Real Estate
New Home Construction Spikes in Petaluma
Foreclosures also have fallen off sharply this year.
The housing market continues to heat up in Sonoma County.
Home prices rose again in April as did the number of building permits being issued by cities. In addition, foreclosures are on the decline.
The website DataQuick reports the median price for all types of dwellings in the Bay Area was above $500,000 for the first time since 2008. That’s a 17 percent increase since March and a 30 percent hike from a year ago.
In Sonoma County, the median sale price is now $376,000, a 23.5 percent increase from April 2012.
In Petaluma, the median sales price in March increased all over town:Â
- The median sales price in zip code 94952 was $486,000, a 21.5 percent increase from a year ago.
- In zip code 94954, the median sales price topped $374,000, a 20.8 percent increase.
But fewer homes are being sold in Petaluma as of late. There were 72 homes sold in the city in March, a 20 percent drop from March 2012.
Meanwhile, RealtyTrac reports the number of single-family building permits nationwide increased 27 percent in the first quarter of 2013 to the highest level since 2008.
At the same, the number of foreclosure starts nationwide declined 27 percent to their lowest level since 2006.
In fact, the number of building permits issued and foreclosure starts were roughly the same for the first time since 2007.
In Petaluma, 50 building permits were issued during the first three months of this year, compared to eight during the same time period last year. There were 28 foreclosure starts, compared to 93 in the first quarter of 2012.
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