Thrive in 2025…That’s What They Say

Thrive in 2025…That’s What They Say

For the last two years sales volume throughout our nation has been hovering at 30-year lows and the data reveals that Sonoma County has not been able to escape this cadence as well.

According to the most recent data collected by BAREIS MLS, a current overview of Sonoma County shows an average sold price per-square-foot (psf) of $539 being paid for a single-family home – 2% lighter than last year at this time – exposing the rocky fits and starts experienced throughout 2024 where the highest average sold value for any month was $1,233,000 while December’s average sold prices trailed at $1,076,000.

Within the 15 different sub-markets of Sonoma County, only six of these presented neutral or improved values over the same period a year ago. Sales of single-family homes in Northwest Santa Rosa outperformed all others on this metric reporting a leap of 14% to close December at $482psf while Sonoma – buoyed by a busy end of year push – rose 11% with sold homes averaging $759psf. Southeast Santa Rosa improved 5% as dwellings there hit $497psf while Petaluma’s Eastside moved 3% higher to register $490psf. Windsor touted a 1% improvement to $464psf with Northeast Santa Rosa nipping at its heels at $458psf.

In the middle of the pack, Petaluma’s Westside conceded 1% with home sales at $619psf while Sebastopol coughed up 6% to close December at $568psf. The tide receded 8% along our rugged Coastal region at $826psf while Southwest Santa Rosa surrendered 9% with homes transferring at an average of $415psf. 

Slipping 11% from a year ago, Oakmont sales closed at $448psf. Healdsburg felt this metric fall 12% to $880psf just as Cotati and Rohnert Park did where values finished at $378psf. In the cellar this month, Cloverdale – on exceptionally light volume – plummeted 19% to $350psf just escaping the last place finish that was our Russian River region where abodes moved along 20% less at $405psf.

Inventory levels of available homes sank to their all-time lows in 2023 buoyed by years of ultra -low interest rates locking owners into their current homes while construction of new homes languished like in no other decade on record over the last 75 years. Now, as the Federal Reserve pivots to a more dovish position and the 10-year Treasury Bond trading at levels indicating a lower interest rate climate ahead, we are now seeing mortgage rates abate - making home buying more affordable and likely drawing in buyers that were sidelined last year as rates breached 8 percent. 

We expect sales volume in 2025 to expand modestly while anticipating prices to recover some of the value given back in the last 12 months…just don’t expect the real estate markets to go crazy, just a little better all the way around.

This article originally appeared on PressDemocrat.com, where Jeff writes a weekly real estate column.