Redwood Valley, CA Real Estate & Homes for Sale
By Matthew Martinez, Founder, CEO & Managing Broker, Diamond Real Estate Group. California DRE #01869679.
Redwood Valley is an unincorporated community in Mendocino County, California, north of Ukiah and Calpella off US-101, with rural homes, vineyard parcels and houses on district water or private wells. Redfin put the median sale price for its ZIP code, 95470, at $619,818 for the three months to September 2026. Two things shape most purchases here: the October 2017 fire, which destroyed hundreds of structures in and around the valley, and a water supply that leans on Lake Mendocino and private wells.
- County
- Mendocino County
- Government
- Unincorporated (county rules)
- ZIP code
- 95470
- Median sale price
- $619,818 (3 months to Sep 2026, Redfin)
- Water
- Redwood Valley County Water District or private well
- Wine appellation
- Redwood Valley AVA (1996)
Redwood Valley homes for sale
Current Redwood Valley listings are below. Because the valley has few sales, it helps to watch Calpella, Potter Valley and Ukiah as well through our property search, filtered by acreage and water source.
What do homes in Redwood Valley sell for?
$619,818
3 months to September 2026, Redfin
51
September 2026, Redfin
93.6%
September 2026, Redfin
Redfin’s figures for ZIP 95470 rest on very few sales: six homes in its September 2026 count. That is enough to show the direction, not to price a particular house. The median was 7.8% higher than a year earlier, no home sold above its asking price, and the typical sale closed at 93.6% of list, so buyers here have had room to negotiate. The jump in price per square foot, up 43.7% to $401, mostly reflects which homes happened to sell.
| Measure | Figure | Period and source |
|---|---|---|
| Median sale price, ZIP 95470 | $619,818 (up 7.8% year over year) | 3 months to September 2026, Redfin (its calculation from MLS and public records) |
| Homes sold | 6 | September 2026, Redfin |
| Median days on market | 51 (90 fewer than a year earlier) | September 2026, Redfin |
| Median price per square foot | $401 (up 43.7%) | September 2026, Redfin |
| Sold above list price | 0% | September 2026, Redfin |
| Ukiah ZIP 95482 median, for comparison | $538,267 | August 2026, Redfin |
| Mendocino County median | $480,000 (up 1.4% year over year) | September 2026, C.A.R. |
Match Redwood Valley comparables on lot size, rebuild status and water source, not just price.
The 2017 Redwood Valley Fire and the rebuild
The Redwood Valley Fire started at 11:36 p.m. on October 8, 2017, in an area CAL FIRE describes as north of Highway 20 and west of the Mendocino National Forest. By the time it was contained on February 9, 2018, it had burned 36,523 acres, destroyed 543 structures, damaged 41 more and killed nine people (CAL FIRE). The Mendocino Voice reported in 2020 that all nine deaths were in Redwood Valley.
By the county’s count, quoted by the Mendocino Voice on the sixth anniversary, the fire destroyed nearly 350 homes and forced about 8,000 residents to evacuate. It began in northeastern Potter Valley on October 8 and merged with a fire that started in Redwood Valley the next day (Mendocino Voice, October 2023). We haven’t found a published count of how many homes have been rebuilt since, so the permit file for each house is the record to rely on.
What to ask on a rebuilt or burn-area home
- Permits and finals: ask for the county building permit, the final inspection and the plans.
- The well and septic: fire can damage well pumps, wiring and tanks, and heavy equipment can damage leach fields; get replacement records or test them.
- Fire zone and insurance: check the parcel on the state’s Fire Hazard Severity Zone map. In a High or Very High zone, AB 38 requires the seller to provide a defensible-space inspection report or the buyer to agree in writing to do the work within a year of closing. Start insurance quotes as soon as your offer is accepted.
- Vacant lots: if you’re buying a lot that burned, confirm debris removal, any soil testing and whether the old well and septic permits can still be used.
