The Santa Rosa real estate market is best viewed as a microcosm of the larger Bay Area real estate market, which has been experiencing some unusual combinations of market forces in recent months. Specifically, Santa Rosa has seen an increase of foreclosures, coupled with rising home sales and relatively stable home prices. According to an October 20, 2009 article in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, “Foreclosures jumped 22 percent in Sonoma County during the third quarter, but there are signs that lenders are working more closely with borrowers to keep them in their homes. Lenders reclaimed 585 homes in Sonoma County during the third quarter, nearly seven foreclosures per day, according to a report released Tuesday by MDA DataQuick, a San Diego real estate research firm. It marked the largest number of foreclosures in a year, up from 478 in the second quarter.”

A November 9, 2009 article in the Contra Costa Times found that home prices in the Bay Area were relatively stable, a good piece of news for Santa Rosa home sales. The piece, written by Eve Mitchell, noted that “Home value depreciation in the nine-county Bay Area has slowed down in yet another apparent sign of a stabilizing real estate market, according to a report released Monday. In the third-quarter period ending Sept. 30, home values dropped 8 percent to $483,612 from the same period a year ago, while rising 1.2 percent from the second to the third quarter…”

On the other hand, home sales rallied substantially in September, providing more good news for real estate in Santa Rosa. According to an October 15, 2009 article in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, “Bay Area home sales continued to rise in September, driven by foreclosure sales and buyers eager to take advantage of a tax credit due to expire at the end of November, according to a report Thursday. A total of 7,879 new and resale houses and condos sold in the nine-county Bay Area last month, up 8.4 percent from last year, according to MDA DataQuick, a La Jolla real estate information service. It marked the 13th straight increase in sales, on a year-over-year basis. Sales rose even as the traditional summer homebuying season drew to a close.”