Wildfires Reforged NorCal Housing Markets

The destruction of the wildfires in Northern California communities have been a major disruptor for local housing markets. Competition increased from outside of the local area, for-sale home stock dropped, but the inventory of lots for sale increased.

Home prices have also increased in the counties affected by the natural disaster. In Sonoma County city Santa Rosa, the median home price by listing went up to $630,000 in March 2018, a 5.5 percent year-over-year increase. Zooming out to Sonoma County overall, the median home price increased 8.7 percent to $749,000 YOY, and in Napa County, median home prices surged 28.6 percent to $384,500 during that period, Trulia reports.

In February, 71 percent of searches by Santa Rosa residents were for properties outside of the city, up from 67 percent of searches a year ago. But the top ZIP codes searched are still either in Santa Rosa or close-by markets such as Ukiah, Clearlake, and Sacramento. Many are looking to move in: Inbound searches to Santa Rosa rose 8 percent in February from the same period a year ago. We found users in San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose were at the top of out-of-town places searching in Sonoma County.

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