Two thirds of $3M Homes Closed in Cash

Two thirds of every Sonoma County home sale over $3 million closed without a mortgage in March. Below $1 million, fewer than one in five buyers paid cash. Two markets, one county — and mortgage rates barely move one of them.

- Delta Air Lines just locked in nonstop service from Santa Rosa to Salt Lake City, putting STS one connection away from London Heathrow, Paris, and Amsterdam. The airport is on pace for a record passenger year.

- Sebastopol quietly became the first city in Sonoma County to let homeowners sell their ADU off as a separate condo. The bigger question is whether anyone else should follow.

- Sugarloaf Ridge was just named California's best hidden-gem state park. We rounded it out with our five other favourite trails in the county.

Pour something for the patio — this one earns it.

If you were sent this newsletter by a friend, you can get your very own copy by signing up here

Market Insight

Two Thirds of Sonoma County's $3m-Plus Sales Closed in Cash

National all-cash buyer share keeps drifting down. Redfin's analysis of county records across the 40 most populous US metros shows 28.8% of homebuyers paid cash in March — the lowest March share since 2020. Cash share peaked near 35% in 2023 when mortgage rates briefly touched 8%. With rates back to 6.18% in March, the incentive to skip the loan has softened.

Across 275 Sonoma County single-family sales in March, 26.2% closed in cash — barely below the national average, but worth flagging that we're running 6 to 8 percentage points higher than every other major California metro Redfin tracks. Seattle came in at 17.6%, Oakland 18.4%, Sacramento 19.9%. Our county sits closer to Phoenix and Denver than to our Bay Area neighbours.

The real divergence is by price band:

Two thirds of every Sonoma County sale over $3m closed without a mortgage. Above $2m, cash is the majority financing method. Below $1m — the rate-sensitive segment where first-time and trade-up buyers live — cash drops to under one in five. The typical Sonoma County buyer is financing. The typical Sonoma County luxury buyer is writing a cheque.

By city, the picture mirrors the price story: Sea Ranch (62.5%), the city of Sonoma (37.5%), and Guerneville (33.3%) lead — all classic second-home markets — while Santa Rosa, the county's volume leader at 100 of the 275 March sales, sits at just 17.0%.

The other surprise. Of those 275 March sales, 108 closed with multiple offers — and cash buyers won just 25% of them. Financed buyers won the other 75%, and they paid a hair more over list (101.2% sale-to-list versus 101.0% for cash). Cash's actual advantage in this market isn't price — it's speed: median 24 days to close versus 33 for financed.

What it means in practice. If you're selling above $2m, your buyer pool is structurally cash-heavy and largely insulated from rate movements — lead with clean inspections, flexible close, and fast escrow timelines. If you're a Bay Area buyer financing into this market, don't assume you need cash to win. A strong loan approval, tight contingency timelines, and a flexible close compete just fine.

Reply to this email if you want our read on what this means for your specific market.

Area Guide

Healdsburg's New Luxury Ceiling: $2,000 a Square Foot. Worth It?

These new luxury resorts are pushing dollar-per-square-foot pricing to record levels — over $2,000 a foot — a new ceiling for Healdsburg. The question is whether they're worth it. We just released a long-form video walking through Mill District, Montage Residences, and Enso Village. The short version is below.

• Mill District — not for everyone, but it earns a place. Architecture by Olson Kundig, SingleThread as the culinary partner, and a walk to the Plaza is a real package. The right buyer is a Dry Creek estate owner wanting a downtown lock-and-leave, a downsizer ready to be done with the maintenance of a big lot, or anyone whose life centers on the Plaza and the SingleThread amenity. Buy it clear-eyed: you're paying for lifestyle and convenience, not for land-driven long-term upside.

• Montage Residences — we'd pass. Mid $5 millions to low $7 millions for Harvest Homes on 5,000- to 7,000-square-foot lots, $30,000-a-year residential service fees on top of HOA and tax, and at least one Estate Homesite bought as a pure rental-investment LLC. The same money buys a five-plus-acre Dry Creek estate that's a better long-term hold.

• Enso Village — not real estate at all. Residents pay a six- or seven-figure entrance fee into a community financed largely with about $300 million in municipal bonds. There's no deed, no land, no equity — just an illiquid claim that sits behind bondholders in the capital stack. Treat the entrance fee as prepaid housing, not as an asset.

Full breakdown in the video. If you're weighing any of these, reply and we'll put real numbers in front of you.

Local News

Delta Lands at STS — and London Just Got One Connection Away

Delta Air Lines announced last week that it will begin nonstop service from Charles M. Schulz–Sonoma County Airport to Salt Lake City on October 6, 2026 — two daily round-trips operated by Delta's regional partner SkyWest. On its own, a new SLC route is useful but not earth-shaking. The bigger story is what it unlocks.