Water: the Redwood Valley County Water District and private wells
Homes in Redwood Valley get domestic water either from the Redwood Valley County Water District (RVCWD) or from a private well, and the two carry different risks.
The district’s supply comes, at the end of a chain, from Lake Mendocino. The Russian River Flood Control and Water Conservation Improvement District holds a state permit for 7,940 acre-feet a year from the lake, and under a Mendocino County Superior Court judgment (No. 42059) it sells RVCWD surplus water: water not put to use within the flood control district itself. In a dry year that surplus can vanish. A September 12, 2022 staff report shows how: the flood control district had declared that no surplus water was available (Declaration #21-03), RVCWD was holding household use to 55 gallons per person per day because of the limited size of its intertie with the Millview County Water District, and the flood control board was asked to approve a one-time emergency agreement selling RVCWD up to 400 acre-feet at $47 an acre-foot through December 31, 2022 (flood control district staff report). The year before, in April 2021, RVCWD had shut off all of its roughly 200 agricultural connections.
Lake Mendocino also receives Eel River water diverted through PG&E’s Potter Valley Project, and the flood control district cited PG&E’s sharp cuts to those diversions as one cause of the 2022 shortfall. PG&E has since applied to decommission the project; our Potter Valley page follows where that stands.
The district has been in a long-running supply squeeze. In June 2022 the Mendocino County Grand Jury titled its report on it “Redwood Valley County Water District: 48 Years of Water Insecurity”. The district had 1,130 connections at the time and had stopped accepting new agricultural and domestic connections in 2001 because of limited water. The report’s history starts in 1956, when Redwood Valley voters chose not to join the Coyote Valley Dam project and were left out of the county’s 8,000 acre-foot annual allotment. The district also owed about $6.85 million to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Mendocino Voice).
The Grand Jury recommended consolidation, and the general manager quoted in the 2022 coverage backed a regional plan with the City of Ukiah and the Upper Russian River Water Agency, estimated then at about $41.5 million. We haven’t confirmed what has changed since 2022.
If a house relies on a district connection, confirm with RVCWD that the connection is active and transferable before you remove contingencies. If the 2001 moratorium still holds, as it did in 2022, a vacant lot without a connection may not be able to get one, and a well is then the only option.
Wells
On a parcel without a district connection, a private well is the water supply. Mendocino County Environmental Health permits wells, and after the state’s 2022 and 2023 drought executive orders it and the Ukiah Valley Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency began revising that permitting process (groundwater agency newsletter, fall 2023), so allow time for a new or replacement well. Before you buy, get the well completion report, a recent flow test and a water-quality test, and ask the seller in writing whether the well ran low, was deepened or was replaced during the 2021–2022 drought or after the fire.
County rules that apply in Redwood Valley
Redwood Valley isn’t part of the City of Ukiah. Mendocino County’s Planning and Building Services department issues its building, septic and use permits under the inland zoning code, and the county, not the city, collects its taxes.
- Transfer tax: the county documentary transfer tax of $1.10 per $1,000 applies on its own, since city transfer taxes stop at city limits.
- Short-term stays: stays of 30 days or less owe the county’s 10% transient occupancy tax and a 1% lodging business improvement assessment. Renting up to two rooms to guests is an accessory use; a parcel without frontage on a publicly maintained road needs a use permit for it.
- Accessory dwelling units: inland ADUs and junior ADUs follow county code chapter 20.166.
The Mendocino County guide explains these county-wide rules in more detail.
The Redwood Valley AVA and vineyard land
Redwood Valley has its own federal wine appellation. The Redwood Valley AVA was established on December 23, 1996 (T.D. ATF-386) and its boundary was amended in 2014 (27 CFR §9.153). The regulation places it in the east-central interior of Mendocino County and traces the boundary from the East Fork of the Russian River along creeks, a 1,400-foot contour near Bakers Creek, Reeves Canyon Road and North State Street north of Calpella, closing on Highway 20.
