Sonoma County Real Estate Market Update for January 2015

Guerneville, CA, February 22, 2015 --(PR.com)-- Millar and Company has compiled a market analysis for you that outlines market trends for January 2015 and compares them to the market conditions from January 2014. The number of homes on the market verses the number of homes that have sold is very informative about what is really going on in the market. In January of 2014 there were 600 homes listed for sale in Sonoma County. However, January of 2015 only had 495 homes listed. This was a 17.5% decrease from last year. Typically an area will have growth due to new homes being built, and that growth will stimulate the local real estate market by adding inventory. Here in Sonoma County there have not been a lot of housing starts. The reason for this is that a percentage of the available space in Sonoma County is rural, up on a hill, or close to a body of water and does not have sewer access. In order to build in these areas one would have to put in a septic system and due to environmental protection laws, it is extremely difficult to get a permit to put a septic system on this type of property. What does that mean? Well, it means that, since there isn't much being built, inventory is low and the value of each home increases with the amount of demand that is present. In January of 2014 there were 315 homes sold in Sonoma County, however in January 2015 there were only 248 homes sold. This shows a 26% decrease in the number of homes sold throughout last January and this January. This decrease can be caused by a number of different factors including weather conditions, interest rates, and low inventory. If there is not a lot on the market then there are not as many houses selling. In this case, the weather has been gray and foreboding causing many people to stay inside instead of going out to look at properties, and inventory has been low making it hard for buyers to find what they are looking for. Many sellers tend to list their homes in the spring and summer months and buyers are more commonly out and about throughout those months as well, both the inventory and the number of homes sold will most likely increase in the coming months as that season begins.
Another indicator of market conditions is what the average home is being Sold for. The value of a home is the combination of what a seller is willing to accept for it and what a buyer is willing to pay for it. The average home has three or fewer bedrooms and two or fewer bathrooms. There are, of course, homes that have more bedrooms and bathrooms, however for the sake of this market analysis, limitations have been placed on the statistic to fit homes within that range. According to the BAREIS MLS TrendGraphix Report, the resulting sold price of the average home in January 2014 was $498,000. In contrast January 2014 saw the average home being sold at $520,000, which can be attributed to the economy growing stronger and buyers having more money available to spend on a home. Also, it indicates that the market has shown growth over the last year and is holding steady.