Wine Country Real Estate Trends in August 2017

Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate|Wine Country Group Results for August 2017

Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate|Wine Country Group had 65 closings in August 2017 compared to 47 last month. In August, we closed homes with a total value of $43 million compared to $29 million last month. The average selling price of the properties sold by the Wine Country Group in August was $661,538.

BHGRE|WCG currently has 61 pending sales with a value of $48 million dollars. We have 65 active listings with a value of $99 million dollars. Our average listing price is $1,523,000.

Wine Country Real Estate Results for August 2017:

Sonoma County: The inventory of homes and condominiums available in Sonoma County at the end of August continued to decrease slightly. The inventory stands at 849 and is down 2.1% from the inventory last month (867). It is 3% below the inventory in August 2016 (874). Wine Country (Sonoma and Napa County) inventory was down just slightly while the inventory in Marin County fell 10% on a month over month basis. New sales (546) in August were about equal to the pace of last month (549) and were 7% ahead of the pace of August 2016 (512). There is a 1.6 months supply of inventory in Sonoma County based on the existing sales pace. The time it takes to sell a home in the various areas of Sonoma County (Days on Market) varies from 32 (Oakmont) to 177 (Coastal Sonoma) days. For the purpose of our MLS (BAREIS) “Days on Market” represents the time from when the property is first listed in the MLS to the date the property goes into “pending” (all conditions removed) status. On average, it can take anywhere from 0 to 30 additional days for properties to close after going pending. The average Days on Market for the County as a whole is 53 days. The median price of homes closed in August in Sonoma County was $596,000. This is a 7% increase over the median price in August 2016 ($555,000). The current median price of homes closed in August is slightly above the previous peak median price for the County ($589,000) recorded in August 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 $1,500,000). There has been a 19% increase in the number of Luxury Homes closed (224) from 9/1/16 to 8/31/17 compared to 188 from 9/1/15 to 8/31/16. The pace of new sales (23) in August this year was 11% lower than the pace of a year ago (26). There were 219 luxury properties in inventory at the end of August compared to 218 last month and 201 a year ago. The Days on Market for Luxury Home closings was 118 days this August compared to 105 days a year ago. This compares to 53 Days on Market for all closed properties in the County in August. There is a 9.5 months supply of inventory of luxury properties based upon the current sales pace compared to a 1.6 months supply in the overall Sonoma County market.

Cloverdale: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale (26) in Cloverdale at the end of August is equal to the 26 homes in inventory in August last year and it is 13% ahead of the 23 homes last month. There were 16 new sales in Cloverdale in August. This compares to 18 sales in August 2016 and 18 new sales last month. There is a 1.6 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace.

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) is equal to the inventory a year ago and it is slightly below the inventory last month (31). There were 11 new home sales for the month of August compared to 3 a year ago and 6 last month. This is the highest number of sales in any month on the Coast since October of 2015. There is a 2.6 months supply of inventory in Coastal Sonoma based on the current sales pace.

Healdsburg Trends: There were 97 homes and condominiums available for sale in Healdsburg at the end of the month. This is about equal to the inventory in August 2016 (98) and it is 9% ahead of the inventory last month (89). There were 18 new sales in Healdsburg for the month. This is 28% below the number of sales in August 2016 (25) and it is also 28% below the pace last month (25). The months of available inventory is 5.4 months based on the current sales pace.

Oakmont: There were 13 homes in inventory in the community of Oakmont at the end of August. This is 38% lower than in August 2016 (21) and it is 28% lower than the inventory last month (18). There were 16 new sales for the month. This is 16% below the sales pace of a year ago (19) and 11% below the pace of last month (18). There is a 0.8 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The median price for homes sold in Oakmont in the past year has ranged from the high-$500,000’s up to $750,000. The median price was $649.000 for the 20 homes closed in August – an increase of 10% over the price of $590,000 in August 2016.

Petaluma: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale in Petaluma at the end of August (65) is 12% below the inventory in August 2016 (74) and it is also 12% below the inventory last month (74). There were 60 new sales for the month. This is slightly ahead of the number of new sales in August 2016 (58) and is 14% below the 70 sales last month. The Petaluma market has been volatile and currently has 1.1 months of available inventory based on the current sales pace. The median price of the 74 homes that closed in August was $675,000. This is 4% ahead of the median last August ($651,000).

Rohnert Park: For the tenth consecutive month, the monthly sales in Rohnert Park-Cotati outpaced the level of inventory at the beginning and end of the month. There were 44 new sales in August compared to 56 last month and 47 in August 2016. Interestingly, at the end of July, there were 70 sales that went “pending” and this month, it reflects that 56 sales “went pending” in July – so it appears that maybe 14 (20%) cancelled? The inventory began the month at 22 homes and ended the month at 28 homes. There is just a 0.6 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The median price ($530,000) of the 45 homes closed in August was 14% higher than the median price a year ago ($465,000). In August 2012, the median price was $241,000.

Russian River: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale at the end of August (67) in the Russian River area (Guerneville, Monte Rio and Rio Nido) is 46% ahead of the level of August 2016 (46) and it is 8% ahead of the inventory last month (69). There were 35 new sales for the month of August. This is 21% ahead of the pace in August 2016 (29) and slightly lower than the pace last month (36). There is a 1.9 months supply of inventory in the Russian River based on the current sales pace. The median price ($465,000) of the homes closed in August was 3% higher than the median price a year ago ($450,000).

