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 $1,400,000). There has been a slight decrease in the number of Luxury Homes closed (211) from 8/1/15 to 7/31/16 compared to 219 from 8/1/14 to 7/31/15. The pace of closings of Luxury Homes in August (35) was 59% ahead of a month ago (22) and was 46% ahead of the pace of a year ago (24). New sales (28) were slightly behind the pace of last month (32), and were 27% ahead of the pace of a year ago (22). There were 216 luxury properties in inventory at the end of August compared to 218 last month and 187 a year ago. The Days on Market for Luxury Home sales was 105 days this August compared to 113 days a year ago. This compares to 60 Days on Market for all closed properties in the County in August. There is a 7.8 months supply of inventory of luxury properties based upon the current sales pace compared to a 1.8 months supply in the overall Sonoma County market. It continues to be 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 August (29) was 17% below the inventory a year ago (36) and 9% below the inventory last month (32). There were 6 new home sales for the month of August compared to 9 a year ago and 3 last month. The Days on Market of the 4 homes that closed in August was 155 days compared to 93 days last month and 98 days a year ago.
Healdsburg Trends: The inventory of homes and condominiums available in Healdsburg at the end of August (98) was 31% higher than August 2015 (75) and was down slightly from the inventory last month (101). This continues to be a relatively high level of inventory for Healdsburg. There were 27 new sales for the month. This is 69% ahead of the pace in August 2015 (16) and also 69% ahead of the pace last month (16). This is the highest number of sales in any month over the past two years. The months of available inventory based on the current sales pace is 3.6 months. The Days on Market for the 16 homes closed in August was 68 days compared to 69 days a year ago and 82 days last month. The high-end quartile (top 25%) of inventory in Healdsburg at the end of August started at $2,400,000. Of the 27 new sales last month, 1 of the properties was in the top quartile. The months of available inventory in the high-end is 25 months.
Petaluma: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale (74) in Petaluma at the end of August was 15% below the inventory in August 2015 (87) and it was 7% above the inventory last month (69). There were 61 new sales for the month compared to 58 last month and 55 last August. The market remains tight at 1.2 months of available inventory based on the current sales pace. The median price of the 46 homes that closed in August was $651,000. This is 14% higher than the median last August ($572,000) – but it was close to the median price over the past five months. The Days on Market for the closed sales for the month was 43 days compared to 50 a year ago and 54 last month.
Rohnert Park and Cotati: Rohnert Park and Cotati remains the most volatile market in Wine Country. There were 59 new sales in August compared to 61 last month and 54 in August 2015. Inventory began the month at 43 homes and ended the month at 29 homes. So, as new inventory comes on the market, it sells almost immediately. There is just a 0.5 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The Days on Market for the 60 homes that closed in Rohnert Park and Cotati in August was 42 days compared to 43 days a year ago and 43 days last month. The median price ($465,000) closed in August was 16% higher than the median price of closed homes a year ago ($400,000).
Santa Rosa: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale in Santa Rosa at the end of August (288) was 12.5% below that of a year ago (329) and was 10% below the inventory last month (320). New sales in August (242) were 24% ahead of the pace of last month (197) and 23% ahead of the pace of last August (195). There is only a 1.2 months supply of available homes in Santa Rosa based on the current sales pace. The median price of the 202 homes closed in August in Santa Rosa was $521,000 compared to $475,000 a year ago – a 10% increase. The Days on Market for the homes closed in August in Santa Rosa was 59 days compared to 59 a year ago and 53 last month.
Sebastopol Trends: In a reverse of the trend in the overall County, the inventory of homes and condominiums for sale (49) in Sebastopol at the end of August was 36% ahead of that of August 2015 (36) and it was 11% higher than that of last month (44). By comparison, there were 151 homes in inventory in Sebastopol in August 2008. There were 23 new sales for the month of August. This is equal to the pace last month (23) and 18% behind the pace in August 2015 (28). There is a 2.1 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The Days on Market of the 24 closed homes in Sebastopol in August was 60 days compared to 40 days a year ago and 60 days last month.
Sonoma Valley: The number of available homes and condominiums for sale (124) at the end of August in the Sonoma Valley (Sonoma, Glen Ellen and Kenwood) was equal to the inventory in August 2015 (124) and was slightly ahead of the inventory of last month (120). There were 46 new sales for the month. This is equal to the pace of sales in August 2015 (46) and it is 16% below the pace of last month (55). There is a 2.7 months supply of inventory in Sonoma based on the current pace of sales. The Days on Market for the 63 closed sales in Sonoma in August was 78 days compared to 59 a year ago and 55 last month. 64% of the inventory in the Sonoma Valley is priced at $1,000,000 or above while 11% of the new sales (5) were priced at $1,000,000 or more. Last month, in July, there were 23 sales at $1,000,000 or more – quite a spread. The months of inventory for the $1,000,000 plus properties is all of a sudden 16 months compared to 2 months for the market as a whole. The high-end quartile (top 25%) of inventory in the Sonoma Valley at the end of August started at $2,700,000. There were 20 closings in the top quartile (excess of $2,700,000) over the past twelve months compared to 19 sales in this price range in the prior 12 months. Because there was just one sale in this quartile in August, the months of available inventory in the high-end in the Sonoma Valley is 31 months compared to 2 months for the overall market.
