Wine Country Group Results for January 2013

The Wine Country Group had 58 closings this January compared to 57 in January 2012.  Our dollar volume was $24 million compared to $26 million last year.  Our Healdsburg office led with 14 closings in January while the Santa Rosa office had 12 and the Sebastopol office had 11.5.  The Healdsburg office also led in dollar volume with $7.3 million in closings.  Our average closing sales price was $415,560 comparing to $456,611 a year ago.  Our escrow openings totaled 63 units compared to 80 in January 2012.  We had 36 new listings compared to 42 a year ago.

The Wine Country Group currently has 87 pending sales with a value of $57 million dollars.  We have 117 active listings with a value of $108 million dollars.  Last year at this time we had 218 listings, so we are off 46%.  Correspondingly, our average listing price is $926,000 – up 11% from an average of $832,000 a year ago.

The Wine Country Group currently enjoys number one market share (in either (or both) units and dollar volume) in our Cloverdale, Healdsburg, and Sebastopol markets.

Wine Country Market – January 2013

Sonoma County: Sonoma County has the lowest inventory of available homes (592) for any month going back as far as our database does – January 2000. Even in the height of the boom market in 2004-05, we had more inventory than we do now.  The inventory is about half of the amount it was in January 2012 (1,098).  For the past decade, our inventory peaked at 3,552 units in September 2007.  We currently have less than 17% of that amount.  The available inventory has decreased each month since April 2011.  We’ll need to see a rebound in inventory in the next several months to have any semblance of a balanced market.

New sales (426) were 18% lower than last year (519) but 7% ahead of last month (399).  There is a just a 1.4 months supply of inventory based on the existing sales pace – a stressed market.  New listings for the month (320) were 41% lower than the pace in January 2012 (547).  The median price of homes closed in January in Sonoma County ($350,000) was 15% ahead of the median price of a year ago ($305,000).

Distressed properties (foreclosures and short sales) currently make up 15% of the inventory and 33% of the new sales.  One year ago, the distressed property inventory represented 30% of the overall inventory and distressed sales represented 59% of all new sales.  There is 0.6 months supply of inventory of distressed properties based on the current sales pace.  The median price of 110 distressed properties that sold in the month of January ($285,000) was 6% higher than January a year ago ($269,000).

In looking at some research, of the closings on the MLS in Sonoma County for 2012, 31% of the sales were for cash – no financing.  I believe that this is an indication of two things:  1.  A difficult mortgage market;  and 2. The competition for distressed properties where cash offers have a greater influence on the sellers.  I know that many cash buyers refinanced their properties after they acquired them.

Cloverdale Trends: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale in Cloverdale (20) at the end of January 2013 was 53% below that of a year ago (42) and was 29% below the inventory last month (28).  To my knowledge, we’ve never had only 20 units available for sale in Cloverdale.  Sales for the month of January (18) were 12.5% ahead of the sales a year ago (16) and slightly below the sales reported last month (22).  There is a 1.1 months supply of available inventory in Cloverdale based on the current pace of new sales.  Just 10% of the inventory is distressed properties (bank-owned, short sale or foreclosure), 22% of the new sales and 31% of the closings for the month are distressed properties.

Healdsburg Trends: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale (52) in Healdsburg at the end of January was down 33% from that of last year (78) and it was down 7% from that of last month (56).  This is the lowest inventory in Healdsburg since our database began in 2000.  New sales (20) were up slightly from the 17 new sales in January 2012 and were up from the 18 sales last month.  The months of available inventory based on the current sales pace is down to 2.6 months.   Only 6% of the inventory (3 homes) in Healdsburg consists of “distressed properties” (bank-owned, short sale or foreclosure), but 25% of the new sales were distressed properties and 11% of the closings were distressed properties.  There is a 0.6 months supply of inventory based on the sales pace of distressed properties.

