Solano Real Estate Scene: Jim Porter
Article By: Jim Porter – August 21, 2026
The Resale Market: Zillow is reporting 1,285 active listings; Realtor.com reports 1,628 total listings including new construction and pre-foreclosures; and MLS shows 1,179; and according to Redfin Solano County trends, 369 homes sold in June and 401 sold in July.
Both inventory and the number of sales are up over last year. The median list price is sitting around $575,000, and homes are taking an average of 38 to 49 days to sell.
Thanks to the low overall supply of houses for sale, Solano is still technically considered a sellers’ market, but buyers currently enjoy significantly more negotiating leverage this year over the last few.
The national average for a 30-year fixed rate conventional mortgage hit 6.75% this week. However, with house prices down by 2.5% since this time last year, first time homebuyers are keeping local mortgage loan officers and real estate agents alive. I do not have the exact numbers handy, but I remember very clearly that it was almost impossible to find starter homes under $530,000 in Solano County over the last five years, and today there are more than 450.
The New Home Builder Market: Nationwide, the new home builders are suffering with the cost to build and the affordability issues for buyers dealing with rates approaching 7%, but they are still making profits because they can simply slow down for a while till the market improves and profit margins return.
The local builders are doing the same thing as builders across the country incentivizing buyers with closing cost credit and free upgrades.
Lagoon Valley has already sold $125 million worth of homes and is being marketed as Northern California’s first true “conservation community.” Eighty-five percent of the 2,400 acres are permanently preserved as natural open wilderness.
Lennar has a large two-story with a full ADU downstairs with its own door entry and full kitchen. This is a home worth looking at for a two-generation family, if you can afford $1.2 million and the property taxes.
According to the internet AI, both Lagoon Valley and One Lake are doing “exceptionally well.” These big home builders all own a mortgage company, and all the incentives they offer are only given when the buyer uses the builder lender. Yes, it hurts when one of our pre-approved buyers goes with the builder’s lender, but if our client is selling their existing home to move up to the dream home; this is good for our market because we have first time home buyers that want to buy that home.
Jim Porter, NMLS No. 276412, is the branch manager and senior loan adviser of Solano Mortgage, NMLS No. 1515497, a division of American Pacific Mortgage Corporation, NMLS No. 1850, licensed in California by the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation under the CRMLA / Equal Housing Opportunity. Jim can be reached at 707-449-4777.
Jim Porter, NMLS No. 276412, is the branch manager of Solano Mortgage, NMLS No. 1515497, a division of American Pacific Mortgage Corporation, NMLS No. 1850, licensed in California by the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation under the CRMLA / Equal Housing Opportunity. Jim can be reached at 707-449-4777.
