Wine Country Real Estate Trends for August 2013

Company Values –

Personal Responsibility – This month I am covering the company value of Personal Responsibility borrowing some of Kathy Olerton’s ideas.  When one employs this value, they are saying: “I am the source of a situation, a circumstance or an event”.  It’s not that you “caused” the event – when some one crashes into your car, you didn’t crash the car – it is the way that you respond to the someone who crashed into your car that is the “source” of the situation.  That is, what your attitude is about it moving forward.  We are personally responsible for how we view and interact with the world around us.  I enjoy this e-mail signature tagline that a friend uses:  “Life is not about learning to avoid the storms, it’s about learning to dance in the rain”!

Personal Responsibility also reflects the attributes of honesty and integrity.  We need these to be successful in our business.

Next post:  Vision

Wine Country Group Events/Trainings: We’re having Cathy Harrington in Sonoma on August 21 and in Healdsburg on August 23.  Her topics will be Strategies and Tactics to Grow Your Listings and Building Your Personal Brand.

We are also having a “Texas Hold-em Poker Tournament” on Friday, September 20 at the Fountaingrove Inn in Santa Rosa to benefit The Children’s Village of Sonoma County and the Living Room.  We are in need of event sponsors, prizes, and live auction items.  I hope that you can support and contribute to this great organization that does so much for kids here in Sonoma County.

Wine Country Group Results for July 2013

The Wine Country Group had 88 closings this July compared to 84.5 in July 2012 and 74 last month.  Our dollar volume was $58.2 million compared to $36.7 million last year and $40.2 million last month.  This is the highest July results that we have had since July of 2004 when we had 83 sales and $61.5 in dollar volume.  Our Sonoma office led in July with 23 closings while the Sebastopol had 21, the Healdsburg office had 14 and the Santa Rosa office had 12.  The Sonoma office also led in dollar volume with $18.3 million in sales.  This is the highest level of sales for the Sonoma office since July of 2005.  The Healdsburg office had $14.0 in closed sales volume, the Sebastopol office had $8.9 million and the Santa Rosa office had $5.3 million.  Our Wine Country average closing sales price was $660,942 comparing to $434,912 a year ago and $543,067 last month.  Our escrow openings were a healthy 99 units compared to 93.5 in July 2012 and 109 last month.  We had 41 new listings compared to 39 a year ago.

The Wine Country Group currently has 111 pending sales with a value of $73 million dollars.  We have 137 active listings with a value of $120 million dollars.  Our average listing price is $878,000 – compared to an average of $822,000 a year ago.

Wine Country Market – June 2013

Sonoma County: Sales recovered in July after a drop in June and inventory of unsold homes rose for the sixth month in a row in the County of Sonoma.  Inventory was 866 units at the end of July compared to 822 units at the end of June.  Inventory is 14% below the inventory of July 2012 (1,003).  New sales in July (608) were 4% higher than last month (587) and 4% higher than that of July last year (586).  There is a 1.4 months supply of inventory based on the existing sales pace.  Properties continue to sell at a quick pace with the closings last month being on the market an average of 70 days compared to 95 days on market a year ago.  The median price of homes closed in July in Sonoma County ($450,000) was 38% ahead of the median price of a year ago ($326,000).  The average price per square foot for the sold properties in July ($313) continued a generally increasing trend that goes back 28 months.  The low median price over recent years was $292,000 in February 2011.  The market has rebounded 54% since that low.

Distressed properties (foreclosures and short sales) currently make up 8% of the inventory and 13% of the new sales – this continues to trend down month over month.  One year ago, the distressed property inventory represented 12% of the overall inventory and distressed sales represented 35% of all new sales.  There is 0.7 months supply of inventory of distressed properties based on the current sales pace.  The median price of the 68 distressed properties that sold in the month of July ($326,000) was 23% higher than July a year ago ($265,000).

Cloverdale Trends: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale in Cloverdale (39) at the end of July 2013 was exactly equal to that of a year ago (39) and also equal to that of last month (39).  Sales for the month of July (19) were equal to the sales a year ago (18) and 46% higher than the sales reported last month (13).  There is a 2.1 months supply of available inventory in Cloverdale based on the current pace of new sales.  13% of the inventory is distressed properties (bank-owned, short sale or foreclosure) and 32% of the new sales are distressed properties.  For the first times in years, there were no distressed property closings in Cloverdale for the month.

