There is great news for the homeowners who made it through the recession and have spent the past several years hoping to see their home values rise again!
Napa County home prices rebounded in 2013, increasing 27.7% from 2012 levels, according to Bay Area Real Estate Information Services. The median home price for Napa County homes rose to $454,500, compared to $355,750 in 2012. Homes spent an average of 89 days on the market in 2013, while the average was 118 days in 2012. With the foreclosure crisis winding down, the number of distressed property sales in 2013 declined to just 11.7% of the market, compared to 25.66% in 2012.
“There are very few short sales” and bank-owned properties for sale now, said Randy Gularte of Heritage Sotheby’s International Realty. With those distressed properties removed from the market, “Now it’s a matter of a normal buyer/seller market,” he said.
Unlike during the pre-recession era of 100 percent financing loans, Gularte said today’s buyer “has skin in the game.” “Qualified buyers are buying houses. I think it will help us solidify the market.”
San Francisco broker Jeff Appenrodt of Laurel Realty, who recently hosted an open house for a home in the Napa Yacht Club, said he has many clients from San Francisco and the Bay Area who want to buy in Napa.
The broker said buyers are drawn to any property close to city areas such as Napa or St. Helena, and with enough space for grapes, whether for aesthetic or business reasons.
“I have a client in San Francisco who is buying all kinds of property in Napa,” he said. That client has purchased somewhere around $5 to $6 million of property in the past six months, both land and homes, he said. “That area is on the rise” and his clients are looking to buy, said Appenrodt.
Are you interested in buying a home on the waterfront or riverfront in the Napa Valley? Contact Donald Buresh today at (707) 548-2545!
Read the full article from the Napa Valley Register by clicking here!
