Sonoma County Real Estate Market Blasts Off July 2020 Report
Despite the ongoing health and economic crisis precipitated by COVID-19, the Sonoma County real estate market has staged a dramatic recovery from the steep declines in March and April. Buyer demand has skyrocketed, and high-end homes, in particular, have seen extremely strong sales activity. Around the Bay Area, more affluent buyers – the demographic least affected by COVID-19, unemployment, and also having the greatest financial resources – have been jumping back into the market to a greater degree than other segments.
The first chart below illustrates the stunning rebound in demand, as the number of listings accepting offers in June 2020 soared far above that of last year.
The Bay Area markets with the largest year-over-year increases in the number of listings accepting offers in June 2020 were the 4 “outer” counties of Monterey (up 61%), Santa Cruz (58%), Sonoma (47%) and Napa (37%). (Of the 4, Sonoma is by far the largest market by sales volume.) They also have among the lowest population densities in the Bay Area. The more urban counties saw modest y-o-y increases: San Francisco (6%) and Alameda (7%). This is a fascinating shift in the market.
These 2 charts below reflect the tremendous increases in sales activity in higher home-price segments.