Coastal Sonoma: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale in Coastal Sonoma (Bodega Bay, Jenner and Stewart’s Point) (34) at the end of July 2013 was 15% lower than that of a year ago (40) and was the same as last month (34).  Sales for the month of July (9) were 200% higher than the sales a year ago (3) and were slightly lower than last month (11).  There were 6 closings in the month of July along the coast – twice as many as last July (3) and slightly behind that of last month (8).  After lagging the “inland” market for months, sales appear to be picking up on the coast.  There is a 3.8 months supply of available inventory in the Coastal Sonoma market based on the current pace of new sales compared to a 13.3 months supply a year ago.  Days on market on the Coast remain higher (102 days) than the County in general (70 days).  There is no inventory of distressed properties (bank-owned, short sale or foreclosure) at the present time.   11% of the new sales and 33% of the closings for the month are distressed properties.

Healdsburg Trends: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale (65) in Healdsburg at the end of July was 34% lower than last July (98) and it was down slightly from last month (67).  New sales (23) were up 53% from the 15 new sales in July 2012 and were equal to the 23 sales last month.  Sales have been at the same pace over the past four months.  The months of available inventory based on the current sales pace is 2.8 months.  Healdsburg is essentially out of distressed properties at this time – there are no distressed properties in the inventory.

Petaluma: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale (89) in Petaluma at the end of July was 7% higher than a year ago (84) and it was 19% ahead of the supply last month (75).  Petaluma and Windsor are the only Wine Country markets that we report on where the inventory is higher on a year over year basis.  New sales in Petaluma in July (84) were equal to the pace in July 2012 (84) and they were 22% ahead of the pace of last month (69).  There is a 1.1 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The median price of the 59 closed homes in Petaluma in July ($495,000) was up 32% from the median closing price in July 2012 ($374,000).  Distressed properties (bank-owned, short sale or foreclosure) make up 9% of the available inventory, 14% of new sales and 12% of closings for the month.

Santa Rosa: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale (230) in Santa Rosa at the end of July was 15% lower than the inventory a year ago (270) and it was 5% higher than the inventory at the end of last month (218).  New sales in July (236) were about equal to the pace in July 2012 (230) and also equal to the pace last month (234).  There is only a 1.0 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 56 days – the fastest since December 2005.  The median price of the 203 homes closed in July in Santa Rosa was $390,000 compared to $310,000 a year ago – a 26% increase.  Distressed properties (bank-owned, short sale or foreclosure) make up just 7% of the available inventory, 11% of new sales and 12% of closings for the month.

Sebastopol Trends: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale (61) in Sebastopol at the end of July fell after six straight months of increase.  It was 33% lower than that of July 2012 (91) and it was 14% below that of last month (71).  There were 41 new sales for the month of July.  This is a whopping 42% higher than the new sales in July 2012 (29) and 9% below the 45 sales last month.  There is a 1.5 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace.  There are only four distressed properties (bank-owned, short sale or foreclosure) available in Sebastopol.  There were three distressed sales and one distressed closing.  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 112 available homes in inventory at the end of July in the Sonoma Valley (Sonoma, Glen Ellen and Kenwood).  The inventory is 22% lower than the inventory a year ago (143) and 4% lower than the inventory last month (117). There were 61 new sales for the month, about equal to the pace in July 2012 (62) and 15% below the pace of last month (72).  Days on market remained relatively low in June at 69 days.   There is a 1.8 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace.  Of the 65 closings in the Sonoma Valley in July, they averaged 100% of the last listing price.  There are only 5 available distressed properties (foreclosures and short sales) in the inventory.   7% of the new sales and 8% of the closings were distressed properties for the month.

Windsor: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale (36) in Windsor at the end of July is 20% higher than a year ago (30) and 16% higher than last month (31). Windsor and Petaluma are the only Wine Country markets that we report on where the inventory is higher on a year over year basis.  New sales in July (35) were equal to the pace in July 2012 (35) and were 21% ahead of the pace last month (29).  There is a 1.0 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace.  Distressed properties (bank-owned, short sale or foreclosure) make up just 8% of the available inventory, 31% of new sales and 24% of closings for the month.   The influence of distressed properties on the Windsor market is becoming negligible.