What just opened up:

• Salt Lake City is one of Delta's primary hubs, with direct service to London Heathrow, Paris CDG, Amsterdam, and a long list of other European destinations

• A morning STS departure, a layover in SLC, and you're stepping off in London the next morning — without a drive to SFO or OAK

• STS is on pace for 900,000 to 950,000 passengers in 2026, which would be a record year. Alaska Airlines added three new routes earlier this month, Avelo and American are flying, and Delta now makes four major carriers at the airport

One caveat worth flagging: STS picked up around 30,000 noise complaints in Q1 2026 after a flight-path change, which is a live political issue

Why it matters here. Airport connectivity moves second-home demand. Bay Area professionals considering a Wine Country relocation weigh airport access more than most agents realise, and East Coast and international buyers weigh it harder still. STS just stopped being a regional puddle-jumper. For sellers of second homes and high-end vacation rentals, that's a meaningful tailwind.

Lifestyle News

Two New Pizzas Worth the Drive — One Russian River, One Santa Rosa

Two pizza openings landed in the same week — one on the Russian River, one on a Santa Rosa hilltop most longtime locals know by heart.

• Wonderland Pizza, Russian River. Owners Brian Perloff and Kellee Kessler opened May 22. The concept blends quality food, local beer and wine, live music, and art inspired by the river itself. Exactly the kind of casual, place-rooted spot that defines the Russian River community's quiet revival.

• The Junction, Santa Rosa. The historic hilltop Villa restaurant is reopening as The Junction — craft beer, upscale pizza, cocktails, family-friendly. Generations of Sonoma County diners know that hilltop, and getting it back, repositioned for everyday family dining, is a small win for the city.

Why it matters here. Two openings in one week make a small pizza moment in Sonoma County. For relocators and visitors mapping what daily life here actually looks like, these are the kind of spots that quietly raise the floor of "where can I just grab dinner on a Tuesday." You don't need a Healdsburg tasting-menu budget to eat well in Sonoma County, and the gap between Bay Area and Wine Country casual dining keeps narrowing.

Home Build Guide

Sebastopol Made ADUs Sellable. Is That Actually a Good Idea?

Architects just unveiled a 300-square-foot ADU design that pushes the limits of what a tiny accessory dwelling can be — smart storage, multi-use rooms, generous glazing, and a clear separation between sleep, work, and live zones. The principles transfer to Sonoma County even though our lots are larger. The bigger question right now isn't how to design an ADU. It's what an ADU is actually worth as a standalone asset.

Sebastopol made that question concrete earlier this year when the city council voted 4-1 to opt in to California's AB 1033, becoming the first city in Sonoma County (and the first in the North Bay) to let homeowners sell their ADU off as a separate condominium. Before AB 1033, an ADU could only be rented. Now it can be carved off the parent lot and sold as its own deeded property.

The pros:

• A new ownership rung between renting and buying a full single-family home

• An asset a homeowner can monetise without selling the main house

• Adds attainable housing units without subdividing land in the traditional sense

The cons:

• The process is real work: Certificate of Occupancy on the ADU, written consent from every lender, a condominium plan filed under the Subdivision Map Act, a Davis-Stirling HOA to govern shared driveway and utilities, then full county recording — roughly $15,000 to $30,000 in legal and filing fees

• Each unit gets its own property tax bill afterwards

• Impact fees are barred on units under 750 square feet, which raises a fairness question about who pays for water, sewer, and infrastructure

Will other Sonoma County cities follow? Fair question — and we're not sure the answer is an obvious yes.

Our take. AB 1033 is clever on paper and friction-heavy in practice. It may end up being a solution without a real problem — most owners who want ADU income already get it by renting, and very few will want to take on lender consent forms and an HOA filing to capture the difference. The bigger concern is the precedent. If an owner can effectively split one lot into two deeded units today, what stops the next iteration tomorrow — a developer buying an underdeveloped lot, building eight separately-deeded units, and selling them off individually? That's the densification question worth thinking about before any other Sonoma County council jumps in.

Local Guide

The Best Burgers in Sonoma County Right Now

National Hamburger Day was yesterday, so we pulled together a roundup in case you're saving your burger allocation for the weekend. These are the six we'd actually drive to get.

We're not the only ones on this hunt. Our friend CJ Kerls — local lender at Rate.com and co-founder of Professionals With Pride — has made finding Sonoma County's best burger something close to a life mission, and trust us, he has put in the field work. So when CJ is mid-deliberation over which one wins (see above), these are the contenders worth his — and your — time.

The burgers worth your weekend:

• Iggy's Organic Burger, Healdsburg and Sebastopol. Duck-fat-cooked patty, Clover cheddar, ketchup, mustard, pickles, and caramelised onions on a buttery Hawaiian bun. Eat it on the Plaza.

• The Burger at Healdsburg Bar & Grill, Healdsburg. Angus, American cheese, special sauce, and bacon marmalade on toasted brioche, freshly reopened under Charlie Palmer.

• Kin Burger at KIN, Windsor. Certified Angus, smoked gouda, applewood bacon, and housemade barbecue sauce on toasted brioche.

