S
onoma County's real estate market has been experiencing a rocky year, with sales volume hovering at 30-year lows for the past two years. According to BAREIS MLS data, the average sold price per square foot (PSF) for single-family homes in Sonoma County is $539, down 2% from last year.

    Only six of the county's 15 sub-markets showed neutral or improved PSF values compared to December 2023. Northwest Santa Rosa led the pack with a 14% increase to $482 PSF, followed by Sonoma at 11%, with an average sold price of $759 PSF. Other areas that saw improvements include Southeast Santa Rosa (5%), Petaluma's Eastside (3%), and Windsor (1%).

    The majority of sub-markets experienced declines in PSF values, including Petaluma's Westside (-1%), Sebastopol (-6%), the coastal region (-8%), Southwest Santa Rosa (-9%), Oakmont (-11%), Healdsburg (-12%), Cotati and Rohnert Park (-12%), Cloverdale (-19%), and the Russian River region (-20%).

    Inventory levels of available homes have been at all-time lows due to ultra-low interest rates, which locked owners into their current homes. However, with the Federal Reserve's pivot to a more dovish position and lower mortgage rates, home buying is becoming more affordable, and sales volume is expected to expand modestly in 2025 while prices recover some of the value lost in the past year.