Wine Country Real Estate Trends in November 2016
Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate|Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate – Wine Country Group Results for November 2016
My new partner, Randy Coffman, and I are very excited to be completing our first month in business together. We acquired BHGRE|Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate – Wine Country Group on 11/15/16 with 5 offices (Bodega Bay, Santa Rosa, Sebastopol, Sonoma and St. Helena), 90 great agents and terrific staff support. Since then, we have added five new agents – Welcome Aboard! A superb Controller, Natalie Cataraha-Berry, has also joined our management team. Natalie has over ten years of experience with CPS Real Estate and we are so lucky that she was available to join our support team.
We thank all of our agents and clients who have stayed with us through this transition and our great staff that has worked so hard with the license transfers, new agreements, etc. that have been required. We’ll have all of that wrapped up soon and next month I hope to be able to report the positive production results that we are experiencing.
We also thank Sherry Chris, CEO/Head Visionary at Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, and her capable team for their support and encouragement with our acquisition.
And, thanks to our clients to whom we give the greatest service possible.
Wishing everyone a Happy Holiday season and a wonderful New Year ahead.
Wine Country Real Estate results for November 2016:
Sonoma County: The inventory of homes and condominiums available in Sonoma County at the end of November (658) was 6% lower than the inventory in November 2015 (703) and was 16% lower than the inventory last month (780). Typically, we will see inventory decline for the next few months. New sales (369) in November were 8% behind the pace of last November (403) and were 20% below the pace of last month (461). There is a 1.8 months supply of inventory in Sonoma County based on the existing sales pace. In comparison, in November 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 66 days – about the same as a year ago (64). The median price of homes closed in November in Sonoma County was $549,000. This is a 9% increase over the median price in November 2015 ($502,000). The current median price is just 7% below the peak median price for the County ($589,000) recorded in June 2005. So, it can be said that close to all of the value lost through the recession (2007 to 2011) has been regained in the Sonoma County market.
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 4% increase in the number of Luxury Homes closed (284) from 12/1/15 to 11/30/16 compared to 274 from 12/1/14 to 11/30/15. The pace of new sales (23) in November this year was 21% ahead of the pace of a year ago (19). There were 169 luxury properties in inventory at the end of November compared to 222 last month and 161 a year ago. There is a deeper seasonal percentage drop in inventory (-24%) in the Luxury Market than there is in the overall market (-16%). The Days on Market for Luxury Home sales was 140 days this November compared to 126 days a year ago. This compares to 66 Days on Market for all closed properties in the County in November. There is a 7.3 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 lean towards a “Buyers Market” in the high end.
Cloverdale: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale (14) in Cloverdale at the end of November was 46% lower than the 26 homes in inventory in November 2015 and it was 44% lower than the 25 homes last month. This is the lowest inventory in Cloverdale in the last three years. There were 12 new sales in Cloverdale in November. This is 14% below the sales in November 2015 (14) and 20% ahead of the sales last month (10). There is a 1.2 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The Days on Market of the 11 homes that closed in November was 78 days compared to 62 days last month and 72 days a year ago.
Coastal Sonoma: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale in Coastal Sonoma (Bodega Bay, Jenner and Stewart’s Point) at the end of November (24) was 17% below the inventory a year ago (29) and 25% below the inventory last month (32). There were 5 new home sales for the month of November compared to 8 a year ago and 7 last month. The Days on Market of the 4 homes that closed in November was 96 days compared to 79 days last month and 71 days a year ago.
Healdsburg Trends: The inventory of homes and condominiums available in Healdsburg at the end of November (78) was 20% ahead of the inventory in November 2015 (65) and was down 11% from the inventory last month (88). This continues to be a relatively high level of inventory for Healdsburg. There were just 7 new sales in Healdsburg for the month. This is 59% below the pace in November 2015 (17) and 71% below the pace last month (24). Sales have not been this slow in Healdsburg since January of this year. The months of available inventory based on the current sales pace is 6 months. This is the highest “months of inventory” for any of our Wine Country markets. The Days on Market for the 13 homes closed in November was 92 days compared to 101 days a year ago and 119 days last month.
Oakmont: There were 16 homes in inventory in the community of Oakmont at the end of November. This is 30% lower than in November 2015 (23) and 14% higher than last month (14). There were 13 new sales for the month. This is 23.5% below the sales pace of a year ago (17) and 35% below the pace of last month (20). There is a 1.2 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The Days on Market for the 15 homes that closed in November was 54 days compared to 54 days a year ago and 78 days last month. The median price for homes sold in Oakmont in the past year have ranged from the mid-$500’s to the low $600’s.
Petaluma: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale in Petaluma at the end of November (58) was 18% higher than the inventory in November 2015 (49) and it was 23% below the inventory last month (75). There were 48 new sales for the month. This is about equal to the number of new sales in November 2015 (46) and was 21% below the 61 sales last month. The Petaluma market has 1.2 months of available inventory based on the current sales pace. The Days on Market for the 51 closed sales for the month was 51 days compared to 65 a year ago and 46 last month. The median price of the homes that closed in November was $670,000. This is 20% higher than the median last November ($560,000), but it’s been fairly consistent over the past six months. The median price dropped from a record high $700,000 recorded in September.
