Sonoma, CA

As you will see in the chart below the average sales price in the beautiful wine country town of Sonoma has varied widely from month to month depending on what homes sold that month. Lately, the average price has leveled off as the majority of homes that are selling are the distress sales.

Thankfully the distressed properties are finally selling as that is what is propping up sales at the moment. There are many good deals to be had right now. If you are interested in learning more don't hesitate to contact me.

For the month of November 2008 only 24 homes sold for an average final selling price of $523,091.

The average original asking price of these homes was $584,148.

The range of final selling prices of these homes was from a low of $100,000 to a high of $2,650,000.

It took these homes an average of 87 days to sell.

Of the 24 homes that sold 3 sold at their original asking price and 5 sold over. 14 of these 24 homes were distress sales.

For more information about this area visit my website or contact me directly.

As of November 6, 2008 only 14% of available listings in the beautiful wine country town of Sonoma are in escrow.

For the month of October 2008 28 homes sold in Sonoma for an average final selling price of $556,305.

The average original asking price of these homes was $675,569.

The range of final selling prices was from a low of $215,726 to a high of $1,710,000.

Of the 28 homes that sold 4 sold at their original asking price and 4 sold over their original asking price-12 of them were distress sales.

It took these 28 homes an average of 160 days to sell.

For more information about this area visit my website or contact me directly.

To see everything that is currently available for sale click here.

As of October 6, 2008 only 15% of available listings in the beautiful wine country town of Sonoma are in escrow.

For the month of September 2008 31 homes sold in Sonoma for an average final selling price of $528,413.

The average original asking price of these homes was $573,713.

The range of final selling prices was from a low of $144,500 to a high of $1,700,000.

It took these homes an average of 100 days to sell.

Of the 31 homes that sold 1 sold at the original asking price and 3 sold over the original asking price. All others sold for less.

Of those same 31 homes that sold, 17 were distress sales.

For more information about this area visit my website or contact me directly.

To see all homes that are currently for sale, search our MLS.

I received an email day before yesterday from one of my favorite lenders, Gary Umholtz. Gary says, "The majority of short sales and foreclosures in Sonoma Valley are with Countrywide. If you or any of your past clients are in trouble with their Countrywide loan, now is the time to act. Let me know if I can assist in any way."

Here is the article:

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Facing a lawsuit over deceptive mortgage practices, Bank of America Corp. is agreeing to pay more than $8 billion to modify hundreds of thousands of loans to keep people from losing their homes.

Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America said Monday it will modify troubled mortgages with up to $8.4 billion in interest rate and principal reductions for nearly 400,000 customers of Countrywide Financial Corp., the troubled mortgage lender it acquired last summer.

The announcement arrived after the Illinois attorney general's office said Sunday that the bank was modifying loans for customers in 11 states.

Some borrowers stuck with Countrywide customers might qualify for having to pay nothing but interest for a decade. Even people who can't afford to keep their homes with such changes will be able to get help moving to a new home.

"This is going to provide a tremendous amount of relief," said Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan.

Her office and officials from California negotiated the settlement; Illinois and California sued Countrywide earlier this year. Nine other states have also joined the settlement, and other states could sign on, said Deborah Hagan, chief of Madigan's Consumer Protection Division.

In California alone, the settlement will offer $3.5 billion in relief. For Illinois, that would translate to $190 million.

"Countrywide's lending practices turned the American dream into a nightmare for tens of thousands of families by putting them into loans they couldn't understand and ultimately couldn't afford," California Attorney General Jerry Brown Jr. said in a statement Sunday.

The other states joining the settlement are Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas and Washington.

Bank of America said it will launch the new mortgage aid program in December.

In a statement, Barbara Desoer, president of Bank of America's mortgage, home equity and insurance services, called the plan "a comprehensive program that provides more solutions than ever before to assist troubled borrowers and put them back on the path to sustained home ownership."

The mortgage aid includes revising customers' payments so they don't exceed 34 percent of income. Other options include reducing interest rates and adjusting principal so that borrowers don't wind up actually losing equity under some payment plans.

Countrywide will not charge loan modification fees and will waive prepayment penalties.

Madigan said she hopes the settlement could serve as a model for steps that other lenders could take to make up for misleading mortgage practices. She stressed that the agreement involves no tax money but will help people keep their homes and keep money flowing to lenders

"This settlement will help homeowners stay in their homes, which ultimately helps investors and also helps communities," said Madigan, a Chicago Democrat.