Rio Vista, CA Real Estate & Homes for Sale
By Matthew Martinez, Founder, CEO & Managing Broker, Diamond Real Estate Group. California DRE #01869679.
Rio Vista is an incorporated city of about 10,500 people on the west bank of the Sacramento River, at the eastern edge of Solano County in the Delta. Redfin’s latest median sale price was $424,769, for the three months to June 2026, well below the county’s $580,000. Homes range from the streets near City Hall on Main Street to Trilogy at Rio Vista, an age-restricted community, and most purchases turn on flood zones, levees and the Highway 12 commute.
- County
- Solano County
- Government
- Incorporated city (since 1893)
- Population
- 10,523 (July 2025 Census estimate)
- Median sale price
- $424,769 (3 months to Jun 2026, Redfin)
- Transfer tax
- $1.10 per $1,000 (county only)
- Hotel and rental tax
- 10% (city TOT)
- School district
- River Delta Unified
Rio Vista homes for sale
Current MLS listings in Rio Vista appear below, including homes in Trilogy and elsewhere in the city. To compare them with homes in Fairfield or Suisun City along Highway 12, use our property search.
What do homes in Rio Vista sell for?
$424,769
Three months to June 2026, Redfin
$261
Three months to June 2026, Redfin
74
Three months to June 2026, Redfin
Rio Vista sells for less, and more slowly, than Vallejo and the other cities closer to the Bay. Its median of $424,769 was 7.7% lower than a year earlier and below Vallejo’s $510,000 for the three months to August; homes took a median of 74 days to go under contract, against 42 in Vallejo, and almost 40% of listings had a price cut. Only about a fifth sold above their asking price. By comparison, the Solano County median from the California Association of REALTORS (C.A.R.) was $580,000 in September 2026, and Sacramento County’s was $555,000.
Two cautions. Redfin was still showing June 2026 as its latest Rio Vista period in late October, so the figures are older than those for larger cities. And Rio Vista’s sales mix one large community, Trilogy, with the rest of town, so a citywide median says little about either. Price a home from sales in the same part of the city.
| Measure | Figure | Period and source |
|---|---|---|
| Median sale price | $424,769 (down 7.7% year over year) | Three months to June 2026, Redfin |
| Median price per square foot | $261 (down 5.3%) | Three months to June 2026, Redfin |
| Homes sold | 63 (70 a year earlier) | June 2026, Redfin |
| Median days on market | 74 (66 a year earlier) | Three months to June 2026, Redfin |
| Sale-to-list ratio | 98.2%; 21.0% sold above list | June 2026, Redfin |
| Median value, owner-occupied homes | $489,700 | 2020–2024, U.S. Census Bureau (ACS) |
| Owner-occupied share of homes | 83.9% | 2020–2024, U.S. Census Bureau (ACS) |
| Solano County median, for comparison | $580,000 | September 2026, C.A.R. |
The Census survey median of $489,700 sits above Redfin’s sale median, a sign that recent sales have come in below what owners estimated over the five-year survey. Rio Vista’s owner-occupancy rate, 83.9%, is also far above the county’s 63.0%.
Flood zones, levees and the Sacramento River
Flood risk is the first question on almost any Rio Vista home. The city sits on the Sacramento River in the Delta, and its municipal code has its own Flood Hazard Protection chapter (15.16) and an F-W Floodway zoning district (chapter 17.34).
The city has studied its exposure directly. In September 2017 it filed a state environmental notice for a Flood Control Feasibility Study to evaluate ways to reduce flood risk to Rio Vista along the west bank of the Sacramento River, from Marina Creek to the Mellin Levee (State Clearinghouse). First Street’s model, shown on Redfin, puts about 2% of the city’s properties at risk of severe flooding over 30 years. That’s a model estimate, not a FEMA designation, so it doesn’t replace a parcel lookup.
Before you remove contingencies, look up the parcel on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center, ask the seller for any elevation certificate and past flood-insurance claims, and get a flood-insurance quote. A home in a FEMA special flood hazard area with a federally backed mortgage must carry flood insurance.
