Core Values
Those that know me know that I believe in a values-based organization. Last year, I reviewed the core values of our parent company, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, Mason-McDuffie. In the next couple of months, I’d like to review the “Core Values” of our franchise group – Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate. They are:
Passion
Authenticity
Innovation
Growth
Excellence
With “Innovation” as one our core values, we keep the future in mind. We are risk takers, we challenge the status quo. We insist on creativity.
Next post: Growth.
Wine Country Real Estate Trends in April 2014
Wine Country Group Results for April 2014
The Wine Country Group enjoyed a year over year 27% increase in the average sales price of closed units in April but it could not make up for a reduced dollar volume in sales as a result of a reduced number of unit sales. Our average closing price for the month was $591,206 compared to $464,097 last April. We closed a total of $29.6 million in sales compared to $46.4 million a year ago and $35.6 million last month based on 50 closed transactions this April compared to 100 a year ago and 57 last month. The Sonoma office led with 11 closings for the month while the Healdsburg and Santa Rosa offices both had 9 closings. The Healdsburg office (including Cloverdale) led in dollar volume with $9.0 million in sales while the Sonoma office had $8.6.
The Wine Country Group opened 78 new escrows for the month compared to 107 a year ago and 72 last month. The group had 47 new listings compared to 53 in April 2013 and 41 last month. We currently have 94 pending sales with a value of $80 million dollars. We have 123 active listings with a value of $127 million dollars. Our average listing price is $1,033,000 – up 21% from an average of $855,000 a year ago.
Wine Country Real Estate results for April 2014:
Sonoma County: The inventory of single-family homes and condominiums for sale in Sonoma County at the end of April stood at 768 compared to 660 last month and 747 a year ago, a 16.4% increase month over month and a 3% increase year over year. New sales (546) in April were about equal to that of last April (550) and were 18% ahead of last month (461). Inventory remains tight. There is just a 1.3 months supply of inventory based on the existing sales pace. The time it takes to sell a home in Sonoma County (Days on Market) is 66 days compared to 77 a year ago. The median price of homes closed in April in Sonoma County dropped from $470,000 last month to $440,000. It was 10% ahead of the median price of a year ago ($400,000). Most forecasts that I read expect the median price to stabilize at 8% to 10% appreciation for the year.
Sonoma County Luxury Homes: Sales of luxury homes (sales price in excess of $900,000) in Sonoma County have enjoyed a strong growth in the last twelve months. There has been a 30% increase in the number of luxury homes closed (433) from 5/1/13 to 4/30/14 compared to 332 from 5/1/13 to 4/30/13. The inventory of luxury homes in Sonoma County also jumped up last month. There were 220 units at the end of April compared to 183 last month and 225 a year ago. Days on Market for closed luxury sales dropped from 128 days last year to 92 days this year.
Cloverdale Trends: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale in Cloverdale (36) at the end of April 2014 was 39% ahead of that of a year ago (26) and was about equal to the inventory last month (34). Sales for the month of April (19) were slightly behind the sales a year ago (21) and also behind the pace of last month (22). There is a 1.9 months supply of available inventory in Cloverdale based on the current pace of new sales. Days on market for the 12 closings that occurred in April fell to 53 days from 69 days a year ago.
Coastal Sonoma: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale in Coastal Sonoma (Bodega Bay, Jenner and Stewart’s Point) (25) at the end of April was about equal to that of a year ago (26) and was 32% ahead of that of last month (19). There were 3 new home sales for the month of April compared to 6 a year ago and 5 last month. There is an 8.3 months supply of available inventory in the Coastal Sonoma market based on the current pace of new sales. The Days on Market (106) remains relatively high when compared to the rest of the County (66) but it is significantly lower than it was a year ago (169 days).
Healdsburg Trends: After four flat months this spring, the inventory of homes and condominiums for sale (57) in Healdsburg at the end of April finally took a bump upwards. It was up 30% over last month (44) and was about equal to that of last year (56). New sales (16) continued in the same range (18-20) that it has been over the past four months and was 20% below the pace of last April (20). The months of available inventory based on the current sales pace rose to 3.6 m months.
Petaluma: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale (70) in Petaluma at the end of April jumped 25% from last month (56). There has been a steady rise over the past two months. The inventory is about the same as it was a year ago (71). New sales in April (58) also bumped up In April. They were 32% ahead of last month. As with inventory, it was equal to the pace in April 2013. There is just a 1.2 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The median price of the 40 homes that closed in April was $494,000. This is 10% ahead of the median last April ($450,000). Most forecasts that I read expect the median price to stabilize at 8% to 10% appreciation for the year.
Santa Rosa: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale in Santa Rosa at the end of April (231) was 15% higher than a year ago (200) and was 15,5% higher than last month (197). New sales in April (231) were about equal to the pace in April 2013 (237) and they were 17% ahead of the pace of last month (197). There is only a one months supply of available homes based on the current sales pace. The median price of homes closed in April in Santa Rosa was $405,000 compared to $375,000 a year ago – an 8% increase. Most forecasts that I read expect the median price to stabilize at 8% to 10% appreciation for the year.