Rohnert Park and Cotati: For the ninth time this year, the monthly sales in Rohnert Park-Cotati outpaced the level of inventory at the beginning and end of the month. There were 46 new sales in November compared to 36 last month and 39 in November 2015. Inventory began the month at 43 homes and ended the month at 33 homes. There is just a 0.7 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The Days on Market for the 34 homes that closed in Rohnert Park and Cotati in November was 48 days compared to 49 days a year ago and 49 days last month. The median price ($509,000) closed in November was the highest median price in the past ten years. Perhaps with reaching this high level in median price, the sales fury will slow down here in the coming months.
Santa Rosa: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale in Santa Rosa at the end of November (214) was 4% below that of a year ago (223) and was 13% below the inventory last month (247). New sales in November (151) were 28% below the pace of last month (211) and 10% below the pace of last November (168). There is only a 1.4 months supply of available homes in Santa Rosa based on the current sales pace. The Days on Market for the homes closed in November in Santa Rosa was 63 days compared to 61 a year ago and 62 last month. The median price of the 186 homes closed in November in Santa Rosa was $509,000 compared to $461,000 a year ago – a 10% increase. The median has ranged from $500,000 to $520,000 over the past six months.
Sebastopol Trends: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale at the end of November (36) was 20% below the level of November 2015 (45) and it was 12% below that of last month (41). By comparison, there were 125 homes in inventory in Sebastopol in November 2008. There were 19 new sales for the month of November. This is equal to the pace last month (25) and 36% ahead of the pace in November 2015 (14). There is a 1.9 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The Days on Market of the 18 closed homes in Sebastopol in November was 107 days compared to 67 days a year ago and 70 days last month.
Sonoma Valley: The number of available homes and condominiums for sale (98) at the end of November in the Sonoma Valley (Sonoma, Glen Ellen and Kenwood) was 10% ahead of the inventory in November 2015 (89) and was 11% below the inventory of last month (110). There were 31 new sales for the month. This is 20.5% below the pace of sales in November 2015 (39) and it is 8% below the pace of last month (33). There is a 3.2 months supply of inventory in Sonoma based on the current pace of sales. The Days on Market for the 33 closed sales in Sonoma in November was 64 days compared to 69 a year ago and 72 last month. 53% of the inventory in the Sonoma Valley is priced at $1,000,000 or above while 32% of the new sales (10) were priced at $1,000,000 or more. The months of inventory for the $1,000,000 plus properties is 6.5 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 November started at $$1,900,000. There were 44 closings in the top quartile (excess of $1,900,000) over the past twelve months compared to 47 closings in this price range in the prior 12 months. The months of available inventory in the top quartile is 9 months..
Windsor: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale in Windsor at the end of November (26) was almost half of the 46 homes in inventory in November 2015 and it was 22% lower than the 32 homes last month. There were 23 new sales in Windsor in November. This is about equal to the sales in November 2015 (25) and 26% lower than the sales last month (31). There is a 1.1 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The median price of the 37 sales that closed in November in Windsor was $550,000. This is 8% ahead of the median price ($509,000) of the homes closed last November.
Napa County: The inventory of homes and condominiums available for sale in Napa County at the end of November (306) is 12% lower than the inventory in November 2015 (349) and is 16% lower than the inventory last month (364). New sales (106) were 6% ahead of the pace last year (100) and 19% below the pace of last month (131). There is a 2.9 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The Days on Market for the 113 homes closed in November was 75 days compared to 90 days a year ago and 78 days last month. The median price of the closed homes in November in Napa County ($620,000) was 4% lower than the median price of a year ago ($648,000), however that median price was the highest throughout the last 15 months. The median has generally ranged between $580,000 and $620,000 over the past year. The current median price remains 8% 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 $2,000,000 in Napa County at this time. The number of closings (78) of Luxury Homes (sales price in excess of $2,000,000) in Napa County is 23% ahead for the period 12/1/15 to 11/30/16 compared to 12/1/14 to 11/30/15 (63 homes). There were 76 luxury homes in inventory at the end of November 2016 compared to 104 at the end of November 2015. There is a 10.9 months supply of available Luxury Homes based on the current sales pace compared to 2.9 months supply for the County as a whole.
Napa: There were 172 available homes and condominiums in inventory at the end of November in the City of Napa. This is 8.5% less than the inventory a year ago (188) and it is 11% less than the supply last month (194). New sales (67) were 14% ahead of the pace of November 2015 (59) and they were 27% behind the pace of last month (92). There is a 2.6 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The Days on Market for the 78 homes closed in November in the City of Napa was 67 days compared to 77 days in November 2015 and 67 days last month. The median price of the homes that closed in Napa in November was $623,000. This is equal to the median price of the homes closed in November 2015 ($625,000). The median price is 4% below the peak median price in the City of Napa ($650,000) recorded in November 2006.
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 November 2016 (96) was 16.5% below the level of 115 in November 2015 and it was 23% below the level last month (124). There were 22 new sales for the month compared to 20 a year ago and 20 last month. There is now a 4.4 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The Days on Market for the 18 closings last month was 113 days compared to 144 days in November a year ago and 117 days last month. The overall county has 75 Days on Market Sales take a bit longer in the Up Valley market.
Closings: We’ll get back on track reporting closings next month.