Willits, CA Real Estate & Homes for Sale
By Matthew Martinez, Founder, CEO & Managing Broker, Diamond Real Estate Group. California DRE #01869679.
Willits is an incorporated city of about 4,900 people in Little Lake Valley, northern Mendocino County, California, on US 101. Redfin put the September 2026 median sale price for ZIP 95490 at $365,643. The market mixes in-town houses on city water and sewer, the Brooktrails subdivision outside the city to the north-west, and rural parcels on wells and septic around the valley.
- County
- Mendocino County
- Government
- Incorporated city (since 1888)
- ZIP code
- 95490
- Population
- 4,920 (Census ACS 2020–2024)
- Median sale price
- $365,643, ZIP 95490 (Sept 2026, Redfin)
- School district
- Willits Unified
Willits homes for sale
Current MLS listings in Willits and ZIP 95490 appear below. To widen the search to Redwood Valley, Laytonville or Ukiah, or to filter for acreage and well water, use our Mendocino County property search.
What do homes in Willits sell for?
$365,643
September 2026, Redfin
68
3 months to September 2026, Redfin (104 a year earlier)
97.5%
September 2026, Redfin
Willits sells well below the county level. Redfin’s September 2026 median for ZIP 95490 was $365,643, up 5.2% on a year earlier, while the Mendocino County median that month was $480,000 (C.A.R.). Redfin counted 31 sales in September against 42 a year before; by its measure the average home sold about 3% under its asking price and went under contract in about 71 days (Redfin).
The ZIP code reaches well beyond the 2.8-square-mile city, so one median blends in-town houses with Brooktrails homes and rural parcels. The Census Bureau’s 2020–2024 survey put the median value of owner-occupied homes inside the city at $371,100, close to Redfin’s sale figure. Price a specific house from sales of the same kind of property, on the same side of the city line.
| Measure | Figure | Period and source |
|---|---|---|
| Median sale price, ZIP 95490 | $365,643 (up 5.2% year over year) | September 2026, Redfin |
| Homes sold | 31 (42 a year earlier) | September 2026, Redfin |
| Median price per square foot | $260 (up 15.6%) | Redfin, accessed October 2026 |
| Days on market | 68 (104 a year earlier) | 3 months to September 2026, Redfin |
| Median value of owner-occupied homes, City of Willits | $371,100 (±$58,798) | 2020–2024 ACS, Census Reporter |
| Mendocino County median sale price | $480,000 (up 1.4% year over year) | September 2026, C.A.R. |
City limits, Brooktrails and county land
A Willits mailing address can sit under two different governments. The City of Willits, incorporated on November 19, 1888, covers about 2.8 square miles, including two separate islands of city land at the airport and the water treatment plant (Mendocino LAFCo, 2019). Everything outside that line, including Brooktrails and the rest of Little Lake Valley, follows Mendocino County’s inland zoning code and county permits.
- Transfer tax: the county tax is $1.10 per $1,000 of value. Inside the city, Willits levies $0.275 per $500, or $0.55 per $1,000, under an ordinance adopted under the state transfer-tax law (Revenue and Taxation Code Part 6.7) and administered by the county recorder (Municipal Code Chapter 3.20). For a conforming city tax at half the county rate, state law requires the county to credit the city tax against its own and to allocate half of the tax to the city (Revenue and Taxation Code §11931; County Code §5.24.030), so a sale inside city limits still totals $1.10 per $1,000, split between city and county. Outside city limits only the county tax applies. Your escrow officer confirms the figures on the closing statement.
- Short stays: rentals of 30 days or less pay transient occupancy tax. Outside the city that is the county’s 10% plus a 1% lodging assessment. Inside the city the City of Willits collects its own tax, so confirm the current city rate with City Hall before you budget for rental income.
- Fire service: the Little Lake Fire Protection District protects the city, and the Brooktrails services district provides fire protection and emergency medical service in the township.
- Electricity: Sonoma Clean Power is the default generation supplier everywhere in the county except Ukiah, and PG&E owns the lines and restores outages.
Brooktrails Township
Brooktrails is not part of the city. It lies about a mile north-west of town, and its 4,943-acre township holds roughly 6,600 parcels from an original subdivision of 6,605 lots, only about a third of the way to the build-out its specific plan allows (Mendocino LAFCo, 2019). The county even has a separate chapter of its zoning code for development review in Brooktrails (Chapter 20.232).
The Brooktrails Township Community Services District supplies water (its water facilities include a treatment plant, Lake Emily and Lake Ada Rose), collects sewage that the City of Willits treats under an agreement, and provides fire protection, emergency medical service and parks. Three points matter to a buyer:
- Water connections: a state moratorium on new water connections was lifted effective December 3, 2017, but LAFCo’s 2019 review still described water supply as a constraint. Before buying a vacant lot, ask the district whether a connection is available and what it costs.
