The U.S. median existing-home price hit an all-time high of $440,600 in June 2026, up 1.8% from a year earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors. Sonoma County beat that. Our countywide median rose about 2% over the same period, and 3.3% in June alone, while price per square foot, the truer measure of value, climbed more than 4%. But that county number hides a wide spread, and in a couple of our towns the median headline is downright misleading. Everyone already knows California is expensive; the more useful question for a buyer or seller here is whether values are growing faster or slower than the country as a whole. Mostly, they are growing faster, but it depends entirely on where you look.
The national yardstick
Set aside the dollar figures for a moment, because the growth rate is what matters. Nationally, home prices have now risen year over year for 36 straight months, and June 2026 set a record at $440,600. But the pace of that growth has cooled to a modest 1.8%. That is the line we are measuring Sonoma County against: appreciate faster than 1.8% and you are outrunning the national market; appreciate slower and you are lagging it.
Sonoma County overall is outpacing the nation
On both measures we track, the county as a whole is ahead of the country. The countywide median rose about 2% year over year in the second quarter and 3.3% in June, and price per square foot, which strips out the effect of bigger or smaller homes selling in any given month, rose about 4%. Either way, Sonoma County is appreciating faster than the 1.8% national pace. For a market this mature and this expensive, quietly beating the national growth rate is a stronger signal than the raw price ever tells you.
City by city: above or below the line
Break the county into towns and the range is enormous. Ranked by median price growth year over year in the second quarter, against the national 1.8%:
- Sonoma area: up about 8%, well above the nation
- Sonoma County overall: up about 2%, above the nation
- Petaluma: up about 2%, roughly in line
- Windsor: up about 0.4%, just below
- Healdsburg: flat, below
- Santa Rosa: down about 2%, below
- Russian River: down about 5%, below
- Sebastopol: down about 10%, below
Read that list at face value and you would think most of the county is losing to the national market. That is where you have to be careful, because the median is a blunt instrument.
When the median lies: the price-per-foot check
The median is simply the middle sale price, so it moves whenever the mix of what sells changes. If more affordable or smaller homes close in a given quarter, the median can fall even when values are rising. Price per square foot corrects for that, and in two of our towns it flips the story completely.
Russian River is the clearest example. Its median fell about 5% year over year, which looks like a declining market. But its price per square foot actually rose about 5%. The homes that sold were simply larger and cheaper per unit, so the median understated real appreciation. Values there went up, not down.
Petaluma is the opposite trap. Its median edged up about 2%, right in line with the nation, but its price per square foot slipped about 8%. The median flattered it; on a like-for-like basis, Petaluma softened. The Sonoma area, meanwhile, is the real growth story on both counts, up about 8% on the median and roughly 13% per square foot, the fastest-appreciating corner of the county. Sebastopol is the one town that is genuinely soft, down about 10% on both the median and per square foot, so that decline is real rather than a quirk of the mix. This is the same lesson our town-by-town micro-markets breakdown keeps teaching: the countywide and even the town-level headline can point you in exactly the wrong direction until you look one level deeper.
What it means for you
If you are selling, do not let a soft-looking median talk you out of your value, and do not let a rising one lull you into overpricing. Ask what your specific town and home type are actually doing on a per-square-foot basis, because that is what a serious buyer and their appraiser will focus on. If you are buying, the county beating the national growth rate is a reminder that Sonoma County is not a discount market waiting to correct; it is appreciating faster than the country, so the "wait for prices to drop" strategy has not been paying off here. And if you are weighing where to land, the growth gap between towns is as wide as the price gap, so it is worth knowing which Sonoma County town fits you on both counts before you commit.
The one-line version: the nation's median rose 1.8%, Sonoma County beat it, and the only way to know whether your town beat it too is to look past the median.
Have a question about how your specific town and price point are appreciating right now? Email me directly at david@bruingtonhargreaves.com and I will pull the median and per-square-foot growth for exactly where you are buying or selling.
About the Author
David Hargreaves is the co-founder of BruingtonHargreaves, one of Sonoma County's top-ranked real estate teams and part of W Real Estate. Originally from the UK and an Oxford University graduate, David built and ran a digital marketing agency serving Google, Facebook, and other major brands before becoming one of Sonoma County's top agents within three years of entering real estate.
Today he and business partner Jonathan Bruington have sold more than $250 million in Sonoma County homes over the past three years, earning recognition as a RealTrends No. 2 team in the county and the No. 1 team in Healdsburg. David specialises in helping Bay Area buyers and sellers with luxury properties and vacation rentals across Healdsburg, Windsor, Santa Rosa, and the Russian River communities.
He lives in Sonoma County with his wife Nancy and is happiest cycling the back roads, exploring local wineries, or behind a camera. Have a question about buying, selling, or building in Wine Country? Book a free call.