Sebastopol Trends: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale (44) in Sebastopol at the end of April was 27% lower than that of April 2013 (60) and it was 19% ahead of that of last month (37). There were 26 new sales for the month of April. This is 32% below the 38 in April 2013 and equal to the 26 for last month. The sales pace remained three times the pace of December and January when the market was extremely slow. There is a 1.7 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. We’ll see if the inventory continues to grow in May in the Sebastopol market.
Sonoma Valley: The number of available homes and condominiums for sale (140) rose dramatically in April in the Sonoma Valley (Sonoma, Glen Ellen and Kenwood) for the third month in a row. Inventory was 140 units at the end of April compared to 99 last month, an increase of 41%. Inventory is 15% ahead of what it was at the end of April 2013. 61 properties of the 140 available have asking prices in excess of $900,000. This is an increase of 27% over last year (48). There were 68 new sales for the month. This is about equal to the sales in April 2013 (65) and 42% ahead of the pace last month (48). Luxury home closings (those in excess of $900,000) increased 33% in the past twelve months compared to the prior twelve months. There is a 2.1months supply of inventory in Sonoma based on the current pace of sales.
Windsor: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale (20) in Windsor at the end of April dropped 28% from 29 last month. It dropped 30% from 30 homes in April 2013. New sales in Windsor also retreated in April (26) from 28 last month and 29 in April 2013. There is just a 0.8 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The median price of the 30 sales that closed in April was $453,000. This is 10% ahead of the median price of a year ago ($412,000).
Napa County: The inventory of homes and condominiums available for sale continued to move ahead in Napa County in April. The inventory (392) is 18% higher than it was in April 2013 (332) and 18% higher than last month (333). New sales (130) declined 11% compared to last month (146) and were 24% lower than last year (171). There is a 3 months supply of inventory based on the existing sales pace. The median price of homes closed in April in Napa County ($486,000) was 12.5% ahead of the median price of a year ago ($432,000). Days on Market for the 130 homes closed in April fell to 65 days compared to 98 days last month and 79 days a year ago.
Napa County Luxury Homes: Sales of luxury homes (sales price in excess of $900,000) in Napa County have increased 13% for the period 5/1/13 to 4/30/14 compared to 5/1/12 to 4/30/13. There were 182 luxury homes in inventory at the end of April 2014 compared to 161 at the end of April 2013. There were 31 new luxury home sales in April 2014 compared to 23 in April 2013 and 28 last month. There is a 5.9 months supply of available homes based on the current sales pace compared to 7.1 months supply last year. Days on Market for the 23 closings of Luxury Homes in April dropped to 75 compared to 88 a year ago.
Napa: There were 214 available homes and condominiums in inventory at the end of April in the City of Napa. This is 20% higher than the inventory a year ago (178) and also 20% higher than the supply last month. New sales (86) tapered off a bit for the month compared to last month (99). This sales pace is still 21% lower than the sales in April 2013 (109). There is a 2.5 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The median price of the 86 homes that closed in Napa in April was $453,000, 7% ahead of the median price in April 2013 ($425,000). Most forecasts that I read expect the median price to stabilize at 8% to 10% appreciation for the year.
Up Valley: There was a 19% increase in available homes and condominiums in inventory at the end of April compared to last month in the Up Valley Napa County market (Angwin, Calistoga, Deer Park, Oakville, Rutherford, St. Helena and Yountville). The inventory was 148 homes at the end of April 2014 compared to 124 last month and 134 a year ago. There were 24 new sales for the month. This is 27% below the pace in April 2013 (33) and 20% below the pace of last month (30). There is a 6.2 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The Days on Market for the 27 closings last month was 105 days compared to 123 days in April a year ago and 65 days for the County as a whole.
Closings: The following agents enjoyed closings for the period from April 1 to April 30, 2014:
In our Cloverdale office: Ron and Jane Pavelka had four closings.
In our Healdsburg office: Dee Grohmann had four closings, Diane Harris had two closings and Judy Csimma, Linda Farwell, Perry Hardin and Kent Mitchell each had a closing.
In our Napa office: Kathleen Brophy had two closings and Andrew Arnerich, Shawn Daee and Billy Birdsong each had a closing.
In our Petaluma office: Paul Claeyssens had three closings, Michael Arieta had two closings and Diane Quinn each had a closing.
In our Santa Rosa office: Lindsey Ehrlicher had three closings, Tommy Apostolides had two closings and The Hamilton Group and Charles Himes each had a closing.
In our Sebastopol office: Jeffrey Seligson, Pam Buda and Elizabeth Uribe each had a closing.
In our Sonoma office: Erin George had three closings, Sheila Deignan had two closings and Michael Crain of Michael Crain Properties, Joyce Davison, Mara Kahn, Patti Keiser, Erick Rothfeld and Diane Litchfield each had a closing.
And, in our St. Helena office: Liz Manfree had two closings and David Barker had a closing for this period.
Congratulations to all