Wine Country Real Estate Trends – June 2015
Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate – Wine Country Group Results for June 2015:
The Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate – Wine Country Group had 60 closings in June 2015 compared to 71 a year ago and 51 last month. In June, we closed homes with a total value of $51 million compared to $57 million a year ago and $38 million last month. The average selling price of the properties sold by the Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate – Wine Country Group in June was $842,310 compared to $797,422 a year ago and $743,333 last month. The Sonoma office led in June with 13 closings. The Healdsburg and Sebastopol office had 12 closings each. The Sonoma office also led in dollar volume with $14.4 million in closings while the Healdsburg office had $8.5 million and the Sebastopol office had $7.7 million and the St. Helena office had $7.6 million.
The Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate – Wine Country Group opened 64 new escrows for the month compared to 75 a year ago and 69 last month. The Group had 18 new listings compared to 40 in June 2014 and 26 last month. We currently have 65 pending sales with a value of $43 million dollars. We have 63 active listings with a value of $58 million dollars. Our average listing price is $913,000.
Wine Country Real Estate results for June 2015:
Sonoma County: The inventory of single-family homes and condominiums for sale in Sonoma County at the end of June continued to climb from May but was below last year’s levels. It stood at 838 homes compared to 815 last month and 958 a year ago. This is a 12.5% decrease on a year over year basis. New sales (605) in June were 11% ahead of that of last June (543) and were 6% ahead of the pace of last month (570). There is just a 1.4 months supply of inventory in Sonoma County based on the current sales pace. The time it takes to sell a home in Sonoma County (Days on Market) is 54 days compared to 55 a year ago and 59 last month. This 55 to 60 day period to sell a home has stabilized for now. The median price of the 575 homes closed in June in Sonoma County was $526,000. This is a 13% increase over the median price in June 2014 ($465,000). The current median price is 10.6% below the peak median price for the County ($589,000) recorded in June 2005. I continue to expect that we will close that spread in the next couple of months due to this active selling season.
Looking to the south to Marin County for some hints to our market, the pace of sales has stabilized over the past four months. Sales were 4% ahead of the pace of a year ago. Days on market there is in the mid-40s and there is also a 1.4 months supply of inventory. The median price has increased 12% on a year over year basis.
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 an 18% increase in the number of Luxury Homes closed (247) from 7/1/14 to 6/30/15 compared to 209 from 7/1/13 to 6/30/14. There were 207 luxury properties in inventory at the end of June compared to 194 last month and 181 a year ago. Days on Market for the 32 Luxury Homes that closed in June was 65 days compared to 75 days a year ago. There is a 6.3 months supply of Luxury Homes based on the current sales pace – this indicates a “balanced” market between buyers and sellers.
Cloverdale Trends: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale in Cloverdale (28) at the end of June 2015 was 39% below the inventory a year ago (46) and was slightly above the level of the inventory last month (36). There were 17 new homes sold in June compared to 14 a year ago and 17 last month. There is a 1.9 months supply of available inventory based on the current pace of new sales. The Days on Market for the 15 homes that closed in Cloverdale in June was 73 days compared to 37 a year ago and 74 last month.
Coastal Sonoma: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale in Coastal Sonoma (Bodega Bay, Jenner and Stewart’s Point) at the end of June (27) was 29% below the inventory a year ago (38) and slightly below the inventory last month (29). There were 7 new homes sold in June that compares to 4 a year ago and 4 last month. There is a 3.5 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace compared to 7.3 months last month. The Days on Market of the 5 homes that closed in June was 123 days compared to 45 days a year ago and 200 days last month. Homes definitely take longer to sell on the coast.
Healdsburg Trends: The inventory of homes and condominiums available in Healdsburg continued to rise in June. Inventory stood at 73 homes at the end of the month. This is slightly above the inventory last June (71) and 7% above the inventory of last month (68). For the fifth month in a row, there was also an increase in new sales. There were 26 new sales in June compared to 23 last month and 30 in June 2014. The months of available inventory based on the current sales pace is 2.8 months. The Days on Market for the 26 homes closed in June was 52 days compared to 46 days a year ago and 105 days last month.
Petaluma: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale (84) at the end of June in Petaluma was 8% ahead of the inventory in June 2014 (78) and it was also 8% ahead of the inventory last month (78). New sales in Petaluma leveled off after three months of rising. There were 72 new sales in June. That is 36% ahead of the new sales in June 2014 (53), and 3% below the sales last month (74). There is just a 1.3 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The median price of the 72 homes that closed in June was $610,000. This is 11% ahead of the median last June ($549,000). The Days on Market for the closed sales for the month was 49 compared to 42 days a year ago. Sales continue at a quick pace in Petaluma.
Rohnert Park: In June in Rohnert Park there were 64 new sales and there were just 30 homes and condominiums in inventory at the beginning of the month and 24 at the end of the month. There is now less than a one half months supply of inventory based on this activity – this is the tightest market in all of Wine Country. If you are thinking of selling a home in Rohnert Park, it’s a good time to do it! The 24 homes in inventory at the end of June was 29% below the 34 homes in inventory at the end of June 2014, and the 64 new sales was 94% ahead of the 33 new sales in June a year ago. The Days on Market for the 54 homes that closed in Rohnert Park in June was 46 days compared to 43 days a year ago. Surprisingly, the median price for the homes sold in June ($394,000) was just 2% ahead of the median price of the homes sold in June 2014 ($385,000).
Santa Rosa: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale in Santa Rosa at the end of June (293) was about equal to the inventory of a year ago (288) and was 9% ahead of the inventory last month (268). New sales in June (246) remained relatively stable for the third straight month and were 4% ahead of the pace in June 2014 (237). There is only a 1.3 months supply of available homes in Santa Rosa based on the current sales pace. The median price of the 242 homes closed in June in Santa Rosa was $472,000 compared to $430,000 a year ago – a 10% increase. The Days on Market for the homes closed in June in Santa Rosa was 58 days compared to 51 days a year ago.
