Wine Country Real Estate Trends – September 2015
Wine Country Group Results for September 2015:
Randy Coffman joins BHGRE-WCG leadership team
Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate – Wine Country Group is extremely pleased to have Randy Coffman join the Santa Rosa and Sebastopol offices as Co-Branch Manager with Laurie Parris. Randy is a respected and seasoned Realtor/manager with over 25 years experience.
Also joining the offices with Randy are Greg Gunderson, Elizabeth Ware-Martin, Donna Bennett and Katrina Beaudin in Santa Rosa and Ann Conger, Dolores Handlon, Geri McCauley, Harvey Charnofsky, Jennifer Henry, Kira Malek, Dorothy Cronquist, Mark Ciddio, Don Fulkerson, Don Porter, Randy Knight and Sheryl Knight in the Sebastopol office. Welcome to all!
The Wine Country Group had 46 closings in September 2015 compared to 60 a year ago and 46 last month. In September, we closed homes with a total value of $26.5 million compared to $38 million a year ago and $30 million last month. The average selling price of the properties sold by the Wine Country Group in September was $576,042 compared to $639,184 a year ago and $650,674 last month. The Sebastopol office led in September with 14 closings. While the Sonoma office had 13 closings. The Sebastopol office also led in dollar volume with $9.9 million in closings while the Sonoma office had $6.9 million.
The Wine Country Group opened 77 new escrows for the month compared to 81 a year ago and 66 last month. The Group had 28 new listings compared to 27 in September 2014 and 22 last month. We currently have 77 pending sales with a value of $57 million dollars. We have 67 active listings with a value of $62 million dollars. Our average listing price is $930.000.
Wine Country Real Estate results for September 2015:
Sonoma County: The inventory of single-family homes and condominiums for sale in Sonoma County at the end of September stabilized after rising for seven straight months. It stood at 960 homes compared to 961 last month and 928 a year ago. This is a 3.4% increase on a year over year basis. It appears to me to be the start of the seasonal trend for a cooling market through the beginning of next year. New sales (552) in September were 22% ahead of that of last September (454) and were 13% ahead of the pace of last month (487). There is just a 1.7 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 60 days compared to 67 a year ago and 58 last month. This 55 to 60 day period to sell a home has stabilized for now. The median price of the 433 homes closed in September in Sonoma County was $525,000. This is an 11% increase over the median price in September 2014 ($475,000). The current median price is 11% below the peak median price for the County ($589,000) recorded in September 2005.
Looking to the south to Marin County for some hints to our market, listings and new sales both jumped ahead in September. Listings were up 26% over August, but down 9% from September 2014. Sales were also up 26% over August and were up 10% over last year. Days on market there was 49 days in September and there is a 1.8 months supply of inventory. The median price has increased just 1% on a year over year basis – so the appreciation rate appears to be leveling out.
Sonoma County Luxury Homes: About one quarter of the inventory in Sonoma County can be characterized as Luxury Homes (listing price in excess of $1,100,000). There has been a 28% increase in the number of Luxury Homes closed (410) from 10/1/14 to 9/30/15 compared to 321 from 10/1/13 to 9/30/14. There were 246 luxury properties in inventory at the end of September compared to 250 last month and 210 a year ago. Days on Market for the 39 Luxury Homes that closed in September was 77 days compared to 96 days a year ago. There is a 8.5 months supply of Luxury Homes based on the current sales pace – this indicates a “balanced” market between buyers and sellers at this price point.
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 (36) was 20% ahead of the inventory a year ago (30) and 3% ahead of the inventory last month (35). There were 7 new home sales in September that compares to 9 a year ago and 9 last month. There is a 5.1 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace compared to 3.3 months last year. The Days on Market of the 5 homes that closed in September was 158 days compared to 73 days a year ago and 98 days last month. Clearly, some of the older inventory sold in the month of September.
Healdsburg Trends: The inventory of homes and condominiums available in Healdsburg rose in September for the ninth month in a row. Inventory stood at 82 homes at the end of the month. This is 11% ahead of the inventory last September (74) and 9% above the inventory of last month (75). Sales also took a healthy jump in September. There were 26 new sales in September – up 53% from the 17 last month and up 30% from the 20 in September 2014. The months of available inventory based on the current sales pace is 3.2 months. The Days on Market for the 15 homes closed in September was 51 days compared to 101 days a year ago and 69 days last month.
Petaluma: The sales of homes in Petaluma in September rose 16% to 65 sales compared to 56 last month. Sales had fallen 29% in August over the July pace so it’s a bit ragged there. The sales pace was also 51% ahead of the pace of sales in September 2014 (43). The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale (83) at the end of September in Petaluma was 4% ahead of the inventory in September 2014 (80) and it was 5% below of the inventory of last month (74). There is a 1.3 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The median price of the 56 homes that closed in September was $573,000. This is 5% above the median last September ($545,000). The Days on Market for the closed sales for the month was 59 compared to 46 days in September of last year.
Rohnert Park and Cotati: For the first time in the last five months, new sales were less than the inventory at the end of September. There were 51 new sales and there were 57 homes and condominiums in inventory at the end of the month. There is now a 1.1 months supply of inventory based on this activity – this is still the tightest market in all of Wine Country. The 57 homes in inventory at the end of September was 12% ahead of the 51 homes in inventory at the end of September 2014, and the 51 new sales was 16% ahead of the 44 new sales in September a year ago. The Days on Market for the 38 homes that closed in Rohnert Park in September was 46 days compared to 79 days a year ago and 43 days last month.
