Wine Country Real Estate Trends in September 2016
Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate – Wine Country Group Results for September 2016
Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate – Wine Country Group had 36 closings in September 2016 compared to 46 a year ago and 53 last month. In September, we closed homes with a total value of $23 million compared to $26 million a year ago and $42 million last month. The average selling price of the properties sold by the Wine Country Group in September was $651,889 compared to $576,041 a year ago and $787,706 last month. The Sonoma office led the BHGRE-WCG with 16 closings in the month. The Sebastopol office had 8 closings and the Healdsburg office had 7 closings in September. The Sonoma office led the Group with $10.2 million in dollar volume while the Healdsburg office had $4.8 million and the Sebastopol office had $4.5 million.
BHGRE – WCG opened 46 new escrows for the month compared to 77 a year ago and 55 last month. The Group had 31 new listings compared to 28 in September 2015 and 31 in August. We currently have 52 pending sales with a value of $47 million dollars. We have 74 active listings with a value of $75 million dollars. Our average listing price is $1,018,000. This is 8% ahead of the $945,000 average a year ago.
Wine Country Real Estate results for September 2016:
Sonoma County: The inventory of homes and condominiums available in Sonoma County at the end of September (887) was 8% lower than the inventory in September 2015 (960) and was about equal to the inventory last month (874). Typically, we will see inventory decline through January of next year. New sales (496) in September were slightly behind the pace of last September (501) and were 5% behind the pace of last month (520). There is a 1.8 months supply of inventory in Sonoma County based on the existing sales pace. In comparison, in September 2007 there was over a 12 months supply of inventory. The time it takes to sell a home in Sonoma County (Days on Market) is 60 days – essentially the same as a year ago (58). The median price of homes closed in September in Sonoma County was $570,000. This is a 9% increase over the median price in September 2015 ($520,000). $570,000 is the highest median price since June 2006. The current median price is just 3% below the peak median price for the County ($589,000) recorded in June 2005. So, it can be said that all of the value lost through the recession (2007 to 2011) has been regained in the Sonoma County market.
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 4.5% increase in the number of Luxury Homes closed (230) from 9/1/15 to 9/30/16 compared to 220 from 9/1/14 to 9/30/15. The pace of closings of Luxury Homes in September (28) was 20% behind the pace of a month ago (35) and was 47% ahead of the pace of a year ago (19). New sales (29) were essentially equal to the pace of last month (28), and were 142% ahead of the pace of a year ago (12). There were 215 luxury properties in inventory at the end of September compared to 218 last month and 188 a year ago. The Days on Market for Luxury Home sales was 105 days this September compared to 76 days a year ago. This compares to 60 Days on Market for all closed properties in the County in September. There is a 7.4 months supply of inventory of luxury properties based upon the current sales pace compared to a 1.8 months supply in the overall Sonoma County market. It continues to lean towards a “Buyers Market” in the high end.
Cloverdale: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale (24) in Cloverdale at the end of September was 33% lower than the 36 homes in inventory in September 2015 and it was 8% lower than the 26 homes last month. There were 18 new sales in Cloverdale in September. This is 29% ahead of the sales in September 2015 (14) and slightly below the sales last month (19). There is a 1.3 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The Days on Market of the 8 homes that closed in September was 76 days compared to 91 days last month and 66 days a year ago
Coastal Sonoma: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale in Coastal Sonoma (Bodega Bay, Jenner and Stewart’s Point) at the end of September (39) was 8% ahead of the inventory a year ago (36) and 35% ahead of the inventory last month (29). There were 6 new home sales for the month of September compared to 4 a year ago and 4 last month. The Days on Market of the 3 homes that closed in September was 88 days compared to 155 days last month and 158 days a year ago.
Healdsburg Trends: The inventory of homes and condominiums available in Healdsburg at the end of September (94) was 15% higher than September 2015 (82) and was down slightly from the inventory last month (98). This continues to be a relatively high level of inventory for Healdsburg. There were 24 new sales for the month. This is slightly ahead of the pace in September 2015 (23) and slightly below the pace last month (25). This sales pace remains near the highest number of sales in any month over the past two years (25). The months of available inventory based on the current sales pace is 3.9 months. The Days on Market for the 25 homes closed in September was 80 days compared to 51 days a year ago and 68 days last month. The high-end quartile (top 25%) of inventory in Healdsburg at the end of September started at $2,400,000. Of the 24 new sales last month, 1 of the properties was in the top quartile. The months of available inventory in the high-end is 25 months.
Petaluma: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale in Petaluma at the end of September (84) was about equal to the inventory in September 2015 (83) and it was 14% above the inventory last month (74). There were 49 new sales for the month. This is 17% lower on both a month over month and year over year basis when there were 59 new sales. The Petaluma market has 1.7 months of available inventory based on the current sales pace. The median price of the 56 homes that closed in September was $701,000. This is 22% higher than the median last September ($576,000) – and it was the highest median price in Petaluma for any month for the period that I have records going back to 2000. It will be interesting to see if the median price stays up at that level. The Days on Market for the closed sales for the month was 46 days compared to 57 a year ago and 42 last month.
Rohnert Park and Cotati: Rohnert Park and Cotati remains the most volatile market in Wine Country. There were 47 new sales in September compared to 54 last month and 50 in September 2015. Inventory began the month at 29 homes and ended the month at 35 homes. So, as new inventory comes on the market, it sells almost immediately. There is just a 0.7 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The Days on Market for the 43 homes that closed in Rohnert Park and Cotati in September was 56 days compared to 49 days a year ago and 43 days last month. The median price ($477,000) closed in September was 4% higher than the median price of closed homes a year ago ($460,000) and was the highest median price in the past ten years.
