As people ponder their personal living environments, we are noticing a shift in affluency from larger metro markets to nearby suburbia. Typically meaning the greater your affluency the nearer you remain to your current residence due to the desire to not give up on your primary home – just yet – and electing to stay more accessible to the things you have grown comfortable with over time.
The Santa Rosa metro region has been maneuvering to find its way to the other side of living with a virus and what that means to our habits and routines. According to BAREIS MLS, with July in the rearview mirror, we find the marketplace absorbing homes at a more rapid pace than ever recorded with only 324 single-family homes remaining for sale in the city and its environs – 11 percent less than this same time a year ago – coupled with a voracious level of activity as 245 single-family homes found their way into pending contracts during the past month – further denoting a more “V” shaped recovery scenario with this metric being 45 percent greater than last July.
The entire municipality introduced 195 new listings to the market during the period while the most recent period also found Sellers handing over keys on 231 completed sales – 38 percent more than twelve months prior. These metrics showcase Santa Rosa with its’ Months’ Supply of Inventory (MSI) now at 1.4 and our markets echoing the prior months fundamental shift in population migration from the greater Bay Area.
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 generally indicative of a balanced market, with lower numbers increasingly favoring sellers and vice versa.
Getting down to the underlying specifics, Northeast Santa Rosa saw the introduction of just 71 single-family homes in June – a 25 percent decrease from this same period a year ago. The supply of homes was met with over the top absorption during the period as there were only 152 dwellings for home seekers to consider by months end. Buyers embarked on 95 newly initiated escrows while sellers received closing checks on another 93 properties – a volume ratio never experienced before in this submarket and delivering an MSI of 1.6 for the period ending in July.
Less chaotic though busier than usual, Southeast Santa Rosa saw the supply of available properties steady at 52 by months end. This submarket debuted just 32 new homes in July – 26 percent fewer than last year - while buyers garnered accepted deals on 36 more abodes – 10 percent greater than this period a year ago. This coveted corner of the city experienced 37 formal transfers – adding pressure to an already tight market as MSI fell to 1.4.
Oakmont is officially out of its slumber with hyper-activity levels present now. This age demographic of our general population, being methodical and weary of the times, have stayed more in place than any other age group – until now! This 55+ retirement community witnessed 19 sellers debuting new offerings in the period – not enough to keep the overall availability from compressing to 55 by months end. Buyers found their way to acceptances on 28 new purchases while sellers concluded a very average 15 transactions during the period. The activity level indicates an MSI of 3.7 – and now showing a trend towards joining the other four boroughs of Santa Rosa.
Multiple offers are the name of the game in Northwest Santa Rosa as buyers swooped in to gain control of 59 more deals leaving just 46 available single-family homes to carry over into August. Sellers delivered 54 new offerings to help replenish the region, though with 63 homes closing escrow it looks to continue to be an uphill battle for buyers to capitalize on the current interest rate environment. This intense swing in demand is witnessed by an MSI of 0.7.
With 47 percent fewer listings than just a year earlier, Southwest Santa Rosa found that it had just 19 homes available by month’s end after buyers completed 23 deals during the period. Sellers pitched in and brought 19 new listings to the table in July while buyers pledged their paychecks towards 27 accepted contracts during the month as well – causing this submarkets MSI to fall to 0.8.
The continued effort of folks looking to migrate from the greater Bay Area is certainly placing strain on supply while also likely to drive prices higher. Being at the front end of this fundamental shift means you should be getting your house in order and look to acquire your new home more promptly so as to benefit from this rise while locking in all-time low interest rates to secure your
