Wine Country Real Estate Trends in December 2013
Exciting news for the Petaluma Office with the creation of the Better Homes and Gardens-Leading Edge Properties brand. This adds an additional solid group of agents serving the Wine County markets.
Wine Country Group Events/Trainings: We are having a “Power Prospecting Workshop” on Tuesday, 12/10 from 10:00 to 1:00 at the Wells Fargo Center in Santa Rosa. This will feature two nationally recognized trainers from our own BHG-Mason McDuffie team: Keith Robinson and Rich Casto.
The Distinctive Collection Networking Group will be in Napa on Friday, January 10, from 12:30 to 2:30 to visit Diane Krause’s and Linda Alioto’s $5.5 Million dollar listing. Visit www.sobrelago.com for a preview of the property.
Wine Country Group Results for November 2013
Activity remained slow in November relative to past years. We did not get the “Fall Bump” that we’ve come to expect this time of year. The Wine Country Group had 56 closings in November. This is similar to the 61 closings that we had last month. It compares to 74 closings in November 2012. Like last month, our average selling price was well ahead of that of a year ago – $650,308 compared to 504,936. Thus, our dollar volume was $36.4 million compared to $37.4 million last year and $35.4 million last month. Our Santa Rosa office led in November closings with 13 while the Sonoma office had 11, the Petaluma office had 7 and the Healdsburg office had 6. The Santa Rosa office also led in dollar volume with $7.5 million in sales. The Sonoma and St. Helena offices each had $7.2 million in closings and the Healdsburg office had $4.4 million. Our escrow openings were 53 in November compared to 67 last month and 67 in November 2012. We had just 15 new listings for the month compared to 32 a year ago and 26 a month ago. So, in general across the Wine Country, it was a slow listing month.
The Wine Country Group currently has 71 pending sales with a value of $47 million dollars. We have 103 active listings with a value of $158 million dollars. Our average listing price is $1,036,000 – compared to an average of $957,000 a year ago.
Wine Country Market – November 2013
There is an interesting article I read today that deals with the impact of “Single Family Rental Properties” – those that have been bought up by investors over the past four or so years and are being used as rental investment properties. In part, the article says: “The fundamentals that gave birth to the single family rental business are now turning the other way… home prices are beginning to rise, credit will loosen for entry-level homebuyers and the economics justifying the entire trade continue to become less compelling. It simply becomes too expensive to grow one’s portfolio when the economy is in recovery mode, much like investing in distressed debt. While existing owner/operators that have already amassed portfolios will benefit from their rising value, I expect to see a decline in the overall business as these operators eventually choose to exit through individual asset sales,” said Bobby Lee who is President and COO of the Los Angeles-based JRK Property Holdings Company that manages hotels and apartments. To read the whole article, visit: https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2013/11/29/five-reality-checks-single-family-rentals/
Sonoma County: Sales dropped by 26% from last month and inventory of unsold homes dropped 19% from October in Sonoma County. There were 702 homes and condominiums for sale at the end of November compared to 871 at the end of October. Inventory is the same as the inventory of November 2012 (703). New sales in November (427) were below the pace of last month (574) and 3% below the pace of November last year (440). New listing activity fell to 282 units for the month compared to 458 last month and 356 in November of last year. That’s a 21% decrease from last year. There is a 1.6 months supply of inventory based on the existing sales pace – still a tight market. Properties continue to sell at a quick pace with the closings last month being on the market an average of 73 days compared to 97 days on market a year ago. The median price of homes closed in November in Sonoma County ($435,000) was 24% ahead of the median price of a year ago ($350,000). The low median price over recent years was $292,000 in February 2011. The market has rebounded 49% since that low but remains 26% below the high median price of $589,000 in June 2005.
Distressed properties (foreclosures and short sales) currently make up just 7.5% of the inventory and 15% of the new sales – this is a bit higher than it has been in recent months. One year ago, the distressed property inventory represented 15% of the overall inventory and distressed sales represented 32% of all new sales. There is 0.8 months supply of inventory of distressed properties based on the current sales pace.