Windsor: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale (40) in Windsor at the end of August was 37% lower than the 63 homes in inventory in August 2015 and it was 19% higher than the 35 homes last month. There were 29 new sales in Windsor in August. This is equal to the sales in August 2015 (29) and 17% below the sales last month (35). There is a 1.4 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The median price of the 34 sales that closed in August in Windsor was $566,000. This is 3% ahead of the median price ($549,000) of the 26 homes closed last August.
Napa County: The inventory of homes and condominiums available for sale in Napa County at the end of August (390) is 6% higher than the inventory in August 2015 (368) and is 7% below the inventory last month (418). New sales (179) were 43% ahead of the pace last year (125) and 38% ahead of the pace of last month (130). This is the highest level of new sales for any month going back ten plus years. There is a 2.2 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The Days on Market for the 132 homes closed in August was 63 days compared to 62 days a year ago and 79 days last month. The median price of homes closed in August in Napa County ($580,000) was 5.5% higher than the median price of a year ago ($550,000). The current median price remains 14% 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 closings (72) of Luxury Homes (sales price in excess of $2,200,000) in Napa County is 33% ahead for the period 8/1/15 to 7/31/16 compared to 8/1/14 to 7/31/15 (54 homes). There were 97 luxury homes in inventory at the end of August 2016 compared to 103 at the end of August 2015. There is a 13.9 months supply of available Luxury Homes based on the current sales pace compared to 2 months supply for the County as a whole.
Napa: There were 212 available homes and condominiums in inventory at the end of August in the City of Napa. This is 3.4% ahead of the inventory a year ago (205) and it is 5% below the supply last month (223). New sales (121) were 41% ahead of the pace of August 2015 (86) and they were 30% ahead of the pace of last month (93). There is a 1.8 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The Days on Market for the 87 homes closed in August in the City of Napa was 54 days compared to 58 days in August 2015 and 69 days last month. The median price of the homes that closed in Napa in August was $615,000. This is 12% ahead of the median price of the homes closed in August 2015 ($549,000). The median price is 6% 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 (144) in the Up Valley Napa County market (Angwin, Calistoga, Deer Park, Oakville, Rutherford, St. Helena and Yountville) at the end of August 2016 was 8.5% above the level of 118 in August 2015 and it was 11% below the level last month (144). There were 30 new sales for the month compared to 22 a year ago and 18 last month. This is the highest level of new sales in the past 15 months. There is now a 4.3 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The Days on Market for the 23 closings last month was 85 days compared to 101 days in August a year ago and 87 days last month. The overall county has 63 Days on Market.
Closings: The following agents enjoyed closings for the period from August 1 to August 31, 2016:
In our Healdsburg office: Debbie Adler, Maria Avila, Gina Cleaver, Mike Downes, and Tom Lawrence and Debby Hendershot each had a closing.
In our Napa office Ana Jauregui, Teresa Castrillo and Matt Cole each had a closing.
In the Petaluma office, Anne Marie Eskilsson had two closings and Brian Alexander, Juliet Casazza and Randy Haak each had a closing.
In our Santa Rosa office: Jana Adams enjoyed three closings and Jill Rake, Julie Battles, Elizabeth Ware-Marttin, Sarah Carlson and Lannie Azevedo each had a closing.
In our Sebastopol office: Martha Saly had two closings and Harvey Charnofsky, Randy and Sheryl Knight, Bette Meritt, Laurie Parris, Liz Uribe, Doug Suma and Norbert Tenenbaum each had a closing.
In our Sonoma office: Sheila Deignan had a Wine Country Group leading four closings; Kendra Martin had three closings; Dan Gallagher had two closings, and Herb Heil, Mara Kahn, Patty Keiser, Allison Kawano, Patty Marken, Alicia Robledo and Oak Senvardarli each had a closing.
And, in our St. Helena office: Ryan Gourd received his very first commission as a new licensee – congratulations Ryan! Liz Manfree and Linda Alioto enjoyed three closings each; David Barker enjoyed two closings, and Rianne Pasquariello had a closing.
Congratulations to all