SEPTEMBER 2020 WINE COUNTRY
REAL ESTATE TRENDS GERRETT SNEDAKER, CRB
R
eal Estate in parts of eastern Santa Rosa, the upper Sonoma Valley and Up Valley Napa were all heavily impacted by the “Glass Fire” that began on 9/27/20. We will have to wait to see how our markets were affected by this tragedy that destroyed another 80 homes in our region. Smoke conditions were extremely bad across the region until, at least, 10/7/20 and key roads remained closed much of that time. Our hearts go out to those directly affected by this latest fire in Wine Country. Real estate sales remained very active in all Wine Country GERRETT SNEDAKER Markets in September on a year over year basis, however, they were typically below last month’s numbers. It may be that we had our “Spring Market” through the May to September period and now we are entering a slower “Summer” market for a time. We do usually get a boost in sales in the early Fall with sales dropping as we approach Thanksgiving. With COVID and fires, this is obviously not a normal year. Prices are up in Sonoma, Napa and Mendocino Counties for the month. We still have no Open Houses and showings are by appointment only with strict cleaning protocols between showings. NAPA COUNTY The inventory of homes and condominiums available for sale in Napa County at the end of September (309) is 37% below the inventory in September 2019 (491) and it is 4% above the inventory last month (297). Sixty-four percent of the inventory in Napa County 38 | DISTINCTIVE PROPERTIES
(198 properties) is priced at $1,000,000 or above. New sales (162) are 26% ahead of the pace of last year (129) and are 13% below the 187 sales last month. There is a 1.9 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace compared to a 3.8 months supply last year. The Days on Market for homes closing in Napa County is currently 106 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 171 homes closed in September in Napa County ($815,000) is 6% ahead of the median price of a year ago ($782,000). Over the past four months, Napa County homes are selling at roughly 94% of original list price. NAPA COUNTY LUXURY HOMES If one takes the highest quartile (25%) of available inventory as the “Luxury Market”, the Luxury Market begins at $3,500,000 in Napa County at this time. This is a up from the $3,000,000 in August and $2,700,000 in June. The number of closings (49) of Luxury Homes (sales price in excess of $3,500,000) in Napa County for the period 10/1/19 to 9/30/20 compared to 35 closings in the period 10/1/18 to 9/30/19. There are 76 luxury homes in inventory at the end of September 2020 compared to 79 at the end of September 2019. There were 8 new Luxury Home sales in September compared to 6 last year and 11 last month. This results in a 9.5 months supply of
available Luxury Homes based on the current sales pace compared to a 1.9 months supply for the County as a whole. Days on market for the 10 luxury homes sales in September was 173 days. Over the past four months, Napa County Luxury Homes are selling at roughly 89% of original list price. AMERICAN CANYON There are just 12 available homes and condominiums in inventory at the end of September in American Canyon. This is 40% below the inventory a year ago (20) and it is 20% above the supply last month (10). New sales (20) are 100% ahead of the pace of last year (10) and 82% ahead of the 11 sales last month. There is a 0.6 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The Days on Market for the 9 homes that closed in American Canyon last month was 68 days. The median price of the homes that closed in American Canyon in September ($625,000) is 25% above the median price of a year ago ($500,000). The average price per square foot of the homes sold in American Canyon remains in the $250 to $310 range. It remains a very tight market in American Canyon. NAPA Fifty-three percent of the inventory in Napa County is in the City of Napa. There are 163 available homes and condominiums in inventory at the end of September in the City of Napa. This is 35% below the supply at the end of September 2019 (252) and it is 14% above the inventory at the end of last month (143). New sales (98) were 2% ahead of the pace of September 2019 (96) and they were 26% below the pace of last month (132).
There is a 1.7 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The Days on Market for the 122 closings last month was 102 days. The median price of the homes that closed in the City of Napa in September was $813,000. This is 9% above the median price of the homes closed in September 2019 ($748,000). UP VALLEY NAPA COUNTY Up Valley Napa real estate ground to a halt beginning 9/27/20 with the outbreak of the “Glass Fire” in the area. It will be interesting to see how the October results reflect this latest fire in our region. 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 September (121) is 30% below the level of 172 in September 2019 and it is 8% below the inventory last month (132). There were 42 new sales this month compared to 18 a year ago and 40 last month. There is now a 2.9 months supply of inventory based on the current sales pace. The Days on Market for the 36 closings last month was 117 days. Approximately 66% of the Luxury Market inventory (price in excess of $3,500,000) in Napa County is in the Up Valley Market (50 homes). There were 5 luxury home (price in excess of $3,500,000) closings in the Up Valley Market last month and there were 6 new luxury home sales. For more information, please contact Gerrett Snedaker at Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate|Wine Country Group—707-939-2009 or gsned@winecountrygroup. com. OCTOBER 2020