The Natural Hazard Disclosure Statement will tell you whether the home is in a FEMA flood zone or a dam-inundation area (Civil Code §1103.2), but it doesn’t describe the levee that protects it. Ask which agency maintains the nearest levee and whether any assessment for levee work appears on the property tax bill.
Fire and heat are the other hazards to check. The same First Street model rates nearly every Rio Vista property as having some wildfire risk and 84% as facing major heat exposure. Check the State Fire Marshal’s Fire Hazard Severity Zone viewers for the parcel (state-area maps took effect April 1, 2024; city maps followed in 2025); in a High or Very High zone, AB 38 requires the seller to provide a recent defensible-space inspection or an agreement that you’ll complete the work after closing.
Trilogy at Rio Vista and how 55+ communities work
Trilogy at Rio Vista is an age-restricted 55+ community of single-family homes, and Redfin tracks it as its own neighborhood, “The Trilogy”. According to 55places, a directory of 55+ communities, building began in 1996 under the name Summerset at Rio Vista, Shea Homes took over the development in 1999, and the plan calls for around 3,000 homes at completion, with an 18-hole golf course and two clubhouses, the Delta Club and the Vista Club (55places). Buying there means buying into occupancy rules that come from federal and state law and from the community’s own recorded documents.
- Federal rule (HOPA): the Housing for Older Persons Act lets a community limit occupancy by age if at least 80% of its occupied units have at least one resident 55 or older, it publishes policies showing that intent, and it verifies ages (24 CFR 100.305).
- California rule: under Civil Code §51.3, a senior citizen housing development has at least 35 units, and its age covenant can require no more than one resident 55 or older in each home. The statute also recognizes a “qualified permanent resident”: someone living with the qualifying resident who is 45 or older, or is a spouse, cohabitant or primary supporter (Civil Code §51.3).
- The community’s documents: the CC&Rs and rules set the details, including who may stay as a guest and for how long, and whether homes may be rented. Read them, the current HOA dues, the budget and the reserve study before you remove contingencies.
Getting around: Highway 12 and the Rio Vista Bridge
State Route 12 is Rio Vista’s link to everything. It runs west to Fairfield and Interstate 80 and east to Lodi, crossing the Sacramento River on the Helen Madere Memorial Bridge, known locally as the Rio Vista Bridge. Caltrans budgeted $11.2 million to rehabilitate it, with a new deck overlay, bridge rails, approach slabs and an accessible ramp, on a schedule set for July 2024 to December 2025 (Caltrans). The truss section has less than 15 feet 6 inches of vertical clearance, so tall vehicles need to plan their route.
| From Rio Vista to | Distance (city figures) |
|---|---|
| Interstate 5 at SR 12 | 17 miles |
| Interstate 80 at SR 12 | 25 miles |
| Amtrak at Suisun City | 22 miles |
| Sacramento International Airport | 50 miles |
| Oakland International Airport | 60 miles |
| San Francisco International Airport | 75 miles |
Source: City of Rio Vista. The city’s own airport, Rio Vista Municipal, has a 4,200-foot runway, and Delta Breeze Transit runs a paratransit bus to nearby cities. Residents’ mean commute was 40.3 minutes for 2020 to 2024 (Census), against 31.0 minutes countywide.
The wind turbines in the Montezuma Hills
The Montezuma Hills southwest of town lie in what environmental filings call the Solano County Wind Resource Area. One example is the Sacramento Municipal Utility District’s Solano 4 Wind Project, a 91-megawatt project on 2,549 acres off Montezuma Hills Road and Toland Lane, southwest of Rio Vista; a 2022 addendum to its environmental report switched its construction water from the City of Rio Vista to two new wells on site (State Clearinghouse).
For a buyer, the wind area matters mainly on rural land. If you’re considering acreage outside the city, ask whether the parcel or its neighbors carry wind leases or easements on the title report, and read the county’s planning notices for nearby projects.
Growth and what’s planned around Rio Vista
The city says it is about 25% developed and that land it annexed in the 1990s leaves room for growth over the next 15 to 20 years (City of Rio Vista). The city describes its area as about 7.5 square miles; the Census Bureau counts 6.60 square miles of land.