Sonoma County Luxury Homes: Sales of luxury homes (sales price in excess of $900,000) in the Sonoma County have enjoyed a strong growth in activity in the last twelve months. There has been a 30% increase in the number of luxury homes closed (395) from 12/1/12 to 11/30/13 compared to 304 from 12/1/12 to 11/30/12. There were 33 new luxury home sales in November 2013 compared to 14 in November 2012.
Cloverdale Trends: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale in Cloverdale (19) at the end of November 2013 was 46% below that of a year ago (35) and also 44% below that of last month (34). Sales for the month of November (15) were about equal to the sales a year ago (14) and 38% lower than the sales reported last month (24). There were just 6 new listings in the month and there is a 1.3 months supply of available inventory in Cloverdale based on the current pace of new sales. There is just one distressed properties (bank-owned, short sale or foreclosure) in Cloverdale at the present time compared to 9 at this time last year.
Coastal Sonoma: New sales in Coastal Sonoma (Bodega Bay, Jenner and Stewart’s Point) settled back to a more modest rate last month. Sales for the month of November were 4 homes compared to 2 a year ago and 15 last month. The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale in Coastal Sonoma (31) at the end of November 2013 was about the same as a year ago (30) and was slightly lower than last month (36). There is a 7.8 months supply of available inventory in the Coastal Sonoma market based on the current pace of new sales. It still takes longer to sell a home on the Coast – days on market were 114 days last month compared to 73 days for the County as a whole.
Healdsburg Trends: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale (55) in Healdsburg at the end of November leveled off. It is 17% lower than last November (66) and equal to that of last month (54). New sales (9) were 53% lower than the new sales (19) in November 2012 and the 19 new sales last month. This is the lowest number of new sales in Healdsburg in any month in the past four years. The months of available inventory based on the current low sales pace is 6.1 months.
Petaluma: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale (53) in Petaluma at the end of November was 17% below that of a year ago (64) and it was 35% lower than the inventory last month (82). New sales in Petaluma in November (52) were down 33% from the pace of October (78) and they were down 13% from the pace of last November (60). The market remains tight as there is just a 1.0 month supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The median price of the 52 closed homes in Petaluma in November ($505,000) was up 25% from the median closing price in November 2012 ($403,000). Sales in Petaluma in October were closing in 62 days. Distressed properties (foreclosures and short sales) in Petaluma currently make up just 5.6% of the inventory – 3 units, but made up 25% of the new sales – 13 units.
Santa Rosa: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale (223) in Santa Rosa at the end of November continued to ease off. It was 21% lower than last month (283) and it was 15% higher than the inventory a year ago (194). New sales in November (194) were about equal to the pace in November 2012 (200) and were 14% behind the pace last month (225). There is only a 1.1 months supply of available homes based on the current sales pace. The current time it takes a home to sell and close in Santa Rosa is only 63 days. The median price of the 136 homes closed in November in Santa Rosa was $395,000 compared to $325,000 a year ago – an 22% increase. Distressed properties (bank-owned, short sale or foreclosure) make up just 11% of the available inventory and 15% of new sales for the month.
Sebastopol Trends: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale (44) in Sebastopol at the end of November fell to levels experienced last December and January. Inventory was 18% lower than that of November 2012 (54) and it was 10% below that of last month (49). The pace of new sales in Sebastopol fell for the fifth straight month. There were 24 new sales for the month of November which is 14% below the new sales in October (28) and slightly ahead of the 23 sales last November. The supply of inventory based on the current sales pace fell to just 1.8 months. There are only two distressed properties (bank-owned, short sale or foreclosure) available in Sebastopol. This market is essentially out of distressed properties at the current time.
Sonoma Valley: Inventory (86) dropped 27% from last month in the Sonoma Valley (Sonoma, Glen Ellen and Kenwood). The inventory is 14% below the inventory a year ago (100). The new sales (38) in November are 37% below the pace in October (60) and about equal to the pace of last November (37). There is a 2.3 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The days on market dropped to just 52 days in November compared to 108 days a year ago. There are only 3 distressed properties (bank-owned, short sale or foreclosure) available in Sonoma at the present time and one new distressed sale in November.
Windsor: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale (37) in Windsor at the end of November is 61% higher than a year ago (23) and it is 21% below last month (47). New sales in November (29) were 61% ahead of the pace in November 2012 (18) and were 20% off of the pace last month (36). There is a 1.3 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. There are 3 distressed properties (bank-owned, short sale or foreclosure) in inventory in Windsor at the end of November and just 2 new distressed sales for the month.
