Homes selling like hotcakes in Sonoma County

After lagging for most of the year, Sonoma County home sales jumped last month to the highest level for September in nine years.|

After lagging for most of the year, Sonoma County home sales jumped last month to the highest level for September in nine years.

Buyers last month purchased 441 single-family homes, according to The Press Democrat's monthly housing report compiled by Pacific Union International Vice President Rick Laws. Sales increased 10 percent from a year earlier and amounted to the highest sales for the month since 608 homes were sold in September 2005.

September's stronger sales followed relatively sluggish results for August. Both agents and brokers acknowledged the difficulty of explaining the latest bump in activity.

'Why September? Who knows?' said Mike Kelly, an agent with Keller Williams in Santa Rosa.

The increase in final sales made sense because of a corresponding jump in initial sales agreements signed in July and August, Kelly said. But one doesn't always follow the other. At times those early agreements can take longer to finalize — and many often fall through.

While county home sales for the first nine months of the year remained 7 percent lower than for the same time frame of 2013, the number of homes that changed hands from July through September was nearly the same as the year before.

Some agents suggested that the recent activity has been bolstered by more buyers seeking homes priced above $700,000, where sales to date have increased nearly 27 percent from a year ago.

'The move-up market is back,' said Stephen Liebling, manager of Coldwell Banker's Sebastopol office. He noted that his office has sold more homes this year for more than $1 million.

'We're really seeing the upper end is very strong,' he said.

In contrast, sales of homes priced below $400,000 have declined to date this year, nearly 42 percent from the same period in 2013. Part of that decline is due to a lack of available homes for sale, agents said, and part is due to a rising market that has pushed prices for many homes above $400,000.

September's median home price rose 5 percent from August to $499,000. The median increased 11 percent from a year ago.

Sonoma County's median price set a record in August 2005 of $619,000. But prices plunged in a historic housing crash and by February 2009 the median had declined to $305,000.

September home sales increased even though the inventory of available homes remained at about a two-month supply at the current pace of transactions.

'It's not that there's robust supply out there,' said Jeff Schween, an agent with Pacific Union International in Santa Rosa. Last month, he helped sell a home in Fountaingrove for nearly $1.2 million.

Inventory typically declines as fall turns to winter, Schween said. Prices may continue to rise over the next six months, he said, because those sellers coming to market now may do so with the thought that 'this is the kind of price I want to get.'

Lori Sacco, manager of Vanguard Properties office in Sebastopol, said some buyers of upper-end properties may be willing to pay extra to get that home they really want. But she cautioned that recent sellers of more modest homes have failed to sell promptly because they sought more than buyers were willing to pay.

Her advice: 'Price it right or it's going to sit around.'

You can reach Staff Writer Robert Digitale at 521-5285 or robert.digitale@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @rdigit

UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy:
  • This is a family newspaper, please use a kind and respectful tone.
  • No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. No off-topic remarks.
  • No disinformation about current events.
  • We will remove any comments — or commenters — that do not follow this commenting policy.