Prices continue to rise in Sonoma County landing us on the list of the
10th least affordable county in the nation! This latest ranking comes from
RealtyTrac a national data company. The report states that a median
priced home in Sonoma County would take 82% of an average salary to
purchase.

This coupled with another recent article in the PD revealing
Sonoma Counties latest new median price has reached $600,000 makes
me wonder about the sustainability of recent increases.

However, my data tells me that although we have experienced year over
year increases in median price the rate of increase is slowing. May 2013
to May 2014 we had an increase of 14.84% in the median sold price of
SFR. May 2014 to May 2015 there was an increase of 11.69% and May
2015 to May 2016 was down to a more normalized 5.79%.

And this is what I am seeing reflected in the market. Homes are sitting
longer and price reductions are evident in listings where sellers tried to
reach too far. Well-priced homes in desirable areas are still moving, but
maybe without the crazy overbidding and multiple offers.

That bodes well for buyers and increases our chance for the market to
begin to reach equilibrium.

July 2016