Napa County: The available number of homes and condominiums for sale (320) in Napa County at the end of November dropped for the second month in a row. The inventory is just 7% lower than it was in November 2012 (344) and 18% lower than last month (389). New sales (122) fell for the fourth straight month. They were 18% lower than last month (149) and were 16% ahead of the new sales in November of last year (105). There is a 2.6 months supply of inventory based on the existing sales pace. The median price of the 104 homes closed in November in Napa County ($498,000) was a whopping 35% ahead of the median price of a year ago ($370,000). Days On Market was 89 compared to 105 a year ago.
Distressed properties (foreclosures and short sales) currently make up only 8% of the inventory. Currently there are 26 distressed properties in inventory compared to 32 a year ago. Distressed properties make up 16% of the new sales and 11% of the closings in November. There is a 1.3 months supply of inventory of distressed properties based on the current sales pace – so, these sales have slowed down.
Napa County Luxury Homes: Sales of luxury homes (sales price in excess of $900,000) in Napa County enjoyed a strong growth in activity in the last twelve months. There has been a 20% increase in the number of luxury homes sold – 206 from 12/1/12 to 11/30/13 compared to 172 from 12/1/11 to 11/30/12. There were 18 new luxury home sales in November 2013 compared to 13 in November 2012.
Napa: There were 163 available homes in inventory at the end of November in the City of Napa. This is the second month in a row that inventory has fallen. The inventory fell 20% from last month (204) and is 7% below the inventory of last November (176). There were 87 new sales for the month in the City of Napa. This was 15.5% behind the pace of last month (103) and was 32% ahead of the sales pace in November 2012 (66). There is a 1.9 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The median price of the 70 homes sold in the City of Napa in November ($476,000) was 23% higher than the median price in November 2012 ($386,000). Distressed properties (foreclosures and short sales) represent 8% of the inventory and 11% of the new sales for the month.
Up Valley Napa County: There were 122 available homes and condominiums in inventory at the end of November in the Up Valley Napa County market (Angwin, Calistoga, Deer Park, Oakville, Rutherford, St. Helena and Yountville). This is 13.5% lower than the inventory a year ago (141) and 19% below the inventory of last month (151). There were 18 new sales for the month. This is 14% behind the pace of last November (21) and 28% behind the pace of new sales last month (25). New sales in Up Valley have ranged from 20 to 29 per month over the past six months. There is a 6.8 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. This is the highest level of inventory to sales in all of the Wine Country. Days on market for the sold properties in Up Valley last month was 146 days compared to 89 days for the County of Napa as a whole.
Closings: For the month of November, the following agents enjoyed success in closing transactions:
In our Cloverdale office, Jane and Ron Pavelka enjoyed five closings.
In our Healdsburg office: Diane Harris and the team of Star and Steve Thorpe had two closings each and Debbie Adler and Hank Lane each had a closing.
In our Napa office: Lynda Jensen enjoyed two closings and Shawn Daee, Tressa Anderson and Andrew Arnerich each had a closing.
In the Petaluma office (Better Homes and Gardens-Leading Edge Properties), Paul Claeyssens enjoyed three closings; Barry Adamson and Joann Claeyssens had two closings each and David Poulsen had a closing.
In our Santa Rosa office: Carlos Rivas of Mason McDuffie Commercial Real Estate enjoyed eight lease and property closings; Lindsay Ehrlicher and Charles Himes enjoyed three closings each; Donald Hamilton and Mark Payne enjoyed two closings each; and Christen Hamilton and Jill Rake each had a closing.
In our Sebastopol office: Laurie Parris enjoyed two closings and Liz Uribe had a closing.
In our Sonoma office: Sheila Deignan enjoyed two closings and Diane Krause, Erin George, Herb Heil, Joyce Davison, Mari Johnson, Carl MacPetrie, Shanis Nelson, Dan Gallagher and Tish Thames each had a closing.
And, in our St. Helena office: Jeff Veness enjoyed three closings for the month and Linda Alioto handled both sides of a $6,000,000 land transaction that she has worked on for several years. Congratulations Linda, and…
Congratulations to all!