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
“Growth” is crucial to our success. We hold each other and ourselves accountable for business results, we create new opportunities, actively seek self-improvement, and exceed our performance goals.
Next post: Excellence.
Wine Country Real Estate Trends in May 2014
Wine Country Group Results for May 2014
The Wine Country Group enjoyed a 56% increase in closed units and a 48% increase in closed dollar volume over last month. In May, we closed 78 homes with a total value of $44 million compared to 50 homes and $30 million in April. Last May, we closed 92 homes with a value of $58 million. The Sonoma office led this month with 20 closings while the Healdsburg office had 15 and Santa Rosa had 12 closings. The Sonoma office also led in dollar volume with $16.3 million in sales while the Healdsburg office had $7.7 and the Sebastopol office had $7.1 million.
The Wine Country Group opened 106 new escrows for the month compared to 92 a year ago and 78 last month. The group had 40 new listings compared to 43 in May 2013 and 47 last month. We currently have 99 pending sales with a value of $84 million dollars. We have 125 active listings with a value of $140 million dollars. Our average listing price is $1,118,000 – up 37% from an average of $819,000 a year ago.
Wine Country Real Estate trends for May 2014:
Sonoma County: The inventory of single-family homes and condominiums for sale in Sonoma County at the end of May stood at 911 compared to 768 last month and 751 a year ago. This is an 18.6% increase month over month and a 21.3% increase year over year. New sales (597) in May were 7% ahead of that of last May (558) and were 18% ahead of last month (507). Inventory has increased 58% and new sales have increased 117% since December. There is just a 1.5 months supply of inventory in Sonoma County based on the existing sales pace. The time it takes to sell a home in Sonoma County (Days on Market) is 57 days compared to 66 a year ago. This is the lowest Days on Market since September 2005. The median price of homes closed in May in Sonoma County was $455,000. This is a 12.3% increase over the median price in May 2013 ($405,000). The current median price is still 23% below the peak median price for the County ($589,000) recorded in June 2005.
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 was an 86% increase in the number of new sales (65) in May 2014 compared to May 2013 (35). There has been a 27% increase in the number of luxury homes closed (441) from 6/1/13 to 5/31/14 compared to 347 from 6/1/12 to 5/31/13. The inventory of luxury homes in Sonoma County also jumped up last month. There were 261 units at the end of May compared to 220 last month and 244 a year ago. Days on Market for closed luxury sales dropped from 86 days last year to 71 days this year.
Cloverdale Trends: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale in Cloverdale (45) at the end of May 2014 was 50% ahead of that of a year ago (30) and was 25% ahead of the inventory last month (36). New sales for the month of May (11) fell 39% from the 18 sales last month and were also 35% behind the pace of last May (17). There is a 4.1 months supply of available inventory in Cloverdale based on the current pace of new sales. The median price ($339,000) of the 23 homes that closed in May was 4% ahead of the median price a year ago ($325,000).
Coastal Sonoma: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale in Coastal Sonoma (Bodega Bay, Jenner and Stewart’s Point) (28) at the end of May was about equal to that of a year ago (31) and was slightly ahead of that of last month (25). There were 9 new home sales for the month of May compared to 2 a year ago and 3 last month. There is a 3.1 months supply of available inventory in the Coastal Sonoma market based on the current pace of new sales. The Days on Market (153) remains high when compared to the rest of the County (57).
Healdsburg Trends: After rising 30% in April, inventory in Healdsburg rose another 37% in May. The increase that we saw in other parts of the County earlier this spring has finally arrived in Healdsburg. There were 78 homes and condominiums available at the end of May compared to 70 last May and 57 in April. These are increases of 11% year over year and 37% month over month. With the increase in inventory last month, new sales (26) also jumped and were 136% ahead of the pace in April (11) and were 30% ahead of the pace in May 2013 (20). The months of available inventory based on the current sales pace stands at three months. The Days on Market for the 15 homes closed in May was just 46 days compared to 60 a year ago and 93 last month.
Petaluma: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale (78) in Petaluma at the end of May jumped 11% from last month (70) and it was 30% ahead of the pace in May 2013. New sales in May (72) also jumped ahead. They were 41% ahead of last month (51) and 12.5% ahead of the 64 new sales in May 2013. There is just a 1.1 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The median price of the 48 homes that closed in May was $555,000. This is 30% ahead of the median last May ($427,000) but that month was unusually low. The increase in median price is 13% when compared to June of last year instead of May.
Santa Rosa: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale in Santa Rosa at the end of May (272) was 34% higher than a year ago (203) and was 18% higher than last month (231). New sales in May (257) were 18% ahead of the pace in May 2013 (218) and they were 22% ahead of the pace of last month (210). There is only a 1.1 months supply of available homes in Santa Rosa based on the current sales pace. The median price of the 203 homes closed in May in Santa Rosa was $425,000 compared to $381,000 a year ago – an 11.5% 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 (42) in Sebastopol at the end of May was 34% lower than that of May 2013 (64) and it was about equal to that of last month (44). Sebastopol has not enjoyed the increase of inventory seen in other parts of the County over the past six months. There were 39 new sales for the month of May. This is 35% ahead of the pace in May 2013 (29) and 44% ahead of the 27 for last month. Sebastopol is experiencing an increase in sales while inventory remains flat. There is only a 1.1 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. This tight market should lead to increased inventory soon.
