If you have been sitting on the idea of selling your home for a year or two, here is something worth knowing: you are not behind. You are actually right on time.
The National Association of Realtors just released its 2026 generational trends report, and one number stood out to me. Adults between 61 and 79 now account for 55% of all home sellers in the country. That is the largest share of any age group, and it is not a coincidence. It reflects something real: people who have owned their homes for a long time have built up significant equity, and life is nudging them toward what comes next. Downsizing. Simplifying. Moving closer to family. Starting a new chapter somewhere that fits where they are now, not where they were twenty years ago.
If that sounds familiar, you are not swimming upstream. You are moving with the current.
"The people I watch make the smoothest transitions are the ones who got clear on what they wanted next and built a plan around that. The market is a consideration, but it is not the whole picture."
Here in Sonoma County, the local market is backing that up. The numbers right now:
Sales volume is up: 320 homes closed in March compared to 282 in March 2025. Inventory has also pulled back from the highs we saw in spring 2025, which means less competition for well-positioned sellers right now. That is not a market in decline. That is a market where the right home, priced correctly, still moves.
One of the quieter advantages long-term homeowners have right now is equity. If you bought your Santa Rosa or Petaluma home ten, fifteen, or twenty years ago, you are likely sitting on a significant amount of it. That matters more than most people realize when it comes to your next move. Equity-rich sellers have flexibility that cash-strapped buyers simply do not have. You can negotiate from a position of strength, move on your timeline, and in many cases purchase your next home without the financing stress that younger buyers are navigating in a 6% rate environment.
The buyers who are most active right now are often in a similar position. They are motivated, they have resources, and they are looking for exactly the kind of well-kept, established home that a long-term owner tends to have. That alignment between seller and buyer is one of the things that makes this moment worth paying attention to.
That said, pricing still matters more than anything else. Nationally, asking prices are trending more than 2% above what homes are actually closing for, and locally the list-to-sale ratio has compressed to around 99%. What that means in plain terms is that homes priced in line with recent comparable sales are selling close to asking. Homes that are priced with optimism are sitting. This is not the market where you pad the number and hope. It is the market where you price it right from day one and execute well.
The question I hear most often from homeowners thinking about selling is some version of: is now the right time? My honest answer is that timing is rarely the most important factor. The people I watch make the smoothest transitions are the ones who got clear on what they wanted next and built a plan around that. The market is a consideration, but it is not the whole picture.
If you have been thinking about selling your Sonoma County home and want to understand what your options actually look like right now, I would love to talk it through with you. No pressure, no pitch. Just a clear conversation about where you are, where you want to go, and what a realistic plan looks like to get there.
Your next chapter starts here.
No pressure, no pitch. Just a clear conversation about where you are, where you want to go, and what a realistic plan looks like to get there.