Rohnert Park, Cotati Home Prices Rise More Than 35 Percent In One 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 Rohnert Park, the median sales price in March was $342,500, a 37.6 percent increase from a year ago. The median sales price in March in Cotati was $330,000, a whopping 43.5 percent jump since March 2012.

Due to a lack of inventory, home sales have declined  slightly—0.6 percent—in the nine-county Bay Area. But in Sonoma County, home sales rose 15.3 percent. 

In Cotati, there were 13 homes sold in March, an 8.3 percent increase from March 2012. Home sales fell 15.9 percent in Rohnert Park during the same time period. A total of 37 homes were sold there in March.

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.