Rise in Sonoma County home prices slightly outpaces state

Sonoma County home prices increased an estimated 6.2 percent in February from a year earlier, property data service CoreLogic reported Tuesday.

In comparison, California and national home prices grew 6.1 percent and 5.6 percent respectively for the same period.

CoreLogic reported that a dwindling supply of inventory has led to stronger price increases for less-expensive homes compared to high-end homes.

“This is the hottest home price appreciation prior to the spring selling season in nine years,” CoreLogic President and CEO Anand Nallathambi said in a statement. “Assuming a benign interest rate environment and continued strong consumer confidence, we expect home prices to rise by an additional 5 percent over the next twelve months.”

CoreLogic’s Home Price Index tracks increases and decreases in sale prices for the same homes over time. It relies on more than 30 years of repeat sales transactions for both houses and condominiums.

The figure includes sales of distressed properties. Excluding such sales, county values rose 5.4 percent in February from a year earlier.

Robert Digitale