- One road in: Sherwood Road is the township’s only access, a narrow two-lane road with no shoulders carrying about 10,000 trips a day against a design capacity of 2,500. LAFCo’s 2019 review said a second access road is considered necessary.
- Fire history: the 2020 Oak Fire started inside Brooktrails Township (see below).
What the Highway 101 bypass changed
Until 2016, US 101 ran along Main Street, so through traffic on the highway shared downtown Willits with local trips. The Willits Bypass opened in early November 2016 and moved about six miles of the highway to the city’s eastern edge, with interchanges at Haehl Creek and Quail Meadows (ABC7, November 5, 2016; Mendocino LAFCo). ABC7 put the cost at $300 million. Caltrans’s award entry describes 15 lane miles of new highway, 15 bridges and three retaining walls crossing an environmentally sensitive floodway and wetlands, including a 1.1-mile viaduct over the floodway (America’s Transportation Awards, Caltrans entry).
For buyers, that means downtown and Main Street now carry local traffic rather than the through route, while homes near the new alignment on the east side sit closer to the highway. In 2019 Caltrans and the city were working to hand Main Street over to city control, so ask the city who maintains the street in front of a downtown property.
Where Willits water comes from
Willits operates its own municipal water system. It bought the Little Lake Water Company in 1983, with a watershed of about 3,136 acres that includes Morris Lake and its dam, and it also serves 437 connections outside city limits (Mendocino LAFCo, 2019). In 1988 the city filed a negative declaration, an environmental review document, for a proposed Centennial Dam and Reservoir, to “construct a state size dam for the purpose of storing water to supply the City of Willits” (CEQAnet); the filing doesn’t show whether the dam was built. Alongside the Morris Lake supply the city has a groundwater system: the Elias replacement well, the Long 20 well and a groundwater treatment plant. A project reviewed in 2021 would add a 250,000-gallon clear well, new water line and arsenic pilot testing on the Long 20 well (CEQAnet, SCH 2020120527).
- In town: confirm the water and sewer accounts with the city, and look up the parcel on the FEMA flood map, especially on the valley floor, where the bypass needed a 1.1-mile viaduct to cross the floodway.
- Brooktrails: water and sewer come from the services district, as above.
- Rural parcels: expect a private well and a septic system permitted by Mendocino County Environmental Health. Ask for the well completion report, a recent flow test and water-quality results, and the septic permit and any repair records (County Environmental Health).
Fire history and insurance around Willits
The recent fire to know about here is the 2020 Oak Fire. It started on September 7, 2020, west of Highway 101 near Big John Road and Skyview Road in Brooktrails Township, burned 1,100 acres and destroyed 56 structures (CAL FIRE). With one road in and out, Brooktrails buyers should look hard at defensible space, roofing, vents and evacuation routes.
Get homeowners insurance quotes in the first days of escrow, before your inspection contingency runs out. In fire-exposed areas such as Brooktrails, the cost and availability of a policy can decide whether a purchase works.
- Fire Hazard Severity Zone: look up the parcel on the State Fire Marshal’s viewer. The maps for state-responsibility land took effect April 1, 2024, and recommended maps for local-responsibility land, which includes cities, were released in 2025 (OSFM).
- At sale: in a High or Very High zone, the seller provides a defensible-space inspection report from the last six months, or buyer and seller agree in writing that the buyer will bring the property into compliance within a year of closing (AB 38; State Fire Marshal guidance).
- Disclosures: the Natural Hazard Disclosure Statement reports whether the parcel lies in a FEMA flood zone, a fire hazard zone, a dam inundation area or a mapped earthquake hazard area (Civil Code §1103.2). It reports map lines only and doesn’t replace inspections.
Getting around from Willits
US 101 runs north toward Laytonville and south toward Ukiah and Santa Rosa. Mendocino Transit Authority runs three routes here: Route 65 CC Rider, seven days a week between Fort Bragg, Willits, Ukiah and Santa Rosa; Route 20 between Willits, Mendocino Community College and Ukiah on weekdays; and Route 1, local service within Willits (MTA). The schedule lists no stops in Brooktrails.
The Skunk Train’s Willits depot, at 299 East Commercial Street, is the eastern end of the California Western Railroad, which also carries freight between Willits and Fort Bragg. From Willits the railroad runs excursions rather than commuter service, such as the seasonal 16-mile, two-hour Wolf Tree Turn over the highest point of the line (Skunk Train).
Schools and daily life in Willits
Public schools are run by the Willits Unified School District, whose office is at 1277 Blosser Lane (Mendocino County Office of Education). School boundaries don’t always follow neighborhood lines, so check the assignment for a specific address with the district office. Main Street, the old highway route, runs through the center of town, the city sits at the edge of Jackson State Forest, and the airport is one of two detached pieces of city land. The ACS estimates 2,319 housing units in the city, with about 2.2 people per household.
