Sonoma County, known for its wine region and significantly cheaper home prices, is now seeing home price increases as Silicon Valley workers flood the market. The median price for an existing home in Sonoma County hit $720,000 in July—10% higher than last year, breaking a new record, according to National Mortgage News. This demand has come from Silicon Valley, but also San Francisco, the East Bay, and the Central Coast. In February, the median home price was $641,250. Also in July, sales of single-family homes increased by 36% compared to last year.
"We always have the local market upsizing and downsizing, but the amount of people coming from the Bay Area has just skyrocketed," said Tammra Borrall, a real estate agent with Compass.
Borrall said her clients are seeking rural settings, sweeping views and what area agents agree is the most sought-after home feature this social distanced summer — a swimming pool.
She recently hosted around 40 showings at a $1.2 million home on Occidental Road in Sebastopol that checked all of those boxes. Over half of the potential buyers for the house were from San Francisco.
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