Sonoma County’s single-family housing market showed encouraging signs of competition in August, even as fewer homes changed hands. The share selling above asking rose 13.6% compared with August 2025 to 31.7%, representing nearly one in three sales. Median market time shortened 13.3% to 39 days, a six-day improvement, while sellers received an average of 99.7% of list price, up from 98.9%. Together, these measures point to stronger selling results for homes finding a buyer.
Available inventory was also notably lower. August ended with 885 homes for sale, down 11.9%, leaving buyers with 119 fewer options than a year earlier. Closed sales declined 7.8% to 344, while the number of homes entering contract fell 13.7% to 322. Reduced selection may be helping sustain competition, although the pullback in contract activity suggests that buyers remain selective. Thoughtful pricing remains especially important in a market where fewer transactions coexist with stronger results relative to asking prices.
Pricing offered a more nuanced picture. The median sales price declined 4.5% to $793,000, while median price per square foot edged up 0.8% to $511. That divergence suggests the mix of properties sold may account for part of the median price decline, though it does not establish how individual home values changed. The monthly chart also shows an easing from spring, with prices retreating and market times lengthening. Even so, August’s faster sales pace and larger share of above-asking closings compared with last year suggest that competition remains an important part of the market.
Recent employment data provide additional encouragement. Preliminary figures show Santa Rosa–Petaluma nonfarm employment increased 0.8% in August from a year earlier, including gains of 3.2% in education and health services and 1.9% in leisure and hospitality. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Borrowing costs remain a consideration: the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate reached 6.95% on September 17, up from 6.76% the previous week. Freddie Mac. Continued local job growth nevertheless offers support for household incomes as buyers and sellers head into the fall market.
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