The median price for Sonoma County single-family re-sale homes declined 5.2% to $550,000 in 2007. Sales of single-family homes fell 24.3% to their lowest level since before we started keeping records in 1998.
The number of condos sold declined by 19.3%, while the median price fell 7.7% to $334,900.
The story of the year was the credit crunch. It slashed demand to the bone. Gone are 100% mortgages and no-doc mortgages. The tightening of underwriting has caused many people not to qualify for a home loan. Plus, the spread premium between conventional and jumbo loans, needed to buy almost anything in the city, rose from a typical 0.5-0.75 to 1.5.
Sales were already weak before the credit crunch, but afterwards, they went into free-fall. In the first seven months of the year, sales were down, year-over-year, by single-digits in two months, down in the teens in two months, and down in the low 20s for three months. Starting in August, these are the year-over-year declines in single-family, re-sale homes: -22.2%, -42.3%, -39.7%, -25.5, and -48% in December.
As for predicting 2008, we're not going to even try. The talking heads are all over the place and they're throwing out statistics to support every position. The thing to remember is real estate is very localized. What happens in one city does not carry over to other cities.
For full details on the individual cities in the county, click on the city name in the menu to the left.
| Sonoma County | ||||||||
| (Single Family Homes) | ||||||||
| Prices | Other | Percent Change | ||||||
| Average | Median | Sold | DOM | SP/LP | Average | Median | Sold | |
| 1998 | $256,576 | $218,950 | 6,125 | 56 | 98.1% | |||
| 1999 | $294,547 | $244,000 | 6,298 | 54 | 98.1% | 14.8% | 11.4% | 2.8% |
| 2000 | $366,220 | $305,000 | 5,838 | 42 | 99.1% | 24.3% | 25.0% | -7.3% |
| 2001 | $422,824 | $348,000 | 4,657 | 68 | 97.6% | 15.5% | 14.1% | -20.2% |
| 2002 | $434,191 | $375,000 | 6,150 | 70 | 98.2% | 2.7% | 7.8% | 32.1% |
| 2003 | $486,498 | $420,000 | 6,063 | 67 | 98.4% | 12.0% | 12.0% | -1.4% |
| 2004 | $571,652 | $499,000 | 5,921 | 62 | 99.2% | 17.5% | 18.8% | -2.3% |
| 2005 | $674,388 | $591,000 | 5,923 | 57 | 99.2% | 18.0% | 18.4% | 0.0% |
| 2006 | $673,785 | $580,000 | 4,444 | 87 | 97.8% | -0.1% | -1.9% | -25.0% |
| 2007 | $656,258 | $550,000 | 3,364 | 105 | 96.9% | -2.6% | -5.2% | -24.3% |
| Sonoma County | ||||||||
| (Condos & Town Homes) | ||||||||
| Prices | Other | Percent Change | ||||||
| Average | Median | Sold | DOM | SP/LP | Average | Median | Sold | |
| 1998 | $138,176 | $124,500 | 610 | 20 | 98.6% | |||
| 1999 | $133,202 | $125,000 | 519 | 44 | 99.1% | -3.6% | 0.4% | -14.9% |
| 2000 | $169,701 | $163,375 | 518 | 25 | 100.7% | 27.4% | 30.7% | -0.2% |
| 2001 | $217,335 | $210,000 | 601 | 54 | 99.1% | 28.1% | 28.5% | 16.0% |
| 2002 | $243,248 | $234,950 | 986 | 57 | 99.5% | 11.9% | 11.9% | 64.1% |
| 2003 | $270,535 | $260,000 | 1,084 | 56 | 99.8% | 11.2% | 10.7% | 9.9% |
| 2004 | $320,571 | $315,000 | 1,086 | 49 | 100.6% | 18.5% | 21.2% | 0.2% |
| 2005 | $382,138 | $370,000 | 986 | 43 | 100.7% | 19.2% | 17.5% | -9.2% |
| 2006 | $374,968 | $363,000 | 675 | 77 | 98.8% | -1.9% | -1.9% | -31.5% |
| 2007 | $352,466 | $334,900 | 545 | 106 | 98.6% | -6.0% | -7.7% | -19.3% |
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Based on information from BAREIS for the period January, 1998 through September, 2007.