Santa Rosa: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale in Santa Rosa at the end of August (249) is 13.5% below the inventory of a year ago (288) and it is 13% below the inventory last month (285). New sales in August (215) were about equal to the pace of last August (220) and they were 5% ahead of the pace last month (204). There is a 1.2 months supply of available homes in Santa Rosa based on the current sales pace. The median price of the 223 homes closed in August in Santa Rosa was $565,000 compared to $524,000 a year ago – an 8% increase.  The median has ranged from $495,000 to $565,000 over the past twelve months.

Sebastopol Trends: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale at the end of August (56) in Sebastopol is 7% below the level of August 2016 (60) and it is 27% higher than the inventory last month (44). There were 16 new sales for the month of August. This is 30% below the pace in August 2016 (23) and 47% below the pace last month (30). There is a 3.5 months supply of inventory in Sebastopol based on the current sales pace. The 21 homes that closed in Sebastopol in August went from listing to pending in 69 days.

Sonoma Valley: The number of available homes and condominiums for sale (122) at the end of August in the Sonoma Valley (Sonoma, Glen Ellen and Kenwood) is about equal to the inventory in August 2016 (124) and it is 3% below the inventory of last month (126). There were 50 new sales for the month. This is 16% ahead of the pace of sales in August 2016 (43) and it is equal to the pace of last month (51). There is a 2.4 months supply of inventory in Sonoma based on the current pace of sales. 66% of the inventory in the Sonoma Valley is priced at $1,000,000 or above. The high-end quartile (top 25%) of inventory in the Sonoma Valley at the end of August started at $3,000,000 last month. Twelve homes closed in the top quartile in the past twelve months compared to 16 in the twelve months prior to that. There were 32 homes available in this quartile in August compared to 23 a year ago. There was one new sales in the top quartile in August. Based on one sale, there is a 32 months supply of inventory in the top quartile.

Windsor: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale in Windsor at the end of August (39) is slightly below the inventory in August 2016 (40) and it is slightly ahead of the 37 homes last month. There were 45 new sales for the month. This is 88% ahead of the pace of sales in August 2016 (24) and it is 67% ahead of the pace of last month (27). It is also the highest number of new sales for any month in Windsor since March 2012. There is a 0.9 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The days on market for the homes closed in August in Windsor was 47 days. The median price ($599,000) of the 31 homes closed in August was 6% higher than the median price a year ago ($566,000).

Napa County: The inventory of homes and condominiums available for sale in Napa County at the end of August (373) is 4% below the inventory in August 2016 (390) and it is 4% higher than the inventory last month (358). With rising inventory, Napa is operating in a reverse trend to the rest of the North Bay region where inventories are falling. New sales (156) were about equal to the pace of last year (157) and 45% ahead of the pace of last month (107). There is a 2.4 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace – trending towards a balanced market. The Days on Market for homes closing in Napa County is currently 72 days. For the purpose of our MLS (BAREIS) “Days on Market” represents the time from when the property is first listed in the MLS to the date the property goes into “pending” (all conditions removed) status. On average, it can take anywhere from 0 to 30 additional days for properties to close after going pending. The median price of the 117 homes closed in August in Napa County ($638,000) was 10% ahead of the median price of a year ago ($580,000). The median has generally ranged between $580,000 and $660,000 over the past year. The current median price is about equal to the prior peak median price for the County ($675,000) recorded in August 2006.

Napa County Luxury Homes: If one takes the highest quartile (25%) of available inventory as the “Luxury Market”, the Luxury Market begins at $2,000,000 in Napa County at this time. The number of closings (76) of Luxury Homes (sales price in excess of $2,000,000) in Napa County is 6% lower for the period 9/1/16 to 8/31/17 compared to 9/1/16 to 8/31/17 (81 homes). There were 90 luxury homes in inventory at the end of August 2017 compared to 105 at the end of August 2016. There were 11 Luxury Home new sales last month resulting in a 8.2 months supply of available Luxury Homes based on the current sales pace compared to 2.4 months supply for the County as a whole.

Napa: There were 199 available homes and condominiums in inventory at the end of August in the City of Napa. This is 6% lower than the inventory a year ago (212) and it is equal to the supply last month (198). New sales (101) were 5% below the pace of August 2016 (106) and they were 44% ahead of the pace of last month (70). There is a two months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The median price of the 79 homes that closed in Napa in August was $649,000. This is 6% above the median price of the homes closed in August 2016 ($613,000). The median price fell from the all time high set last month of $691,000.

Up Valley Napa County: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale in the Up Valley Napa County market (Angwin, Calistoga, Deer Park, Oakville, Rutherford, St. Helena and Yountville) at the end of August (120) is 6% below the level of 128 in August 2016 and it is 11% above the level last month (108). There were 26 new sales for the month compared to 26 a year ago and 20 last month. There is now a 4.6 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The Days on Market for the 19 closings last month was 97 days. Approximately 60% of the Luxury Market (price in excess of $2,000,000) inventory in Napa County is in the Up Valley Market (54 homes). Six of the eleven luxury home sales in Napa County last month were in the Up Valley market.