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Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate – Wine Country Group Results for May 2016
Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate – Wine Country Group had 46 closings in May 2016 compared to 51 a year ago and 53 last month. In May, we closed homes with a total value of $31 million compared to $38 million a year ago and $33 last month. The average selling price of the properties sold by the Wine Country Group in May was $676,884 compared to $743,333 a year ago and $626,435 last month. The Napa office led the BHGRE-WCG with 12 closings in the month, the Sebastopol office had 8 and the Sonoma and Santa Rosa offices each had 6 closings each. The St. Helena office led the Group with $8.1 million in dollar volume for the month thanks to a $7.3 million dollar sale by Linda Alioto – congratulations Linda! The Napa office had $6.6 million and the Sebastopol office had $5.6 million.
BHGRE – WCG opened 63 new escrows for the month compared to 69 a year ago and 49 last month. The Group had 21 new listings compared to 26 in May 2015 and 30 last month. We currently have 73 pending sales with a value of $48 million dollars. We have 69 active listings with a value of $65 million dollars. Our average listing price is $943,000. This is slightly higher than the $930,000 average a year ago.
Wine Country Real Estate results for May 2016:
Robert Digitale, the excellent columnist for The Press Democrat, wrote an informative article this week entitled: “Sonoma County Home Prices Go Higher and Stay Higher”. He uses some of my comments in the body of the article. You can check it at the following link: http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/5732285-181/sonoma-county-home-prices-go?gallery=5692853&artslide=0
One of our agents was speaking to an agent from the SF peninsula area last month and she used the term “frothy” to describe the market there. In answer to the question if there was a “bubble” in the market, she said it was more like being “frothy”. A single bubble breaks and there’s nothing left. In a “frothy” thing – like the top of a latte – one or two bubbles may burst here or there, but the overall thing remains the same. I kind of like this description for our current Wine Country real estate market.
Sonoma County: The inventory of single-family homes and condominiums for sale in Sonoma County at the end of May stood at 825 compared to 815 a year ago and 743 last month. This is a slight increase on a year over year basis and an 11% increase from last month. It is only 26% of the inventory that the County had in May of 2008 (3,138). New sales (596) in May were 6% ahead of last May (583) and were 18% ahead of the pace of last month (504). There is a 1.4 months supply of inventory in Sonoma County based on the existing sales pace. In May 2008, there was a 6.6 months supply of inventory. The time it takes to sell a home in Sonoma County (Days on Market) is 58 days – about the same as a year ago (59). The median price of homes closed in May in Sonoma County was $550,000. This is a 7% increase over the median price in May 2015 ($518,000). The median price has ranged between $500,000 and $550,000 over the past twelve months and double-digit appreciation seems to have abated except in certain markets and price ranges. The current median price is 7% below the peak median price for the County ($589,000) recorded in June 2005.
Sonoma County Luxury Homes: About one quarter of the inventory in Sonoma County can be characterized as Luxury Homes (listing price in excess of $1,400,000). There has been a 9% increase in the number of Luxury Homes closed (211) from 6/1/15 to 5/31/16 compared to 194 from 6/1/14 to 5/31/15. The pace of closings of Luxury Homes in May (18) was 64% ahead of a month ago (11) and was about equal to a year ago (19). New sales (30) were 36% ahead of last month (22), but were about equal to a year ago (29). There were 211 luxury properties in inventory at the end of May compared to 182 last month and 177 a year ago. The Days on Market for Luxury Home sales was 155 days this May compared to 141 days a year ago. This compares to 58 Days on Market for all closed properties in the County in May. There is a 7 months supply of inventory of luxury properties based upon the current sales pace compared to a 1.4 months supply in the overall Sonoma County market. It appears to be leaning towards a “Buyers Market” in the high end.