Petaluma: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale (58) in Petaluma at the end of January was 50% lower than a year ago (116) but it was 18% higher than the supply last month (49).  New sales in January (79) were 23% ahead of the pace in January 2012 (64) and they were 39% higher than the pace of last month (57).  There is less than a one months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace.  For whatever reason, it was a hot month in January for Petaluma.  The median price of closed homes ($380,000) was up 12% on a year over year basis.  Distressed properties (bank-owned, short sale or foreclosure) make up 19% of the available inventory, 33% of new sales and 40% of closings for the month.  This compares to 31% of inventory, 61% of new sales and 63% of closings in January 2012.

Santa Rosa: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale (159) in Santa Rosa at the end of January was 57% lower than a year ago (368).   It was equal to the Inventory last month (158).  This is the lowest level of inventory in Santa Rosa since the beginning of the millennium. There were 108 new listings and 155 new sales for the month – you can see where that trend will lead.  New sales in January (155) were 31% below the pace in January 2012 (225) but they were just 3% behind the pace of last month (160).  There is only a one months supply of available homes based on the current sales pace.  The median price of homes closed in January in Santa Rosa was $326,000 compared to $270,000 a year ago – a 21% increase.  Distressed properties (bank-owned, short sale or foreclosure) make up 13% of the available inventory (continues decreasing trend), 33% of new sales and 39% of closings for the month. This compares to 37% of inventory, 64% of new sales and 57% of closings a year ago.  There is less than one half months supply of distressed properties available.  “Conventional” sales are more and more a part of the market.

Sebastopol Trends: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale (48) in Sebastopol at the end of January was 28% lower than that of January 2012 (67) and it was about the same as that of last month (47).  There were 23 new sales for the month of January, the same as in January 2012 and ahead of the 18 last month.  There is a 2.1 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 five distressed sales and four distressed closings.  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 81 available homes in inventory at the end of January in the Sonoma Valley (Sonoma, Glen Ellen and Kenwood).  This is 44% lower than the inventory a year ago (144) and slightly ahead of the inventory last month (77). There were 37 new sales for the month.  This is a reasonable number looking over the past five months, but it is 27.5% lower than the sales in January 2012 (51).  There is a 2.2 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace.  Distressed properties (foreclosures and short sales) represent 10% of the inventory, 22% of the new sales for the month and 29% of the closings for the month.  This compares to 22%, 49% and 50% a year ago.  Distressed sales are having about half of the impact that they had a year ago.

Windsor: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale (25) in Windsor at the end of January was 54.5% lower than a year ago (55).  It was slightly below the supply last month (28).  New sales in January (26) were 21% lower than the pace in January 2012 (33) and they were 13% off of the pace of last month (30).  There is only a one months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace.  Distressed properties (bank-owned, short sale or foreclosure) make up 28% of the available inventory, 58% of new sales and 35% of closings for the month.  Nearly 80% of the sales in January 2012 were distressed properties.  Distressed properties continue to have a larger effect on the market in Windsor than in other parts of the County, however it is decreasing there as well.

Napa County: Napa County has the lowest inventory of available homes (285) for any month going back as far as our database does – January 2000. Even in the height of the boom market in 2004-05, we had more inventory than we do now.  The inventory is 39% lower than it was in January 2012 (469) and 4% lower than last month (296).  New sales (133) were 12% below that of last year (151) and were 12% ahead of the pace of last month (119).  There is a 2.1 months supply of inventory based on the existing sales pace.  New listings for the month (106) were 40% lower than the pace in January 2012 (176).  The median price of homes closed in January in Napa County ($389,000) was 15% ahead of the median price of a year ago ($339,000).

Distressed properties (foreclosures and short sales) currently make up 11% of the inventory, 33% of the new sales and 30% of the closings.  One year ago, the distressed property inventory represented 22% of the overall inventory and distressed sales represented 60% 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 27 distressed properties that sold in the month of January     ($315,000) was 17% higher than January a year ago ($270,000).

Napa: There were 148 available homes in inventory at the end of January in the City of Napa.  This is the lowest level of inventory for any month going back as far as our database does – January 2000.  It is 45% lower than the inventory a year ago (269) and equal to the inventory last month (148). There were 89 new sales for the month.  This is 17% below the sales in January 2012 and 13% ahead of the pace last month (79).  There is a 1.7 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace.  Distressed properties (foreclosures and short sales) represent 9% of the inventory, 27% of the new sales for the month and 28% of the closings for the month.  This compares to 20%, 58% and 57% a year ago.  Distressed sales are having about half of the impact in the City of Napa that they had a year ago.

