Sonoma County Real Estate Stats Jan to Jun 2011

Sonoma County residential sales in April and May were down from what we would normally expect in the spring selling season. The residential sales trend over many decades is for strong sales beginning in March and continuing through the summer. The worrying decline after March had many real estate experts worried about a further dip in sales for June.
A big sigh of relief is evident today as the preliminary June numbers are now complete. June provided the highest per day sales level of this year, topping March’s daily figures by .2 houses per day. It might not seem like much to brag about, but this year there are no first time buyer credits, qualifying for a loan is very tough, and the economic news has been relentlessly awful. To see home buyers in Sonoma County buck all those trends and continue to buy homes at the year’s fastest rate is encouraging to everyone who wants to see a vibrant and healthy housing market return.

Sonoma County Residential Sales
Sonoma County Residential Sales Volume

Overall June saw 476 home sales, just 10 fewer than March with one less calendar day to work with. For numbers fans, June homes sold at the rate of 15.86 per day and March, the previous high month, was at 15.66 sales per day. By contrast, January was at 10 homes per day.
Of the homes sold in June, exactly half were open market sales and half were distressed. Of the distress sales, 137 were REO or bank owned homes and 101 were short sales.

Sonoma County Average Residential Sales Price
Sonoma County Average Residential Sales Price

Prices also held steady in June. Prices in all three sales conditions were at or above their averages for the year. Both REO’s and open market sales were about $10,000 over their average for the year.