Wine Country Real Estate Trends in May 2017
Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate|Wine Country Group Results for May 2017
Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate|Wine Country Group had 46 closings in May 2016 compared to 46 a year ago (when we had two additional offices) and 31 last month. In May, we closed homes with a total value of $30 million compared to $30 million a year ago and $20 last month. The average selling price of the properties sold by the Wine Country Group in May was $654,159.
BHGRE|WCG opened 48 new escrows for the month and had 29 new listings. We currently have 70 pending sales with a value of $43 million dollars. We have 69 active listings with a value of $96 million dollars. Our average listing price is $1,391,000.
Wine Country Real Estate Results for May 2017:
Sonoma County: The inventory of homes and condominiums available in Sonoma County rose to 774 and is up 10% from the inventory last month (704). It is 6% below the inventory in May 2016 (825). Inventory typically peaks for the spring season at the end of June and declines for the balance of the year. We’ll see if this pattern continues this year. New sales (554) in May were 20% ahead of the pace of last month (461) and were equal to the pace of May 2016 (550). Sales typically peak in May and decline through the balance of the year. As with listings, we’ll see if this pattern holds up for this year. There is a 1.4 months supply of inventory in Sonoma County based on the existing sales pace. The time it takes to sell a home in the various areas of Sonoma County (Days on Market) varies from 30 (Windsor) to 134 (Coastal Sonoma) days. For the purpose of our MLS (BAREIS) “Days on Market” represents the time from when the property is first listed in the MLS to the date the property goes into “pending” (all conditions removed) status. On average, it can take anywhere from 0 to 30 additional days for properties to close after going pending. The average Days on Market for the County as a whole is 47 days. The median price of homes closed in May in Sonoma County was $592,000. This is a 7.6% increase over the median price in May 2016 ($550,000). The current median price of homes closed in May is slightly above 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 $1,600,000 – up from $1,500,000 last month). There has been a 16% increase in the number of Luxury Homes closed (185) from 6/1/16 to 5/31/17 compared to 159 from 6/1/15 to 5/31/16. The pace of new sales (26) in May this year was ahead of the pace of a year ago (17). There were 191 luxury properties in inventory at the end of May compared to 169 last month and 181 a year ago. The Days on Market for Luxury Home closings was 80 days this May compared to 172 days a year ago. This compares to 47 Days on Market for all closed properties in the County in May. There is a 7.3 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. On a statistical basis, it continues to be a “Buyers Market” in the high end.
We reviewed price reductions in the high end last month and we’ve seen a few more this month. Most are for properties in remote, difficult to get to locations. Looking at a couple of examples in the Sonoma Valley, one property originally priced at $9,000,000 was reduced 20% to $7,200,000 after 201 days on the market. Another property originally priced at $9,950,000 was reduced by 22% to $7,800,000 after 388 days on the market. Alternatively, a brand new listing priced at $7,200,000 went into escrow 7 days after being listed in the MLS. The property did have a 30-day “exclusion from MLS” period prior to going active in the MLS, so it is likely that the buyer saw the property during this exclusion period.
Cloverdale: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale (18) in Cloverdale at the end of May was 14% below the 21 homes in inventory in May 2016 and it was 25% below the 24 homes last month. There were 18 new sales in Cloverdale in May. This compares to 16 sales in May 2016 and 11 new sales last month. There is a one months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace.
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 (31) was 29% ahead of the inventory a year ago (24) and it was 15% ahead of the inventory last month (27). There were 5 new home sales for the month of May compared to 4 a year ago and 7 last month. This is the buying season along the coast. There is a 6.2 months supply of inventory in Coastal Sonoma based on the current sales pace.
Healdsburg Trends: The inventory of homes and condominiums available in Healdsburg jumped ahead in May. There were 100 homes available at the end of the month. This is 22% ahead of the inventory in May 2016 (82) and is 19% ahead of the inventory last month (84). This continues to be a relatively high level of seasonal inventory for Healdsburg. There were 20 new sales in Healdsburg for the month. This is equal to the number of sales in May 2016 and it is 33% ahead of the pace last month (15). The months of available inventory is five months based on the current sales pace.