• Bacon Cheeseburger at Machado Burgers, Santa Rosa and Windsor. Sonoma Magazine called this "the most perfect burger in Sonoma County." The Piggy Tots are not optional.

• Bijou Burger, Petaluma. Well-seared patty, honey-bacon, and cheddar on brioche, with shoestring fries that come out crisp every time.

• Burger Harn at Lunch Box, Sebastopol. Six-ounce prime chuck, onion butter, fancy sauce, and dirty fries with chevre ranch and smoked bacon. The kind of messy, smushy, everything-that's-good-about-beef masterpiece you rarely find. Bring napkins.

Our personal pick: the After Church Burger at Guiso Latin Fusion in Healdsburg — a smashburger with smoked cheddar, chipotle aioli, and curtido pickled slaw on a housemade sesame seed bun, served with fries ($26, double for $8 more). 117 North St., Healdsburg. Worth the detour off the Plaza. We'll let CJ be the judge.

Area Guides

The Best Hidden-Gem State Park in California — Plus Our Top Five Other Trails

Sugarloaf Ridge State Park was just named California's best hidden-gem state park by Sonoma Magazine. About 25 minutes from downtown Sonoma, tucked into the hills above Kenwood, it's one of those places longtime locals quietly love and most visitors miss.

What makes Sugarloaf work:

• Bald Mountain summit hike with views all the way to the Sierra on a clear day

• Robert Ferguson Observatory — the only public observatory in a California state park

• Quiet camping, more than 25 miles of trails, and creeks that run after a wet winter

• $10 day-use fee, open dawn to dusk

Five more Sonoma County trails worth your Saturday:

1. Lake Sonoma. The big inland reservoir north of Healdsburg with 17 miles of trails, lake-edge picnic spots, and the kind of quiet most weekend visitors never find. The South Lake Trail is the easiest way in.

2. Half-a-Canoe Loop, Lake Sonoma. A 4.9-mile loop through oak woods and meadows with stretches of real lake view. Moderately challenging, named for the half-canoe trail builders found on the path when they were cutting it. Bring water — there's not much shade.

3. Pomo Canyon to Shell Beach, Sonoma Coast. A 6.3-mile traverse along an ancient Pomo trading route, through redwoods and grassland and out to the Pacific. One of the most scenically varied hikes in the county.

4. Armstrong Redwoods, Guerneville. The Pioneer Nature Trail is a 1.5-mile, level loop through old-growth coast redwoods. ADA accessible, family-friendly, and quietly jaw-dropping if you've never walked an old redwood grove.

5. Bodega Head. A 1.7-mile coastal loop with whale watching in spring and fall, dramatic cliff views year-round, and a parking-lot-to-summit ratio that makes it the easiest big-payoff hike on the coast.

The corridor from Kenwood to Glen Ellen is one of the easiest "small towns with serious wine country quality of life" stretches in our area, and properties up there benefit from Sugarloaf without ever having to commute past it. For relocators building their mental map of what's actually here, any of these is a Saturday-morning drive worth taking.

Current Listings

What’s Happening This Week

Healdsburg Tuesdays in the Plaza: Ariel Marin Band
Where: Healdsburg Plaza, Matheson St & Healdsburg Ave, Healdsburg, CA
When: Tuesday, June 2, 2026 • 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM • Free
Why You Should Go: Free live music, food trucks starting at 5pm, and the whole town showing up with blankets, lawn chairs, and picnic dinners — this is local life at its absolute best. Ariel Marin brings a mix of Funk, Soul, and Motown that always gets the crowd moving. If this doesn't sell you on Healdsburg, nothing will.

Thursday Happy Hour @ Russian River Vineyards
Where: Russian River Vineyards, 5700 Hwy 116 N, Forestville, CA
When: Thursday, June 4, 2026 • 5:00 PM – 7:30 PM
Why You Should Go: Pinot by the glass for $8, local craft beer, and made-to-order bites like shrimp tacos and ahi poke — all set in the heart of the Russian River Valley. This weekly summer series is the kind of place that ruins you for ordinary Thursday nights forever.

Acoustic Sunsets: Open Mic Night
Where: Sonoma Botanical Garden, 12841 Highway 12, Glen Ellen, CA
When: Wednesday, June 3, 2026 • 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM • $17 adults / Free for members
Why You Should Go: Wine tastings from local Sonoma vintners, a picnic-friendly amphitheater, leashed dogs welcome, and a rotating cast of local musicians performing at golden hour in one of the most beautiful gardens in the Valley. This is date night, reinvented.

Share The Love

• Got friends dreaming of wine country life? Share this newsletter and save them from doomscrolling Zillow

• Follow our somewhat professional adventures on Instagram @bruingtonhargreaves

• Check our YouTube channel for weekly local market updates (and occasional winery mishaps)

David & Jonathan here – the guys who write about real estate but really just want to talk about our favorite taco trucks. Hit us up about anything Sonoma County (or beyond). Whether you're buying, selling, or just want to know which wineries actually welcome dogs – we've got you covered.