The Sonoma County housing market is red hot! According to the latest Press Democrat real estate report, the median home price in the county reached an all-time high of  $780,000 in May, a jump of 16.5% from the same month last year.

Despite pandemic restrictions and continuing threat of wildfires, the local real estate market seems to be bulletproof, continuing to rise while other markets fluctuate.

Bolstered by a spike in sales of million-dollar homes and a historically low interest rate, the price is welcome news for sellers and disheartening for shoppers priced out of the local market.

According to a recent story by the Press Democrat’s Paul Bomberger, the market has gotten “so hot, many middle-class working residents remain stuck in rental homes. In fact, only 27% of all county residents — roughly 1 in 4 — can afford the hefty down payment, monthly mortgage payment and property insurance to purchase a home at the median price, according to the California Association of Realtors’ housing affordability index.”

“Affordable” areas continue to be situated along the Russian River where an average home costs around $580,000. While the median is upwards of $1.4 million in regions like Healdsburg, Sonoma, Sebastopol, west Petaluma and the Sonoma Coast.

Will this trend continue into the future? Only time will tell.

Click through our gallery of homes priced at or below the median home price of $780,000.