For a vineyard buyer, the water questions above apply twice over: ask whether the vines are irrigated from a well, a pond, a creek diversion or district water, and get the water-right paperwork for anything other than a well. Our guides to buying a vineyard and the wider vineyard market cover contracts, valuation and due diligence.
Getting around and daily life
Redwood Valley is reached from US-101 north of Calpella, with Ukiah to the south and Willits to the north. The Mendocino Transit Authority lists its weekday Willits–Ukiah Route 20 under “Willits / Redwood Valley”; check the route’s stop list for the nearest stop (MTA). None of the county’s 12 public school districts is named for Redwood Valley (Mendocino County Office of Education), so confirm the district for an address. County offices, the courts and Mendocino College are in Ukiah.
Redwood Valley compared with nearby areas
| Area | Government | One verified difference |
|---|---|---|
| Redwood Valley | Unincorporated | RVCWD water (new connections paused since 2001, per the 2022 Grand Jury report) or wells; Redwood Valley AVA |
| Ukiah | Incorporated city, county seat | City-owned electric, water and sewer utility; half-rate city transfer tax |
| Potter Valley | Unincorporated | Irrigation from the Eel River diversion through PVID; Potter Valley AVA (1983) |
| Willits | Incorporated city | North on US-101; its own half-rate city transfer tax |
How Diamond Real Estate Group helps Redwood Valley buyers
In Redwood Valley we start with the water and the fire history. We confirm the RVCWD connection or the well’s log and recent flow test, pull the county permits for anything rebuilt after 2017, check the fire hazard zone and line up insurance quotes early, and make sure the septic system has a permit and an inspection. On vineyard parcels we add the water rights and any grape contracts.
For the wider buying process, see how we help buyers.
Selling a home in Redwood Valley
Redwood Valley has no city government, so a seller’s records come from Mendocino County: building permits from Planning and Building Services, and septic and well files from Environmental Health. Ukiah’s city tax and sewer rules stop at the city limit and don’t reach here.
Transfer tax
Only the county tax applies, at $0.55 per $500 of value; a $620,000 sale owes $682. Sellers usually pay it in Diamond’s North Bay markets, but it is a negotiable term. County code exempts a few transfers, such as property divisions in a divorce; our transfer tax guide explains the rest.
Records that matter most here
- Water source. If the house has a Redwood Valley County Water District connection, include the account history; new district connections have been restricted, as the water section above explains. On a well, hand over the county’s copy of the drilling log, requested by the owner from Environmental Health, plus recent yield and water-quality results.
- Rebuild permits. For a home rebuilt after the 2017 fire, collect the building permit, final inspection and any septic or well replacement permits.
- Septic file. The county’s septic chapter has no inspection tied to a sale, but buyers ask for the permit. A non-standard system needs a county operational permit to be used, so show that it is current.
- Fire zone. In a High or Very High zone, provide a defensible-space inspection from the six months before the sale, or sign an agreement that the buyer obtains one within a year of closing. Where CAL FIRE is the inspecting agency, requests go through its online defensible space portal; our AB 38 guide has the details.
Vineyard and farm parcels
A Williamson Act contract binds every later owner, so disclose it and give the buyer a copy. A county cannabis cultivation license is held by a person, not the land; it moves to a buyer only by an assignment the county approves in writing, and licenses on parcels under the ordinance’s sunset provision can’t be assigned at all.
State statements
Every sale also needs the written smoke alarm statement, the water heater bracing certification and the water-conserving fixture disclosure.
Start with a home valuation based on valley sales with the same water setup, and see our Mendocino County seller page for the wider county.
Sources for this section: Mendocino County Code (GoCodebook): Chapter 5.24, Real Property Transfer Tax; Mendocino County Code (GoCodebook): Chapter 16.08, On-Site Sewage Systems; Mendocino County Environmental Health: Land Use (on-site sewage and water wells); California Public Law: Government Code section 51243 (Williamson Act contracts); Mendocino County Code (GoCodebook): Chapter 10A.17, Mendocino Cannabis Cultivation Ordinance; 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 19211; California Public Law: Health and Safety Code section 13113.8; California Public Law: Civil Code section 1101.4.