Sebastopol Trends: Both inventory and sales fell in Sebastopol in June. The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale (43) at the end of June was 16% below that of last year (51) and was 14% below the inventory last month (50). There were 28 new sales for the month of June compared to 38 last month (-12.5%) and 21 (+33%) a year ago. There is a 1.5 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The Days on Market of the 29 closed homes in Sebastopol in June was 58 days compared to 71 days a year ago and 64 days last month.
Sonoma Valley: The number of available homes and condominiums for sale (119) in the Sonoma Valley (Sonoma, Glen Ellen and Kenwood) at the end of June was 14% below the level of last June (138) and was 8% ahead of the inventory last month (110). Sales, however, fell for the second month in a row. There were 47 new sales for the month. This is 25% below the pace of sales in June 2014 (63) and 13% below the pace of last month (54). There is a 2.2 months supply of inventory in Sonoma based on the current pace of sales. The Days on Market for the 54 closed sales in Sonoma in June was 47 days compared to 60 a year ago and 52 last month. 55% of the inventory in the Sonoma Valley is priced at $1,000,000 or above. The high-end market was active in the Sonoma Valley in the past month. The inventory of homes priced in excess of $3,000,000 rose to 24 from 16 a year ago. Between April and June of this year there were eight sales of these homes while a year ago there were six sales.
Windsor: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale (32) in Windsor at the end of June was equal to the inventory in June 2014 (33) and 13% ahead of the 29 homes last month. New sales in June (31) were 7% ahead of the sales in June 2014 (29) and the same amount ahead of the sales last month. There is a 1.2 months supply of inventory in Windsor based on the current sales pace. The median price of the 27 sales that closed in June in Windsor was $537,000. This is 15% ahead of the median price of a year ago ($465,000). The Days on Market for the closed homes last month was 48 days compared to 81 a year ago and 48 last month. Values are making a comeback in Windsor.
Napa County: The inventory of homes and condominiums available for sale in Napa County in June rose for the fifth month in a row. The inventory (389) is 8.5% below the inventory in June 2014 (416) and 5% ahead of the inventory last month (370). New sales rose for the sixth month in a row. They totaled 159 homes and were 24% ahead of the pace last year (128) and 5% ahead of the pace of last month (152). There is a 2.7 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The Days on Market for the 144 homes closed in June was 70 days compared to 80 days a year ago and 69 days last month. The median price of homes closed in June in Napa County ($590,000) was 13.5% ahead of the median price of a year ago ($520,000). The current median price is 13% 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. There has been just a slight increase in the number of Luxury Homes closed (56) from 7/1/14 to 6/30/15 compared to 54 from 7/1/13 to 6/30/14. There were 98 luxury homes in inventory at the end of June 2015 compared to 95 at the end of June 2014. There is a 14 months supply of available Luxury Homes based on the current sales pace compared to 10.5 months supply last year in June. The Napa County Luxury Home market is not as robust as the Sonoma County Luxury Home market at the present time.
Napa: There were 224 available homes and condominiums in inventory at the end of June in the City of Napa. This is 2% ahead of the inventory a year ago (220) and it is 3% ahead of the supply last month (217). New sales (106) were 45% ahead of the pace of June 2014 (73) and they were equal to the pace of last month (106). There is a 2.3 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The Days on Market for the 103 homes closed in June in the City of Napa was 67 days compared to 73 days in June 2014 and 63 days last month. The median price of the homes that closed in Napa in June was $555,000. This is 8% ahead of the median price in June 2014 ($515,000). The median price in June is 15% below the peak median price in the City of Napa ($650,000) recorded in August 2006.
Up Valley Napa County: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale (121) in the Up Valley Napa County market (Angwin, Calistoga, Deer Park, Oakville, Rutherford, St. Helena and Yountville) increased for the fifth month in a row. The June inventory was 20% below the level of 152 in June 2014 and it was 9% ahead of the level last month (111). There were 25 new sales for the month. This is 32% below the 37 sales a year ago and 14% ahead of the 22 sales last month. There is a 4.8 months supply of inventory compared to 4.1 months a year ago. The Days on Market for the 24 closings last month was 96 days compared to 101 days in June a year ago, 157 days last month and 70 days for the County as a whole.
Closings: The following agents enjoyed closings for the period from June 1, 2015 to June 30, 2015:
In our Healdsburg office: Debbie Adler and Mike Downes had two closings each and Debbie Hendershot and Tom Lawrence, Dee Grohmann, Gina Cleaver, Hank Lane, Linda Farwell, Judy Csimma, Rico Ruthnick and Diane Harris each had a closing.
In our Napa office: Milanda Capp and Freddie Diaz each enjoyed a closing.
In our Petaluma office: Scott Murphy and John Stevens had two closings each and Jay Valderrama-Zafra had a closing.
In our Santa Rosa office: Mark Payne enjoyed three closings and Donna Bennett, Jill Rake and Beth Sirks each had a closing.
In our Sebastopol office: Liz Uribe, Jeffrey Seligson and Bette Meritt enjoyed two closings each and Parmeeta Ghoman, Sandy Matthews, Laurie Parris and Martha Saly each had a closing.
In our Sonoma office: Sheila Deignan enjoyed four closings; Erin George and Mari Johnson both enjoyed three closings and Tiffany Knef, Mara Kahn, Carl MacPetrie and Michael Crain of Michael Crain Properties each had a closing.
And, in our St. Helena office: Linda Alioto enjoyed three closings, Liz Manfree had two closings and Rianne Pasquariello enjoyed a closing.
Congratulations to all