Sonoma County Real Estate 2Q 2009

Highlights from Sonoma County EDB 2^nd Quarter Report

The Sonoma County Economic Development Board releases quarterly local economic data for Real Estate.  Statistical reports can be found at http://www.sonoma-county.org/edb/reports.htm.  Here some highlights from the most recent report for Sonoma County.

• Sonoma County's median home price decreased in June by $85,000 (23.1%) on a year-over basis to $300,000. This price is down $275,000 (47.8%) from its June peak of $575,000 in 2006.
• The average number of property listings decreased as closed sales rose over the quarter. 69.2% of listed properties sold in June 2009, a roughly 23% decrease from the 92.0% December 2008 rate. So far, 2009 home sales peaked in April, when 536 sales closed.
• Notices of default increased 10.3% over the quarter, from 1,241 defaults in Q1 ‘09 to 1,370 in Q2. '09 Real Estate.
• Homes in Sonoma County that sold in Q2 2009 spent an average of 107 days on the market. June's average is ten days longer than a year ago and 56 days longer than that of June 2005.
• The average home sold for 96.85% of its list price in June 2009. The ratio is 3.25% less than that of June 2005 and is roughly half a percentage above June 2008's 9.2%.
• There were 1,528 total units sold for an average price of $373,486 in Q2 2009 in Sonoma County. The area with the greatest number of homes sold was Northwest Santa Rosa with 229 units, followed by 165 in both Northeast and Southwest Santa Rosa.
• Fair Market Rents (FMR), as calculated by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, increased 14% in 2009 after a five-year plateau. FMR for 2009 are $1,026, $1,296, $1,839, and $2,150 for one, two, three and four bedroom residences, respectively. FMR has increased by roughly 50% since 2000.
• The office vacancy rate for Q2 2009 in Sonoma County was 21.7%, a year-over increase of 7.4%. Petaluma recorded the highest vacancy rate at 35.7%, while the lowest vacancy rate was 14.7% in the North Corridor region, which encompasses the airport area, Windsor and Healdsburg real estate.
• The local industrial vacancy rate rose 3.0% year- over to 14.4%, continuing its steady upward trend from its Q1 2006 low of 6.1%. Santa Rosa had the highest rate in the area with 16%, while the North Corridor region reported the lowest rate at 12.3%.
• The 8.8% retail vacancy rate is well above the Q2 2008 mark of 4.2%. The "Other" designation of areas including Sonoma, Sebastopol, Cloverdale reported a 5.4% vacancy rate, the lowest in the region,