Up Valley: There were 103 available homes in inventory at the end of January in the Up Valley Napa County market (Angwin, Calistoga, Deer Park, Oakville, Rutherford, St. Helena and Yountville).  This is 26% lower than the inventory a year ago (140) and 14% lower than the inventory last month (120).  As with the County as a whole, this is the lowest inventory since 2000 when we first collected data.  There were 21 new sales for the month.  This is 62% higher than the sales in January 2012 (13) and 50% more than the pace last month (14).  There is a five months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace.  This is a relatively low number for the Up Valley market.  Distressed properties (foreclosures and short sales) represent 5% of the inventory (5 units), and 33% of the new sales for the month.  A healthy Up Valley market is generally a good sign for overall Wine Country real estate.

Top Producers for 2012: The following agents are recognized for their exemplary production in 2012:

Emerald Elite:  Sheila Deignan (Sonoma), Diane Krause (Sonoma), Linda Alioto (St. Helena) and The Hamilton Group (Team – Santa Rosa).

Platinum: Ann Amtower (Healdsburg)

Gold: Mike Caselli (Sonoma), Carlos Rivas (Mason McDuffie Commercial Real Estate – Santa Rosa), Joyce Davison (Sonoma), Erin George (Sonoma), Will Kent (Sebastopol), Beth Bruno (Healdsburg), and Debbie Adler (Healdsburg).

Silver: Tressa Anderson and Shawn Daee in Napa;  Tommy Apostolides, Mark Payne, David Poulsen and the Team of Charles Himes and Larry Tristano in Santa Rosa;  Pam Buda, Lisa Dawson, Deborah Melancon, Christine Nelson, Barbara Jean Paul, Jeffrey Seligson, Eliazbeth Uribe and the team of Doug Schaeffer and Cary Fargo in Sebastopol;  Gina Cleaver, Bernie Curley, Mike Downes, Linda Farwell, Perry Hardin, Diane Harris, Penelope La Montagne, Kent Mitchell, Susan Montgomery and Nicki Rector in Healdsburg;  The team of Jane and Ron Pavelka in Cloverdale;  Michael Crain of Michael Crain Properties, Herb Heil, Mari Johnson, Mara Kahn, Diane Litchfield, Leo Merle and Erick Rothfeld in Sonoma.

Closings: The following agents enjoyed closings for the period from January 1 to January 31, 2013:

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

In our Healdsburg office:  Debbie Adler had three closings;  Carol Lexa had two closings;  and Mike Downes, Nick Thompson, Elissa Moorash, Debby Hendershot, Ken Scharer, Ann Amtower, Diane Harris, Patty Van Deren, Penelope La Montagne and Betty Hagedon each had a closing.

In our Napa office:  Lark Raymond had two closings and Stacey Oftedal had a closing.

In our Petaluma office:  Ryan Styles enjoyed a closing.

In our Santa Rosa offices:  The team of Larry Tristano and Charles Himes had six closings;  Gus Kyriakos and Carlos Rivas of Mason McDuffie Commercial Real Estate had two closings each; and, Larry Tristano, Donald Hamilton and Beth Sirks each had a closing.

In our Sebastopol office: Michael and Pauline Pellini enjoyed five closings;  Laurie Parris enjoyed two closings;  and Cheryl Ellis, Jeffrey Seligson, Roger Strawbridge, Gina Epperson and the team of Doug Schaeffer and Cary Fargo, each had a closing.

In our Sonoma office: Isaac Raboy of Mason McDuffie Commercial Real Estate enjoyed four closings;, Erin George had two closings;  and Patty Keiser, Diane Litchfield, Herb Heil, Mike Caselli and Mara Kahn each had a closing.

And, in our St. Helena office: Liz Manfree had three closings for this period.

Congratulations to all!