Sonoma Valley: The number of available homes and condominiums for sale (151) rose for the 5th month in a row in May in the Sonoma Valley (Sonoma, Glen Ellen and Kenwood). Inventory is 36% ahead of the level of last May (111). Over 40% – 61 properties of the 151 available – have asking prices in excess of $900,000. There were 57 new sales for the month. This is about equal to the sales in May 2013 (63) and 17% behind the pace last month (69). There is a 2.6 months supply of inventory in Sonoma based on the current pace of sales. Days on Market in Sonoma totaled just 46 days compared to 50 a year ago and 56 last month.
Windsor: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale (25) in Windsor at the end of May increased 25% from the 20 homes last month and was about equal to the 24 homes in May 2013. New sales in Windsor in May (29) were close to the sales in May 2013 (32) and were slightly higher than the 26 sales last month. There is just a 0.9 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The median price of the 30 sales that closed in May in Windsor was $485,000. This is 17% ahead of the median price of a year ago ($413,000).
Napa County: The inventory of homes and condominiums available for sale continued to move ahead in Napa County in May. The inventory (403) is 5% higher than it was in May 2013 (384) and 3% higher than last month (392). New sales (168) increased 40% compared to last month (120) and were 21% ahead of the pace last year (139). There is a 2.4 months supply of inventory based on the existing sales pace. The “Days on Market” for the 120 homes closed in May was 69 days compared to 91 days a year ago. The median price of homes closed in May in Napa County ($563,000) was 25% ahead of the median price of a year ago ($450,000). This is the highest median price for Napa County since December 2007. The current median price is still 17% below the peak median price for the County ($675,000) recorded in June 2006.
Napa County Luxury Homes: Sales of luxury homes (sales price in excess of $900,000) in Napa County have increased 23% for the period 6/1/13 to 5/31/14 compared to 6/1/12 to 5/31/13. There were 186 luxury homes in inventory at the end of May 2014 compared to 180 at the end of May 2013. There were 33 new luxury home sales in May 2014 compared to 27 in May 2013 and 27 last month. There is a 5.6 months supply of available homes based on the current sales pace compared to 6.7 months supply last year. Days on Market for the 25 closings of Luxury Homes in May dropped to 86 compared to 162 a year ago.
Napa: There were 211 available homes and condominiums in inventory at the end of May in the City of Napa. This is 8% higher than the inventory a year ago (195) and it is slightly below the supply last month (214). New sales (124) increased 55% compared to last month (80) and they were 33% ahead of the pace in May 2013 (109). There is a just a 1.7 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The “Days on Market” for May feel to 59 days compared to 85 days a year ago. The median price of the 79 homes that closed in Napa in May was $599,000, a whopping 33% ahead of the median price in May 2013 ($425,000). This is the highest median price in the City of Napa since August 2007. The median price in May is only 8% below the peak median price in the City of Napa ($650,000) recorded in August 2006.
Up Valley: There was a 5% increase in available homes and condominiums in inventory at the end of May compared to last month in the Up Valley Napa County market (Angwin, Calistoga, Deer Park, Oakville, Rutherford, St. Helena and Yountville). The inventory was 151 homes at the end of May 2014 compared to 144 last month and 157 a year ago. There were 24 new sales for the month. This is about equal to the pace in May 2013 (23) and 20% ahead of the pace of last month (20). There is a 6.3 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The “Days on Market” for the 18 closings last month was 112 days compared to 95 days in May a year ago and 69 days for the County as a whole. The Up Valley market continues to operate at a slower pace than the rest of the Wine Country but it is definitely a healthy market.
Closings: The following agents enjoyed closings for the period from May 1 to May 31, 2014:
In our Bodega Bay office: Deborah Melancon enjoyed two closings.
In our Cloverdale office: Ron and Jane Pavelka had one closing.
In our Healdsburg office: Debbie Adler had four closings, Gina Cleaver and Jose Hernandez had two closings each and Maria Avila, Bernie Curley, Diane Harris, Debby Hendershot, Tom Lawrence, Elissa Morrash and Ken Scharer each had a closing.
In our Napa office: Billy Birdsong had three closings; Tressa Anderson and Adam Ghisletta had two closings each and Charlie Laughlin, Melody Arevalo and Nick Simone each had a closing.
In our Santa Rosa office: The Hamilton Group had three closings, Tommy Apostolides, James Famini and Charles Himes each had two closings and Lindsey Ehrlicher, Jill Rake and Amy Leyack each had a closing.
In our Sebastopol office: Liz Uribe enjoyed three closings and Susan Greer, Rita DeSouza and Bette Meritt each had a closing.
In our Sonoma office: Sheila Deignan enjoyed four closings; Mara Kahn had three closings; Mari Johnson, Diane Litchfield and Diane Krause had two closings each and Erin George, Shanis Nelson, Leo Merle, Patty Marken, Isaac Raboy of Mason McDuffie Commercial Real Estate and Barbara Sommerville each had a closing.
And, in our St. Helena office: Liz Manfree had a Wine Country Group leading eight closings; David Barker had two closings and Jeff Veness had one closing for this period.
Congratulations to all