Willits compared with nearby areas
| Area | Government | One verified difference |
|---|---|---|
| Willits | Incorporated city | City water from Morris Lake and wells; $0.55 per $1,000 city transfer tax; ZIP 95490 median $365,643 (September 2026, Redfin) |
| Ukiah | Incorporated city | Runs its own electric utility instead of Sonoma Clean Power; 10% city lodging tax |
| Redwood Valley | Unincorporated, county rules | Has its own federal wine appellation, the Redwood Valley AVA |
| Laytonville | Unincorporated, county rules | No public sewer, so homes use septic; ZIP 95454 median about $349,000 (3 months to September 2026, Redfin) |
| Covelo | Unincorporated, county and tribal land | On State Route 162; about a third of the land in the Round Valley water district belongs to the Round Valley Indian Tribes |
| Fort Bragg | Incorporated city on the coast | 14% lodging tax from April 2025; Skunk Train rides also leave from Fort Bragg |
How Diamond Real Estate Group helps Willits buyers
The first thing we settle on a Willits purchase is which side of the city line the parcel is on, because that decides who supplies the water, which taxes and rental rules apply and which office holds the permits. From there the homework follows the property.
- In-town homes: we pull the city permit history, confirm water and sewer service and check the flood map for the lower parts of the valley.
- Brooktrails lots and homes: we ask the district about connection availability and fees, review the parcel against the Oak Fire area and its fire zone, and line up insurance quotes early.
- Acreage in the valley and hills: we order the well records and a flow test, request the county septic file and check the road and recorded easements.
Own in Willits and weighing a sale? Start with a home valuation. Investors weighing rentals here can read our investor services, and our Mendocino County real estate guide covers the rest of the county. For how a purchase runs from offer to keys, see the buying process.
Selling a home in Willits
Unlike Ukiah and Fort Bragg, Willits lists a change of ownership among the triggers for a city sewer inspection. That rule, like the city transfer tax, applies only inside the city limits; Brooktrails and the rural parts of Little Lake Valley are county territory with county permit, septic and well records.
Sewer lateral inspection on a change of ownership
Chapter 13.17 of the Willits Municipal Code, adopted in February 2018, lists a change of ownership, as defined in Revenue and Taxation Code section 62, among the events that require the private side sewer to be inspected and tested. Transfers that don’t count as a change of ownership for property tax purposes are not a trigger. The test is a TV inspection, an exfiltration test or another city-approved method, run by a licensed plumber or contractor with a city witness. The city also checks for a working backflow valve and cleanout, and issues a certificate of compliance once the lateral passes.
You may not need a new test. The code allows a certificate without one when the building is ten years old or less, or the lateral was repaired or replaced and passed within the last ten years; both need a compliant cleanout and backflow valve. A lateral that passed inspection in the past five years also qualifies. Repairs are the owner’s cost. The chapter sets no deadline tied to a sale, so ask the city at listing whether testing must be done before close of escrow. Our point-of-sale requirements guide compares rules like this one.
Transfer tax
Chapter 3.20 sets the city tax at $0.275 per $500, collected by the county recorder. Because county code credits a half-rate city tax, a sale in town still pays $0.55 per $500 in total: $440 on a $400,000 home, half of it the city’s. A Brooktrails sale pays the same amount, all to the county. Sellers customarily pay in Diamond’s North Bay markets, but it’s negotiable; see our transfer tax explainer.
State items
- Smoke alarm compliance statement and water heater bracing certification, both in writing.
- Disclosure of any fixtures that are not water-conserving.
- In a High or Very High fire hazard zone, AB 38 defensible-space documentation from the six months before the sale, or a buyer agreement to obtain it within a year.
What buyers ask for
In town, expect requests for the lateral certificate, water and sewer billing history and finaled permits. On acreage, buyers want the county septic permit file, the well completion report (Environmental Health has an owner request form) and a recent flow test.
Our seller services page explains how we prepare a Willits listing around these documents.
Sources for this section: Willits Municipal Code (GoCodebook): Chapter 13.17, Sewer Lateral Inspection Program; Willits Municipal Code (GoCodebook): Chapter 3.20, Real Property Transfer Tax; Mendocino County Code (GoCodebook): Chapter 5.24, Real Property Transfer Tax; Mendocino County Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder: County Recorder; Mendocino County Environmental Health: Land Use (on-site sewage and water wells); CAL FIRE Office of the State Fire Marshal: Information Bulletin 21-007, defensible space inspections in real estate transactions (2021); Justia: California Civil Code section 1102.19; California Public Law: Health and Safety Code section 13113.8; California Public Law: Health and Safety Code section 19211; California Public Law: Civil Code section 1101.4.
Willits real estate FAQs
Is Willits an incorporated city?