Coastal Sonoma: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale in Coastal Sonoma (Bodega Bay, Jenner and Stewart’s Point) at the end of May (24) was 17% below the inventory a year ago (29) and 14% above the inventory last month (21). There were 4 new home sales for the month of May compared to 4 a year ago and 10 last month. The Days on Market of the 8 homes that closed in May was 148 days compared to 200 days last month and 200 days a year ago.
Healdsburg Trends: The inventory of homes and condominiums available in Healdsburg at the end of May (82) was 19% higher than last month (69) and was 21% ahead of last year (68). There were 22 new sales for the month. This is about equal to the pace in May 2015 (23) and slightly below the pace last month (24). The months of available inventory based on the current sales pace is 3.7 months. The Days on Market for the 24 homes closed in May was 97 days compared to 105 days a year ago and 116 days last month. The high-end quartile (top 25%) of inventory in Healdsburg at the end of May started at $2,300,000. Of the 22 new sales last month, 4 of the properties were in the top quartile. The months of available inventory in the high-end is 4.8 months.
Petaluma: For the third month in a row, new sales in Petaluma exceeded month ending inventory. This creates less than a one months supply of inventory – a very tight market. The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale (69) in Petaluma at the end of May was 11.5% behind the inventory in May 2015 (78) and it was about equal to the inventory last month (68). There were 73 new sales for the month compared to 74 last month and 74 last May. The median price of the 72 homes that closed in May was $588,000. This is essentially equal the median last May ($586,000) – so price appreciation was flat on a year over year basis. The Days on Market for the closed sales for the month was 50 days compared to 46 a year ago and 45 last month.
Rohnert Park and Cotati: Rohnert Park and Cotati remains the most volatile market in Wine Country. There were 67 new sales in May compared to 44 last month and 64 in May 2015. Inventory began the month at 30 homes and ended the month at 41 homes. So, as new inventory comes on the market, it sells almost immediately. There is just a 0.6 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The Days on Market for the 40 homes that closed in Rohnert Park and Cotati in May was just 41 days compared to 50 days a year ago and 35 days last month. The median price ($450,000) closed in May was 15% higher than the median price of closed homes a year ago ($391,000). This is about twice as high an appreciation factor than that for the County as a whole in May.
Santa Rosa: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale in Santa Rosa at the end of May (271) was equal to that of a year ago (268) and was 12% ahead of the inventory last month (241). New sales in May (242) were 13% ahead of the pace of last month (214) and were 7% behind the pace of last May (227). 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 195 homes closed in May in Santa Rosa was $515,000 compared to $480,000 a year ago – a 7% increase. The Days on Market for the homes closed in May in Santa Rosa was 52 days compared to 52 a year ago and 56 last month.
Sebastopol Trends: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale (52) in Sebastopol at the end of May was 4% higher than that of May 2015 (50) and it was 30% higher than that of last month (40). There were 33 new sales for the month of May. This is 44% ahead of the pace last month (23) and about equal to the pace in May 2015 (32). There is a 1.6 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The Days on Market of the 25 closed homes in Sebastopol in May was 48 days compared to 69 days a year ago and 52 days last month.
Sonoma Valley: The number of available homes and condominiums for sale (127) in May in the Sonoma Valley (Sonoma, Glen Ellen and Kenwood) was 15.5% ahead of the inventory in May 2015 (110) and was 4% below the inventory of last month (132). There were 51 new sales for the month. This is about equal to the pace of sales in May 2015 (52) and it is 34% ahead of the pace of last month (38). There is a 2.5 months supply of inventory in Sonoma based on the current pace of sales. The Days on Market for the 32 closed sales in Sonoma in May was 59 days compared to 52 a year ago and 51 last month. 61% of the inventory in the Sonoma Valley is priced at $1,000,000 or above while 31% of the new sales (16) were priced at $1,000,000 or more. The months of inventory for the $1,000,000 plus properties is 14.3 months compared to 2.5 months for the market as a whole. The high-end quartile (top 25%) of inventory in the Sonoma Valley at the end of May started at $2,900,000. There were 16 sales in the top quartile (excess of $2,900,000) over the past twelve months compared to 11 sales in this price range in the prior 12 months. The months of available inventory in the high-end is sixteen months compared to 2.5 months for the overall market.
