Kirsten's Sonoma Real Estate Blog

We may be hearing folks in Washington, DC say that the recession "is over" but our Sonoma County real estate market is still sluggish.  Read on for the latest scoop!  

Sonoma County Home Prices and Sales Down in August

The median price for single-family, re-sale homes dropped 1.1% from July. The good news is the year-over-year price decline was down to 4.9%. This is the smallest annual price decline since September 2007. The average price fell 1.3%, and it was down 7.9% compared to last August.

Sales of single-family, re-sale homes in Sonoma County were also down last month, dropping 14.7% from July, year-over-year, were down 7.5%. Year-to-date, home sales are up 21.8% compared to last year.

The time it takes from when a home was listed for sale to when it was put under contract fell three days to 107 days. The average days on market for condos gained 17 days to 112 days.

The sales price to list price ratio for single-family home was flat at 97.7%. The condo ratio rose 1.7 points to 98.8%.

The tables below break-out the real estate statistics for Sonoma County and each city we track. Some cities are not included in the monthly statistics because sales volume is too low to ensure meaningful trends.

August Sales In Selected Sonoma County CITIES/TOWNS
(Single-family Homes)
	Prices	Unit			Change from last year
	Median	Average	Sales	DOM	SP/LP	Median	Average	Sales
County	$359,500	$426,760	370	107	97.7%	-4.9%	-7.9%	-7.5%
Bodega Bay	$720,000	$787,500	4	145	96.1%	3.2%	-8.9%	-33.3%
Cloverdale	$345,000	$347,900	15	190	98.8%	-12.4%	-7.9%	150.0%
Cotati	$387,000	$387,000	2	67	98.0%	-38.6%	-28.4%	-60.0%
Forestville	$285,000	$260,253	7	129	98.8%	31.0%	19.7%	250.0%
Glen Ellen	$1,122,500	$1,390,833	3	244	88.1%	24.9%	89.7%	0.0%
Guerneville	$252,000	$247,022	9	121	94.1%	-17.5%	-25.1%	0.0%
Healdsburg	$427,000	$573,188	16	121	93.6%	-14.4%	-0.7%	77.8%
Penngrove	$760,000	$760,000	1	257	92.9%	-8.2%	-12.6%	-75.0%
Petaluma	$411,500	$450,402	52	118	99.0%	0.4%	-9.6%	15.6%
Rohnert Park	$295,250	$321,489	18	82	103.3%	-15.6%	-10.0%	-50.0%
Santa Rosa	$309,524	$359,208	168	91	99.7%	-9.0%	-11.2%	-4.0%
Sebastopol	$551,000	$575,647	17	108	96.8%	-14.9%	-28.7%	21.4%
Sonoma	$420,000	$506,836	22	119	93.9%	-19.2%	-9.4%	-29.0%
Windsor	$402,889	$401,682	18	83	101.1%	-1.7%	-10.3%	-59.1%

This information is copyrighted by rereport.com and is based on information from BAREIS/MLS for the period January, 1998 through January, 2009.

QUESTIONS?  Please contact me:  kirsten.lindquist@sothebyshomes.com

Do folks need another reason to buy real estate in Sonoma County with all our great wines, fabulous food, beautiful landscapes, and lovely weather?  The answer is no and the Green Music Center is not being built with real estate buyers in mind but I'm pretty sure it's going entice some people to buy homes, land, or investment property here.  The Green Center is being touted as something that will help the local economy because with it's acoustical qualities and architectural features, it will be a "world-class" venue for music of many genres.  It's adjacent to the campus of Sonoma State University so it will surely be a focal point for student entertainment but people are expected to come from afar, too.  Think Carnegie Hall, Tanglewood, and Wolf Trap...this place is being compared to them all.

After working with a seller one recent morning, I toured the Green Center with my mom.  She and I both have season tickets to the Santa Rosa Symphony and when it's done, the Green Center will be the symphony's next home.   Talk about moving up!  What a breath-taking new home! Here's what it looks like with just about everything but the seating installed:

The center is about a 30 minute drive from Sonoma, Glen Ellen, Kenwood.  It's 45 minutes from Healdsburg and Napa and even closer to Santa Rosa and Petaluma.  If you are interested in knowing more, YouTube has more here:

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Tickets to events should be selling hotter than REO's once they're on the market.

Where does one start?  This is my first blog post.  Blogging is something I've had a tough time getting excited about because I haven't been able to understand the value.  Now that I'm hearing it's a valuable tool for developing new business,   I'm giving it a shot.

I'm a little concerned about coming up with blog content, to absolutely honest.   I think the biggest issues are relevancy and accuracy.    I was a broadcast news journalist for 16 years so I think factual information with good attribution is important.    I'm going to try to relax about this, though, and have some fun and share what I can about life in Sonoma and my larger real estate market area.

I love living here.  I've loved it since I was a little girl.  I enjoy working with people who buy and sell property here in what we now call "Wine Country" because of the natural beauty that surrounds us.   It's a gorgeous part of the world with economic underpinnings firmly rooted in the land.   While vineyards and wine are now the big focus, not too long ago, beef cattle, horses, dairy cows, and vast meadows dominated the landscapes of Sonoma and Napa.

There are real differences between Sonoma Valley and Napa Valley.  There are folks who definitely prefer one over the other but I'll get into that in another blog.   Right now, I'll tie the two together by telling you that Sonoma and Napa are both "placed-based" counties, as a friend of mine recently explained.   When you live here, you do feel a "sense of place."

Sonoma Valley, or "Slow-noma," as we fondly call it, is where I call home.  I'm excited about telling you why it's so special and why those of us who live here love it so.  And as I write, I'm beginning to get what a blog post can be:  a literal snapshot of another place that gives us an opportunity  to consider what it would be like to actually live there.    Wow.   I've just sold myself a spot in the blogosphere!