HOUSE & home REAL ESTATE SHOWCASE
Sonoma County’s Spring Market
Where median meets unaffordability IN THE MIDDLE — This Guerneville area property sold for $642,000 in March when the county’s median housing price was $638,000. It is a single bedroom, 1,686 sq. ft house. It was sold by Steve Cozza of Compass. Sonoma County’s housing market values are 7% below last year’s market with a slightly better inventory.
County home prices slowly declining but rental market stays tight as fire victims still scrambling for solutions
permits for Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) with relaxed permit fees and requirements. The “supply and demandâ€? economic rule where there are more home seekers than available inventory is keeping prices elevated even as they By Rollie Atkinson reach for 40% of existing county households. Still, soften. Sonoma West Publishers the median price is 7% below last year’s level of The county’s median wage is $64,000 where it $685,000. For the same time period, the median would take a salary of $170,000 to make today’s onoma County’s housing market has looked housing price in California is $565,880, also down median housing price of $638,000 qualify as many dierent ways over the current decade by 5.9% from a year ago. aordable, according to a study by Patrick of Great Recession recovery, wildďŹ re The impact of losing 5,600 dwellings in the Kallerman, of the Bay Area Council Economic tragedies, record-low mortgage rates and recordOctober 2017 wildďŹ res is still driving large Institute. high rental rates. To describe it is like describing segments of the local housing market, including In March, according to Rick Laws, of Compass a giant elephant. The depiction you get depends keeping lumber and construction costs high for Real Estate, only 268 properties were sold in the on which part of the beast you touch — and when. both new home and remodel projects. entire county, much lower than the 367 that were This spring’s real estate market is being With many ďŹ re victims ďŹ lling the rental market sold one year ago in March 2017. deďŹ ned by slowing dropping list prices, early while they replace their previous homes, the “The overall Bay Area real estate market saw a stage of rebuilding from the October 2017 county’s rental prices remain at record-highs in slowdown beginning in early summer of 2018 and wildďŹ res and the other elephant in the room — just about all local communities. continued into early 2019,â€? said Ron Pavelka, of the lack of aordable housing solutions for many Local government leaders and partner housing Cloverdale’s Compass - PaciďŹ c Union households and families. organizations remain highly engaged with the International. “As the rains are leaving and the As of March 31, Sonoma County’s median housing aordability crisis and are working to housing price was $638,000, a price deemed out of fast-track new housing projects and a bevy of See Market Report Page 4
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