Windsor: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale (35) in Windsor at the end of May was down slightly from the 37 homes in inventory in May 2015 and the 37 homes last month. There were 30 new sales in Windsor in May. This is 11% ahead of the sales in May 2015 (27) and the 27 sales last month. There is a 1.2 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The median price of the 32 sales that closed in May in Windsor was $542,000. This is equal to the median price ($543,000) of the 28 homes closed last May.
Napa County: The inventory of homes and condominiums available for sale in Napa County at the end of May (388) is 5% higher than the inventory in May 2015 (370) and is 11% ahead of the inventory last month (350). New sales (157) were 3% ahead of the pace last year (152) and 19% ahead of the pace of last month (132). There is a 2.5 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The Days on Market for the 113 homes closed in May was 53 days compared to 70 days a year ago and 78 days last month. The median price of homes closed in May in Napa County ($628,000) was 9.4% ahead of the median price of a year ago ($574,000). The current median price remains 7% 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 $2,400,000 in Napa County at this time. The number of sales (59) of Luxury Homes (sales price in excess of $2,400,000) in Napa County is 20% ahead for the period 6/1/15 to 5/31/16 compared to 6/1/14 to 5/31/15 (49 homes). There were 96 luxury homes in inventory at the end of May 2016 compared to 84 at the end of May 2015. There is a 7.3 months supply of available Luxury Homes based on the current sales pace compared to 12 months supply last year.
Napa: There were 197 available homes and condominiums in inventory at the end of May in the City of Napa. This is 9% below the inventory a year ago (217) and it is 6% ahead of the supply last month (186). New sales (109) were essentially equal to the pace of May 2015 (108) and they were 22.5% ahead of the pace of last month (89). There is a 1.8 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The Days on Market for the 81 homes closed in May in the City of Napa was 48 days compared to 54 days in May 2015 and 61 days last month. The median price of the homes that closed in Napa in May was $600,000. This is 6% ahead of the median price of the homes closed in May 2015 ($565,000). The median price in May is just $8% 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 (141) in the Up Valley Napa County market (Angwin, Calistoga, Deer Park, Oakville, Rutherford, St. Helena and Yountville) at the end of May 2016 was 27% above the level of 111 in May 2015 and it was 18.5% ahead of the level last month (119). There were 20 new sales for the month compared to 22 a year ago and 20 last month. Sales have been steady in the mid teens to mid twenties range for over a year. There is now a 7.1 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The Days on Market for the 15 closings last month was 68 days compared to 157 days in May a year ago and 130 days last month. The overall county has 53 Days on Market.
Closings: The following agents enjoyed closings for the period from May 1 to May 31, 2016:
In our Healdsburg office: Gina Cleaver, Maria Avila, Kent Mitchell and Sophie Phelps each had a closing.
In our Napa office Teresa Castrillo had five closings, Ida Clark Ramos had three closings, Matthew Cole had two closings and Melinda Capp, and Ana Jauregui each had a closing.
In the Petaluma office, Diane Quinn had two closings and Mehrunnisa Baig, Monique Kimmer, and Sharron Lamb each had a closing.
In our Santa Rosa office: Sarah Carlson and Jana Adams each had two closings and Julie Battles and Jill Rake each had a closing.
In our Sebastopol office: Liz Uribe had four closings and Martha Saly, Bette Meritt, Geri McCauley, Sandra Matthews Dorothy Cronquist and William Cole each had a closing.
In our Sonoma office: Sheila Deignan had five closings and Mara Kahn had a closing.
And, in our St. Helena office: Liz Manfree enjoyed two closings and Linda Alioto, Rianne Pasquariello and David Barker each had a closing.
Congratulations to all