Yes. Willits incorporated on November 19, 1888, as a general law city and covers about 2.8 square miles. Neighborhoods outside its limits, including Brooktrails, are governed by Mendocino County.
What is the population of Willits, CA?
The Census Bureau’s 2020–2024 American Community Survey estimates 4,920 residents in the City of Willits. That figure covers only the city, not Brooktrails or the rest of the valley.
How much do homes cost in Willits?
Redfin’s median sale price for ZIP 95490 was $365,643 in September 2026, up 5.2% from a year earlier, and homes took about 68 days to sell. That is well under the county’s $480,000 median for the same month (C.A.R.).
Is Brooktrails part of the City of Willits?
No. Brooktrails Township lies about a mile north-west of the city and has its own community services district for water, sewer collection, fire and parks. Zoning and building permits there come from Mendocino County, which has a dedicated Brooktrails development review chapter in its zoning code.
When did the Willits bypass open?
Early November 2016. It moved about six miles of US 101 to the city’s eastern edge, with interchanges at Haehl Creek and Quail Meadows, so through traffic no longer uses Main Street.
Does Willits have a city transfer tax?
Yes, for property inside city limits: $0.275 per $500, or $0.55 per $1,000, under Municipal Code Chapter 3.20. State law credits a conforming half-rate city tax against the county’s $1.10 per $1,000 (Revenue and Taxation Code §11931), so the total on a sale inside the city is still $1.10 per $1,000, half to the city and half to the county. Brooktrails and other county addresses pay only the county tax.
Can I rent out a Willits home to short-term guests?
Stays of 30 days or less are taxed. Outside the city, the county charges 10% transient occupancy tax plus a 1% lodging assessment, and the inland zoning code treats “room and board” for up to two rooms as an accessory use. On February 3, 2026 the county supervisors gave staff direction on a new short-term rental use type for the inland county, but we found no adopted ordinance as of October 2026, so confirm the rules for Brooktrails and other county parcels with Planning and Building Services. Inside the city, check the City of Willits’ zoning and its own lodging tax rate with City Hall.
Where does Willits get its water?
Inside the city, from the City of Willits system, which owns the Morris Lake watershed bought in 1983 and also runs groundwater wells with a treatment plant. Brooktrails is served by its own district’s water treatment plant, and rural parcels use private wells.
Did the Oak Fire reach Brooktrails?
It started there. CAL FIRE records the Oak Fire’s origin west of Highway 101 at Big John Road and Skyview Road in Brooktrails Township on September 7, 2020; it burned 1,100 acres and destroyed 56 structures. Ask whether a Brooktrails home was rebuilt or repaired afterward and see the permits.
Which school district serves Willits?
The Willits Unified School District, based at 1277 Blosser Lane. Its office can tell you which campuses serve a particular street.
Can I get from Willits to Ukiah or Fort Bragg without a car?
Yes, by bus. Mendocino Transit Authority Route 20 links Willits, Mendocino Community College and Ukiah on weekdays, and Route 65 runs daily between Fort Bragg, Willits, Ukiah and Santa Rosa. There is no listed service into Brooktrails.
Does the Skunk Train leave from Willits?
Yes. The depot is at 299 East Commercial Street, and seasonal excursions such as the Wolf Tree Turn, a 16-mile round trip of about two hours, start there. They are scenic rides, not a commuter service to Fort Bragg.
Sources & notes
- Redfin: ZIP 95490 housing market (September 2026) and C.A.R.: September 2026 sales and price report
- Census Reporter: Willits, CA (ACS 2020–2024)
- Mendocino LAFCo: City of Willits service review (2019) and Brooktrails Township CSD service review (2019)
- CEQAnet: City of Willits Groundwater Resiliency Improvements Project (2021)
- ABC7: Willits Bypass opens (November 5, 2016) and America’s Transportation Awards: Caltrans Willits Bypass (2017)
- CAL FIRE: Oak Fire (2020) and Office of the State Fire Marshal: Fire Hazard Severity Zones
- Mendocino Transit Authority: maps and schedules, Skunk Train and Mendocino County Office of Education: district directory
- Mendocino County Environmental Health: septic systems and water wells and Planning and Building Services: Short Term Rentals (Inland)
- California Revenue and Taxation Code §11931 (credit for city transfer taxes)
- Willits Municipal Code Chapter 3.20 and Mendocino County Code Chapter 5.24 (transfer taxes; third-party code copies) and County Zoning Code Division I
Figures carry their dates where they appear, and we refresh market numbers every quarter. This is general information, not legal, tax or insurance advice; confirm the rules for a specific property with the agency named. Last reviewed October 2026 by Matthew Martinez.
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Local resource: Mendocino County planning resources. Check official information for the address you are considering; area descriptions do not establish a property’s permitted uses.