Santa Rosa: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale in Santa Rosa at the end of September (306) was 6% below that of a year ago (327) and was 6% above the inventory last month (288). New sales in September (198) were 12% below the pace of last month (225) and 7.5% below the pace of last September (214). There is only a 1.5 months supply of available homes in Santa Rosa based on the current sales pace. The median price of the 194 homes closed in September in Santa Rosa was $497,000 compared to $478,000 a year ago – a 4% increase. The Days on Market for the homes closed in September in Santa Rosa was 59 days compared to 58 a year ago and 60 last month.
Sebastopol Trends: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale in Sebastopol at the end of September (51) was essentially equal to that of September 2015 (52) and it was 15% below that of last month (60). By comparison, there were 151 homes in inventory in Sebastopol in September 2008. There were 24 new sales for the month of September. This is equal to the pace last month and 20% ahead of the pace in September 2015 (20). There is a 2.1 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The Days on Market of the 21 closed homes in Sebastopol in September was 55 days compared to 100 days a year ago and 60 days last month.
Sonoma Valley: The number of available homes and condominiums for sale (119) at the end of September in the Sonoma Valley (Sonoma, Glen Ellen and Kenwood) was slightly below the inventory in September 2015 (123) and was slightly below the inventory of last month (124). There were 53 new sales for the month. This is slightly ahead of the pace of sales in September 2015 (49) and it is 23% ahead of the pace of last month (43). There is a 2.2 months supply of inventory in Sonoma based on the current pace of sales. The Days on Market for the 53 closed sales in Sonoma in September was 68 days compared to 57 a year ago and 78 last month. 64% of the inventory in the Sonoma Valley is priced at $1,000,000 or above while 26% of the new sales (14) were priced at $1,000,000 or more. Last month, in August, there were just 5 sales at $1,000,000 or more. The months of inventory for the $1,000,000 plus properties has fallen back to 5.4 months compared to 2.2 months for the market as a whole. The high-end quartile (top 25%) of inventory in the Sonoma Valley at the end of September started at $2,500,000. There were 28 closings in the top quartile (excess of $2,500,000) over the past twelve months compared to 23 closings in this price range in the prior 12 months. The months of available inventory in the high-end is 10 months compared to 2 months for the overall market.
Windsor: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale in Windsor at the end of September (35) was 39% lower than the 57 homes in inventory in September 2015 and it was 13% lower than the 40 homes last month. There were 32 new sales in Windsor in September. This is 7% ahead of the sales in September 2015 (30) and 28% ahead of the sales last month (25). There is a 1.1 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The median price of the 23 sales that closed in September in Windsor was $580,000. This is 9% ahead of the median price ($531,000) of the 29 homes closed last September. This median price level mirrors those in 2005 and 2006 at the peak of the market.
Napa County: The inventory of homes and condominiums available for sale in Napa County at the end of September (401) is 3.5% lower than the inventory in September 2015 (416) and is 3% ahead of the inventory last month (390). New sales (138) were 66% ahead of the pace last year (83) and 16% behind the pace of last month (165). There is a 2.9 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The Days on Market for the 133 homes closed in September was 87 days compared to 71 days a year ago and 62 days last month. The median price of 133 homes closed in September in Napa County ($629,000) was 2% higher than the median price of a year ago ($618,000). 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 $2,000,000 in Napa County at this time. The number of closings (83) of Luxury Homes (sales price in excess of $2,000,000) in Napa County is 41% ahead for the period 9/1/15 to 9/30/16 compared to 9/1/14 to 9/30/15 (59 homes). There were 102 luxury homes in inventory at the end of September 2016 compared to 118 at the end of September 2015. There is a 10.2 months supply of available Luxury Homes based on the current sales pace compared to 2 months supply for the County as a whole.
Napa: There were 221 available homes and condominiums in inventory at the end of September in the City of Napa. This is 5% less than the inventory a year ago (232) and it is 4% ahead of the supply last month (212). New sales (96) were 75% ahead of the pace of September 2015 (55) and they were 14% behind the pace of last month (111). There is a 2.3 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The Days on Market for the 95 homes closed in September in the City of Napa was 84 days compared to 66 days in September 2015 and 53 days last month. The median price of the homes that closed in Napa in September was $648,000. This is 4.5% ahead of the median price of the homes closed in September 2015 ($620,000). The median price is just about equal to the peak median price in the City of Napa ($650,000) recorded in September 2006.
Up Valley Napa County: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale in the Up Valley Napa County market (Angwin, Calistoga, Deer Park, Oakville, Rutherford, St. Helena and Yountville) at the end of September 2016 (130) was 5% below the level of 137 in September 2015 and it was slightly above the level last month (128). There were 24 new sales for the month compared to 14 a year ago and 26 last month. This remains near the highest level of new sales in the past 15 months. There is now a 5.4 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The Days on Market for the 19 closings last month was 127 days compared to 103 days in September a year ago and 84 days last month. The overall county has 63 Days on Market.
Closings: The following agents enjoyed closings for the period from September 1 to September 30, 2016:
In our Healdsburg office: Diane Harris had two closings and Debbie Adler, Gina Cleaver, Mike Downes, Perry Hardin, Rose Macy and Samantha Marquis each had a closing.
In our Santa Rosa office: Julie Battles and Donna Bennett each had a closing.
In our Sebastopol office: Donald Fulkerson had two closings and Sandra Matthews, Laurie Parris, Liz Uribe, Sabrina Roncancio, Bette Meritt and Norbert Tenenbaum each had a closing.
In our Sonoma office: Sheila Deignan and Freddie Diaz had a Wine Country Group leading five closings each; Mari Johnson had two closings and Leo Merle, Kendra Martin , Allison Kawano and Patty Marken each had a closing.
And, in our St. Helena office: Linda Alioto enjoyed two closings.
Congratulations to all