Oakmont: Sales jumped in Oakmont in May. There were 22 new sales for the month. This is 38% ahead of the sales pace of a year ago (16) and 47% ahead of the pace of last month (15). There were 15 homes in inventory in the community of Oakmont at the end of May. This is 17% lower than in May 2016 (18) and it is equal to the inventory last month. There is a 0.7 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The community clearly needs inventory. The median price for homes sold in Oakmont in the past year has ranged from the mid-$500’s up to $675,000. The median price was $589,000 for the 15 closings last month.
Petaluma: Sales jumped in Petaluma in May. There were 75 new sales for the month. This is 10% ahead of the number of new sales in May 2016 (68) and is 56% ahead of the 48 sales last month. The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale in Petaluma at the end of May (61) is 12% below the inventory in May 2016 (69) and it is 13% below the inventory last month (70). The Petaluma market has been volatile and currently has 0.8 months of available inventory based on the current sales pace. The median price of the 48 homes that closed in May was $724,000. This is 23% ahead of the median last May ($587,000) though through most of the past year the median price has been in the high $600s.
Rohnert Park and Cotati: For the seventh consecutive month, the monthly sales in Rohnert Park-Cotati outpaced the level of inventory at the beginning and end of the month. There were 52 new sales in May compared to 46 last month and 61 in May 2016. Inventory began the month at 36 homes and ended the month at 26 homes. There is just a 0.5 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The median price ($542,000) of the 48 homes closed in May was 20% higher than the median price a year ago ($450,000). $542,000 is the highest median price ever posted in Rohnert Park/Cotati. In May 2011, the median price was $233,000.
Santa Rosa: Sales jumped ahead in Santa Rosa in May. New sales in May (243) were 10% ahead of the pace of last May (221) and they were 28% ahead of the pace last month (190). The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale in Santa Rosa at the end of May (223) was 18% below the inventory of a year ago (271) and was 7% ahead of the inventory last month (208). There is only a 0.9 months supply of available homes in Santa Rosa based on the current sales pace. The median price of the 192 homes closed in May in Santa Rosa was $532,000 compared to $514,000 a year ago – a 3.5% increase. The median has ranged from $475,000 to $550,000 over the past twelve months.
Sebastopol Trends: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale at the end of May (48) in Sebastopol was just about equal to the level of May 2016 (52) and it was 23% higher than the inventory last month (39). There were 26 new sales for the month of May. This is 13% below the pace in May 2016 (30) and 10% below the pace last month (29). There is a 1.8 months supply of inventory in Sebastopol based on the current sales pace.
Sonoma Valley: The number of available homes and condominiums for sale (120) at the end of May in the Sonoma Valley (Sonoma, Glen Ellen and Kenwood) was 5.5% below the inventory in May 2016 (127) and it was 11% ahead of the inventory of last month (108). There were 36 new sales for the month. This is 22% below the pace of sales in May 2016 (49) and it is 17% below the pace of last month (46). There is a 3.2 months supply of inventory in Sonoma based on the current pace of sales. 63% of the inventory in the Sonoma Valley is priced at $1,000,000 or above while 28% of the new sales (10) were priced at $1,000,000 or more. The high-end quartile (top 25%) of inventory in the Sonoma Valley at the end of May started at $2,700,000. 18 homes closed in the top quartile in the past twelve months compared to 20 in the twelve months prior to that. There were 29 homes available in this quartile in May compared to 33 a year ago. There were three new sales in the top quartile in May. There is a 9.7 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace.
Windsor: Sales in Windsor in May (35) were the highest that they have been in the past 15 months. There were 35 new sales for the month. This is 21% ahead of the pace of sales in May 2016 (29) and it is equal to the pace of last month (34). There was also a big jump in inventory. The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale in Windsor at the end of May (38) is 9% ahead of the inventory in May 2016 (35) and it is 153% ahead of the 15 homes last month. There is a 1.1 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The days on market for the homes closed in May in Windsor was just 30 days – the lowest in our Wine Country markets.