Napa County: The available number of units in Napa County (429) continued to rise for the fifth month in a row.  The inventory is 8% lower than it was in July 2012 (468) and 7% higher than last month (402).  New sales (153) were 8.5% ahead of last year (141) and 10% below that of last month (170).  There is a 2.8 months supply of inventory based on the existing sales pace – more of a balanced market than Sonoma County.  The median price of homes closed in July in Napa County ($480,000) was 25% ahead of the median price of a year ago ($385,000).  Days On Market fell to 76 compared to 132 a year ago.

Distressed properties (foreclosures and short sales) currently make up only 3% of the inventory.  Currently there are 14 distressed properties in inventory compared to 48 a year ago.  Distressed properties make up 14% of the new sales and 14% of the closings in July.  There is 0.6 months supply of inventory of distressed properties based on the current sales pace.  The median price of 23 distressed properties that sold in the month of July ($370,000) was 12% higher than July a year ago ($331,000).

Napa: There were 220 available homes in inventory at the end of July in the City of Napa.  Like the County, this is a continuation of increased inventory for the fifth straight month.  The inventory is 14% lower than the inventory a year ago (256) and 6% ahead of the inventory last month (208). There were 106 new sales for the month 10% ahead of the sales pace in July 2012 (96) and 12% below the pace last month (120).  There is a 2.1 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace.  The median price of the 113 homes sold in the City of Napa in July ($460,000) was 18% higher than the median price in July 2012 ($390,000).  Distressed properties (foreclosures and short sales) represent just 3% of the inventory, 8% of the new sales for the month and 11% of the closings for the month.  Distressed sales are drying up in Napa as in our other Wine Country markets.

Up Valley: There were 116 available homes in inventory at the end of July in the Up Valley Napa County market (Angwin, Calistoga, Deer Park, Oakville, Rutherford, St. Helena and Yountville).  This is 14% lower than the inventory a year ago (135) and 11% ahead of the inventory last month (105).  There were 17 new sales for the month.  This is 13% ahead of the pace of last July (15) and 26% below the pace of new sales last month (23).  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.

Closings: For the month of July, the following agents enjoyed successful closings:

In our Cloverdale office, Ron and Jane Pavelka had six closings.

In our Healdsburg office: Debbie Adler enjoyed four closings; Mike Downes and Diane Harris each had two closings and Perry Hardin, Gina Cleaver, Debby Hendershot, Hank Lane, Tom Lawrence, Elissa Morrash and Rico Ruthnick each had a closing.

In our Napa office:  Nick Simon had a great month with five closings and Melody Arevalo, Adam Ghisletta, Lynda Jensen and Stacey Oftedal each had a closing.

In our Santa Rosa office:  The team of Larry Tristano and Charles Himes enjoyed three closings; Tommy Apostolides had two closings; Carlos Rivas of Mason McDuffie Commercial Real Estate, David Poulsen, Jill Rake, Christen Hamilton and Don Hamilton, Mark Payne, Jim Famini, and Gus Kyriakos each had a closing.

In our Sebastopol office:  The team of Doug Schaeffer and Cary Fargo enjoyed three closings; The team of Will Brown and Gene Bonino and Patricia Paulsen had two closings each; and Liz Uribe, Jeffrey Seligson, Norbert Tenenbaum, Pauline and Michael Pellini, Laurie Parris, Si Edman, William Kent, Lisa Dawson, Susan Greer, Cheryl Ellis, Skye Blaine, Rikki Barron, Eric Lucas and Sandy Mays each had a closing.

In our Sonoma office:  Russ Lucia enjoyed his first ever closing as a real estate agent – and he had two for the month!  Special congratulations!

Sheila Deignan enjoyed a Wine Country Group leading seven closings; Mara Kahn enjoyed four closings; Diane Krause had two closings and Leo Merle, Herb Heil, Frank Lazzarotto, Joyce Davison, Erin George, Tish Thames, Diane Litchfield, Shanis Nelson, Gerry Snedaker, Carl MacPetrie, and Michael Crain of Michael Crain Properties, Vineyard Advisors and Brokers each had a closing.

And, in our St. Helena office: Liz Manfree had two closings and Rianne Pasquareillo, Gina Papele White and Linda Alioto each had a closing for this period.

Congratulations to all!