Do you know the way...to Santa Rosa?

Do You Know the Way…to Santa Rosa?

For nearly 180,000 residents of the wine country’s largest city, the answer is yes! The early days of the Pandemic have made Santa Rosa even more familiarly pursued by the other 7,000,000 people who call
the Bay Area home, as this base has been looking for more space around them and larger homes to serve their families - especially with the advent of being untethered to their workplaces coupled with
where this population chooses to leisure.

Within the metropolis of Santa Rosa, according to BAREIS MLS, now one month into the new year, the data points to a marketplace continuing with a steady yet seasonal demand level with 156 single-family
homes remaining for sale in the city and its environs – five percent greater than this same time a year earlier. Buyers laid claim to 93 single-family homes during the past month – 12 percent greater than last
January - while the entire municipality introduced merely 64 new listings to the market during this period – a massive 38 percent fewer than in 2023. The most recent period found Seller’s handing over
keys on another 63 completed sales – three percent ahead of the 61 dwellings that traded hands twelve months ago. Santa Rosa recorded a Months’ Supply of Inventory (MSI) level of 2.5 – still affirming greater seller influence on each sale and very similar to the start of last year. MSI is the metric that indicates the number of months it would take to sell the current inventory at the current rate of sales. An MSI ranging from 4.0 to 6.0 is indicative of a balanced market, with lower numbers increasingly favoring sellers and vice versa.

Within the city, Northeast Santa Rosa – the North Bay’s most active submarket - saw the introduction of 33 single-family homes in January – 15 percent less than this same period a year ago. The supply of
homes was met with seasonal demand as there were 75 dwellings for the home hungry to consider by months end – 27 percent more than during the same period last year. Buyers managed to absorb 36
homes into new contracts with sellers receiving closing checks on another 25 properties, resulting in MSI temporarily loosening up to a reading of 3.0 – keep in mind that in this sector some of the new listings posted are offerings for homes under construction, which adds some unrealistic bulk to what is really available to purchase now, unlike most other sub-markets throughout the County.
 

Southeast Santa Rosa saw the supply of listed properties rest at 21 when February opened – 13 percent less than just a year earlier as well as a new monthly low. This submarket debuted only 10 new listings in January – the same as the month before with both echoing new historical lows - while buyers garnered accepted offers on 17 additional dwellings – 31 percent more than just a year earlier. This coveted
corner of the city experienced just eight formal transfers in the period culminating in an MSI rising to 2.6 with early indicators pointing towards this tightening up for February due to increased buyer activity and less new inventory coming to market. It's always hard to sell more than what you have available, though Oakmont has been trying to do so over the course of the last twelve months. With January in the books, there were just 10 available homes for buyers to peruse including the six that were newly launched in the period. Buyers inked out eight new deals while sellers completed six transactions during the month, holding MSI at 1.7.

Northwest Santa Rosa buyers made advances to gain control of 19 more deals while leaving 32 single- family homes available for sale at the beginning of February. Sellers committed 12 additional offerings
to the market while 15 more homes completed the closing process leaving this regions MSI at 2.1. Only three new offerings were brought to market in Southwest Santa Rosa this January – a new historic
low. Consumers placed 13 more dwellings into contract during the period just as sellers handed over the keys to nine newly minted homeowners. With 18 abodes available for buyers to view in February, the
collage of activity has left MSI at 1.4 for the period – putting sellers in the driving seat once again.

With the majority of national real estate economists suggesting that we will see about a 20 percent uptick in sales volume in 2024 compared to last year, we will have to see if this metric really applies to
Santa Rosa. Our regional market conditions do not appear to have the ability to deliver this kind of inventory – especially without new master planned developments adding swaths of prospective new
homes and those that own homes with mortgages under four percent, let alone free and clear, being unwilling to trade out of what they own. Let’s talk about what you want to accomplish this year!