Generally speaking, market activity – as measured by the number of listings going into contract – continued to pick up rapidly in May, bouncing back from the steep plunge following the first shelter in place orders. Activity in May, which is typically among the busiest selling months of the year, was about the same as in May 2019 - and for homes listed at $1 million and above, it was higher - which made Sonoma County one of the strongest markets, on a year-over-year basis, in the Bay Area.
There seems to be multiple factors at work in the big rebound: the dwindling effect of COVID-19 and shelter in place, local county demand, second-home buyers and people relocating from more urban areas – plus incredibly low interest rates. Median sales prices remain higher on a year-over-year basis. Based on the strength of buyer demand, some analysts believe the coming months of summer may be significantly busier than in 2019.
Note: Any statistics derived from closed sales – such as median sales prices, sales volume and days on market – reflect the state of the market 3-6 weeks ago when the offers were negotiated and accepted. They are lagging indicators, and May closed-sales data to a large degree reflects the much softer market in April.