Redwood Valley real estate FAQs
Is Redwood Valley part of Ukiah?
No. Redwood Valley is an unincorporated community with its own ZIP code, 95470, so county rules apply and Ukiah’s city transfer tax, utility and ordinances don’t.
Where is Redwood Valley in Mendocino County?
It lies north of Calpella and Ukiah, off US-101. The federal appellation named for it describes the area as the east-central interior of the county, with Highway 20 along part of its boundary.
Can I get a new water hookup from the Redwood Valley County Water District?
Not as of the 2022 Grand Jury report, which noted a moratorium on new agricultural and domestic connections dating from 2001. Ask RVCWD about the specific parcel, and plan on a well if the lot has no existing connection.
How much of Redwood Valley burned in 2017?
The Redwood Valley Fire burned 36,523 acres and destroyed 543 structures, including nearly 350 homes by the county’s count. Not every street burned, so check the specific parcel’s history.
How do I check a home rebuilt after the 2017 fire?
Ask for the county building permit, the final inspection and the plans, and confirm that the well and septic system were inspected or replaced. We haven’t found a published count of rebuilt homes, so each house’s permit file is the record to rely on.
Is Redwood Valley its own wine region?
Yes, since 1996, with a boundary amendment in 2014. Confirm a vineyard’s location against 27 CFR §9.153 rather than the listing.
Are there vineyards for sale in Redwood Valley?
Vineyard listings show up in our property search alongside homes and land. Before pricing one, we check its irrigation source and water rights, any grape contracts and whether it sits inside the AVA boundary.
Can I run a short-term rental in Redwood Valley?
Guests staying 30 days or less pay the county’s 10% lodging tax plus a 1% assessment, and the inland zoning code treats renting up to two rooms as an accessory use. On February 3, 2026 the supervisors discussed creating a short-term rental use type for the inland county and gave staff direction (Board agenda), but we found no adopted ordinance as of October 2026. Check with Planning and Building Services before you rely on rental income.
Who provides electricity in Redwood Valley?
Sonoma Clean Power is the default generation provider in unincorporated Mendocino County, and PG&E owns and maintains the lines. The City of Ukiah’s electric utility serves only inside the city.
Which school district serves Redwood Valley?
No district is named for Redwood Valley, so confirm the district for a specific address with the county office of education before you buy.
What should I check first on a Redwood Valley home?
Water first: an active RVCWD connection or a well, and how either held up in 2021 and 2022. Then the fire history and permits, the fire zone, an insurance quote and the septic permit.
Sources & notes
- Redfin: ZIP 95470 (September 2026) and ZIP 95482 (August 2026); C.A.R.: September 2026 sales and price report
- CAL FIRE: Redwood Valley Fire (Mendocino Lake Complex); Mendocino Voice anniversary coverage, 2020 and 2023
- Russian River Flood Control District: RVCWD water supply staff report (September 12, 2022) and the Potter Valley Project
- Mendocino Voice: supervisors respond to the RVCWD Grand Jury report (September 2022) and 2021 drought shut-off (April 15, 2021)
- Ukiah Valley Basin GSA newsletter (fall 2023)
- eCFR: 27 CFR §9.153, Redwood Valley viticultural area
- Mendocino County Code (GoCodebook copy): Ch. 5.24, Ch. 5.20, Ch. 20.164 and Division I; Board of Supervisors: inland short-term rental item (February 3, 2026) and county short-term rentals page (checked October 2026)
- Sonoma Clean Power: FAQ; State Fire Marshal: fire hazard maps and AB 38 guidance; MTA routes; county office of education
Figures carry their dates where they appear. This is general information, not legal, tax or insurance advice; confirm rules for a specific property with the agency named. Last reviewed October 2026 by Matthew Martinez.
Plan your next move
Share your preferred location, budget, property requirements and timing. We can help organize a focused search, arrange showings or discuss preparing a property for sale.
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.