Santa Rosa: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale in Santa Rosa at the end of September (327) stabilized after rising for seven months in a row. It was 8% ahead of the inventory of a year ago (302) and was about equal to the inventory last month (329). New sales climbed after declining for three months in a row. Sales in September (238) were 23% ahead of the pace of last month (193) and were 30% ahead of the pace in September 2014 (183). There is a 1.4 months supply of available homes in Santa Rosa based on the current sales pace. The median price of the 191 homes closed in September in Santa Rosa was $479,000 compared to $430,000 a year ago – an 11% increase. The Days on Market for the homes closed in September in Santa Rosa was 59 days compared to 57 days a year ago.
Sebastopol Trends: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale (52) at the end of September was 16% ahead of last year (45) and was equal to the inventory last month (52). There were 22 new sales for the month of September compared to 30 last month (-27%) and 25 a year ago (-12%). There is a 2.4 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The Days on Market of the 20 closed homes in Sebastopol in September was 108 days compared to 66 days a year ago and 65 days last month. Clearly, some older inventory closed in September.
Sonoma Valley: The number of available homes and condominiums for sale (123) in the Sonoma Valley (Sonoma, Glen Ellen and Kenwood) at the end of September was about equal to the level of last September (121) and was also equal to the inventory last month (124). There were 51 new sales for the month. This is about the pace of sales in September 2014 (52) and 11% ahead of the pace of last month (46). There is a 2.4 months supply of inventory in Sonoma based on the current pace of sales. The Days on Market for the 33 closed sales in Sonoma in September was 58 days compared to 96 a year ago and 59 last month. 54% of the inventory in the Sonoma Valley is priced at $1,000,000 or above. The inventory of homes priced in excess of $2,500,000 rose to 30 from 19 a year ago. Sales in this price range have remained relatively steady over the past twelve months.
Windsor: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale (57) in Windsor at the end of September was 24% ahead of the inventory of 46 at the end of September 2014 and was 9.5% below the inventory of homes last month (63). New sales in September (31) were 15% ahead of the sales in September 2014 (27) and were essentially equal to the sales last month (29). There is a 1.8 months supply of inventory in Windsor based on the current sales pace. The median price of the 28 sales that closed in September in Windsor was $531,000. This is 11% ahead of the median price of a year ago ($479,000). The Days on Market for the closed homes last month was 49 days compared to 51 a year ago and 52 last month.
Napa County: The inventory of homes and condominiums available for sale in Napa County in September (416) was slightly below the inventory in September 2014 (425) and was 13% ahead of the inventory last month (368). New sales tapered off for the second month in a row after rising for seven months in a row. They totaled 103 homes and were 11% below the pace last year (116) and 20% below the pace of last month (129). There is a 4 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The Days on Market for the 128 homes closed in September was 72 days compared to 95 days a year ago and to 62 days last month. The median price of homes closed in September in Napa County ($618,000) was 7% ahead of the median price of a year ago ($578,000). The current median price is 8% below the peak median price for the County ($675,000) recorded in September 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. Forty-six homes sold in this market segment in the periods from 10/1/14 to 9/30/15 and 54 in the period 10/1/13 to 9/30/14. There were 108 luxury homes in inventory at the end of September 2015 compared to 88 at the end of September 2014. There is a 15 months supply of available Luxury Homes based on the current sales pace compared to 29 months supply last year in September.
Napa: There were 232 available homes and condominiums in inventory at the end of September in the City of Napa. This is 5.5% ahead of the inventory a year ago (220) and 13% ahead of the supply last month (205). New sales (68) were 16% below the pace of September 2014 (81) and they were 23% below the pace of last month (88). There is a 3.4 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace compared to a 2.7 months supply a year ago. The Days on Market for the 84 homes closed in September in the City of Napa was 67 days compared to 76 days in September 2014 and 58 days last month. The median price of the homes that closed in Napa in September was $618,000. This is 23% ahead of the median price in September 2014 ($501,000). The median price in September is just 5% below 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 (137) in the Up Valley Napa County market (Angwin, Calistoga, Deer Park, Oakville, Rutherford, St. Helena and Yountville) was 7% below the level of 147 in September 2014 and it was 16% ahead of the level last month (118). There were 19 new sales for the month. This is 24% below the 25 sales a year ago and 17% below the 23 sales last month. There is a 7.2 months supply of inventory compared to 5.9 months a year ago. The Days on Market for the 20 closings in September was 108 days compared to 147 days in September 2014 and 101 days last month.
Closings: The following agents enjoyed closings for the period from September 1, 2015 to September 30, 2015:
In our Bodega Bay office, Deborah Melancon enjoyed two closings and Barbara and Paul Cronick enjoyed a closing.
In our Healdsburg office: Diane Harris, Mike Downes, Dee Grohmann and Angier Ames each had a closing.
In our Napa office: Milanda Capp, Ana Jauregui, Freddie Diaz and Maria Gema Rapolla each enjoyed a closing.
In our Petaluma office: Paul Claeyssens and Barry Adamson each had a closing.
In our Santa Rosa office: Sarah Carlson, Ron and Linda Crocker of Mason McDuffie Commercial Real Estate, Laurie Parris, Jill Rake and Seyed Ahmad each had a closing.
In our Sebastopol office: Liz Uribe and Parmeeta Ghoman enjoyed three closings each; Sandra Matthews had two closings and Bette Meritt, Jeffrey Seligson, Randy Coffman and Norbert Tenenbaum each had a closing.
In our Sonoma office: Sheila Deignan enjoyed a Wine Country Group leading four closings; Mara Kahn and Diane Krause had two closings each and Erin George and Tiffany Knef Dan Gallagher, Herb Heil and Mari Johnson each had a closing.
And, in our St. Helena office: Rianne Pasquariello enjoyed three closings and Linda Alioto and David Barker each enjoyed a closing.
Congratulations to all