Guerneville real estate market one of hottest ‘gayborhoods’ in US

Rising home values in Guerneville make it one of the hottest “gayborhoods” in the United States, real estate site Trulia said Wednesday.

The median value in Guerneville has jumped 24 percent to $335 per square foot over the past three years, Trulia reported in its “Gayborhood Watch” report. The town ranked fifth for steep gains among U.S. neighborhoods with large concentrations of lesbians, according to Trulia.

The growth rate was adjusted, or weighted, based on the number of gay households in Guerneville. In 2010, same-sex couples accounted for 7.8 percent of Guerneville households, according to U.S. Census data.

For gay women, the steepest jump in home values occurred in the Redwood Heights/Skyline neighborhood in Oakland, where values rose 64 percent over the past three years. For gay men, Palm Springs ranked first with an increase of 65 percent.

By one measure Guerneville stood out from the 20 listed neighborhoods. The median- priced homes in the other 19 neighborhoods all were more expensive than those in their surrounding metropolitan areas. Guerneville was the exception, with prices there 2 percent cheaper per square foot than in the surrounding metro of Sonoma County.

Historically, home prices along the Russian River have been lower than those for the entire county.

You can reach Staff Writer Robert Digitale at 521-5285 or robert.digitale@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @rdigit.

News Researcher Janet Balicki contributed to this report.