Sonoma County home sales rise for first time in two years

Sonoma County home sales rose in April for the first annual increase in more than two years, a sign of stability in the still unsettled housing sector.

Prices continued to fall with sales concentrated at lower ranges and foreclosed properties driving down values in many neighborhoods. Supplies also remained high for April, when home sales usually pick up heading into summer as more families look to move.

Still, buying activity is on the upswing and could signal the beginning of an eventual turnaround.

“People who have held off are coming into the market,” said Chris Smith, an agent with CPS in Santa Rosa. “We’ve got some outrageous deals out there. Some of them are half the price they were two years ago.”

April’s 339 sales of existing homes marked a 13 percent increase from a year ago. It was the first year-over-year gain in Sonoma County since September 2005, when the housing downturn began to take hold following an eight-year boom, according to The Press Democrat’s monthly home sales report.

The rate of sales is rising. Sellers accepted offers in April on 73 percent more homes than a year ago. Those deals should close in May or June.

“There would be a seasonal increase, but this goes well above that,” said Rick Laws, Santa Rosa manager for Coldwell Banker, which prepares the monthly report. “It’s more than agents talking about a lot of buyer activity. It’s a strong trend. It is showing a trajectory of increase in business month over month.”

Growing demand notwithstanding, the price for the typical Sonoma County house remained near a five-year low. April’s median price of $438,000 was down 21.8 percent from a year ago. Prices have now fallen for 22 consecutive months in year-over-year comparisons.

Prices have been pulled down, in part, because the majority of sales are under $500,000, about 60 percent in April compared with 33 percent for the same month a year ago.

Many sellers continue cutting prices because there remains a sizable supply of homes for sale. At the end of April there was a nearly 7 month inventory based on the current sales pace, and a balanced market is about 4 months.

Sellers also are under pressure in neighborhoods with foreclosure and short sales, when sellers seek less than they owe on mortgages. More than 40 percent of homes on the market countywide are distressed properties, led by Southwest and Northwest Santa Rosa, Cotati and Rohnert Park, East Petaluma and Windsor, according to a survey by Pete Deatherage of Pacific Appraisals in Rohnert Park.