Napa County: The inventory of homes and condominiums available for sale in Napa County at the end of May (319) is 18% below the inventory in May 2016 (388) and it is slightly higher than the inventory last month (313). New sales (160) were 7% ahead of the pace last year (149) and 15% ahead of the pace of last month (139). There is a two months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The Days on Market for homes closing in Napa County is currently 70 days. For the purpose of our MLS (BAREIS) “Days on Market” represents the time from when the property is first listed in the MLS to the date the property goes into “pending” (all conditions removed) status. On average, it can take anywhere from 0 to 30 additional days for properties to close after going pending. The median price of the 145 homes closed in May in Napa County ($640,000) was 1% ahead of the median price of a year ago ($635,000). The median has generally ranged between $580,000 and $660,000 over the past year. The current median price remains 5% below the peak median price for the County ($675,000) recorded in June 2006 so, as in Sonoma County and south through Marin into San Francisco and the Peninsula, most of the home equity lost in the recession (2007 to 2011) has been regained.
Napa County Luxury Homes: If one takes the highest quartile (25%) of available inventory as the “Luxury Market”, the Luxury Market begins at $2,200,000 in Napa County at this time. Last month, the top quartile started at $1,900,000. The number of closings (67) of Luxury Homes (sales price in excess of $2,200,000) in Napa County is slightly lower for the period 6/1/16 to 5/31/17 compared to 6/1/15 to 5/31/16 (69 homes). There were 80 luxury homes in inventory at the end of May 2017 compared to 105 at the end of May 2016. There were 11 Luxury Home new sales last month resulting in a 7.3 months supply of available Luxury Homes based on the current sales pace compared to two months supply for the County as a whole.
Napa: There were 172 available homes and condominiums in inventory at the end of May in the City of Napa. This is 13% lower than the inventory a year ago (197) and it is slightly lower than the supply last month (178). New sales (110) were 6% ahead of the pace of May 2016 (104) and they were 8% ahead of the pace of last month (102). There is a 1.6 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The median price of the 101 homes that closed in Napa in May was $635,000. This is 2.5% above the median price of the homes closed in May 2016 ($620,000). The median price is 2% below the peak median price in the City of Napa ($650,000) recorded in May 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 May (96) was 32% below the level of 141 in May 2016 and it was equal to the level last month (97). There were 29 new sales for the month compared to 20 a year ago and 19 last month. There is now a 3.3 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. This reflects a balanced market (sellers/buyers) for the first time in a long time in Up Valley Napa. The Days on Market for the 31 closings last month was 56 days. Approximately 60% of the Luxury Market (price in excess of $2,200,000) inventory in Napa County is in the Up Valley Market (48 homes).
Closings: The following agents enjoyed closings for the period from May 1, 2017 to May 31, 2017:
In our Bodega Bay office: Barbara and Paul Cronick enjoyed a closing.
In our Santa Rosa office: Mari Giblin enjoyed three closings for the month; Donna Bennett had two closings and Jill Rake, Sarah Carlson and Charlotte Keane each had a closing.
In our Sebastopol office: Laurie Parris enjoyed four closings; Sandy Matthews, Don Fulkerson, Liz Uribe, Parmeeta Ghoman, Jade Capriotti, Michelle Baker and the team of Doug Suma and Scott Buckwald each had a closing.
In our Sonoma office: Aaron Kopelman had his first closing as a real estate agent – in fact he had two. A memorable event. Congratulations. In addition, Sheila Deignan and Kendra Martin enjoyed four closings each; Herb Heil and Pat and Norm Brown had two closings each and Mari Johnson, Mara Kahn, Jennifer Carollo, Frank Lazzarotto, Leo Merle, Mike Caselli and Tiffany Knef and Nicole Moktan each had a closing.
And, in our St. Helena office: Ryan Gourd also had his first closing as a real estate agent – though he has done several leases in the past few months.
Congratulations to all!