The largest proposal nearby is California Forever’s. Its 2024 ballot initiative for a new city between Fairfield and Rio Vista was withdrawn on July 22, 2024 and never went to voters. The company is now pursuing annexation of about 22,000 acres to Suisun City, with a draft environmental report expected in fall 2026, and in August 2026 county supervisors voted 3–2 to postpone approving a state bill, backed by the company, for shipbuilding at Collinsville, in the same southern part of the county. Our Solano County real estate guide follows the project.
Taxes and rules that apply in Rio Vista
- Transfer tax: only the county’s $1.10 per $1,000. Rio Vista’s own transfer tax is the standard half share that the county credits, so it adds nothing. On a $425,000 sale that’s about $468, customarily paid by the seller in Solano County.
- Hotel and rental tax: the city’s transient occupancy tax (TOT) is 10%, in effect since December 1, 2006, and the Finance Department issues a Transient Occupancy Certificate. We found no separate short-term rental chapter in the city’s code, so confirm with the city before you rent a home by the night.
- Rent rules: no local rent control; California’s AB 1482 applies to covered units. Our investor services cover rental math.
- Airport area: the county’s Airport Land Use Commission keeps a 2024 compatibility plan for Rio Vista Municipal Airport, which can limit what’s built near the runway.
Rio Vista compared with nearby areas
| Area | Government | One verified difference |
|---|---|---|
| Rio Vista | City, Solano County | Median $424,769 (3 months to June 2026, Redfin); TOT 10%; on SR 12 at the river |
| Fairfield | City, Solano County | Where SR 12 meets I-80; TOT 12%; Fairfield-Vacaville Hannigan Capitol Corridor station |
| Suisun City | City, Solano County | Suisun-Fairfield Amtrak station, 22 miles from Rio Vista; proposed California Forever annexation |
| Vacaville | City, Solano County | On I-80; TOT 8% |
| Contra Costa County | Across the river to the south | C.A.R. county median of $870,000 in September 2026, half again Solano’s |
How Diamond Real Estate Group helps Rio Vista buyers
A Rio Vista purchase is mostly due diligence on water and roads. We check the FEMA zone and flood-insurance cost before you’re committed, ask for the elevation certificate, read Trilogy’s CC&Rs and HOA reserves when the home is there, look at title for easements on rural land, and price the home from sales in the same part of town rather than from a citywide median.
- Real estate agents in Solano County: our disclosed guide, with licenses linked.
- Selling a home before you buy and a private home valuation.
- Our buyer services across the North Bay and Delta.
Selling a home in Rio Vista
Rio Vista is an incorporated city on the Sacramento River, so permits and floodplain building records for a house in town are City of Rio Vista files. Rural land in the Montezuma Hills or along the Delta sloughs is Solano County jurisdiction, with county permits and its own title questions.
Transfer tax
Only the county documentary transfer tax applies: $0.55 per $500, which is $467.50 on a $425,000 sale. Old Republic Title lists no Rio Vista city tax and shows the seller as the customary payer in Solano County, although the contract can assign it differently. Our transfer tax guide walks through it.
Flood records come first
In a Delta river town, the natural hazard disclosure report is usually the document buyers read first. It states whether the home lies in a FEMA special flood hazard area or a dam inundation zone. Before listing, find any elevation certificate, your flood insurance declarations and records of past water in the crawlspace or garage, since lenders and insurers will ask.
The airport notice
The county Airport Land Use Commission maintains a compatibility plan for Rio Vista Municipal Airport. In August 2024 the county filed an environmental notice for focused amendments to that plan, covering wildlife attractants and deed notice requirements. If the hazard report finds the home is in an airport influence area, it includes the statutory “Notice of Airport in Vicinity.”
State requirements to complete
- Written confirmation that smoke alarms meet state law.
- Certification that the water heater is anchored against earthquakes.
- A disclosure about any noncompliant plumbing fixtures.
- Where the fire zone is High or Very High, the AB 38 defensible-space step.
What Rio Vista buyers ask to see
In Trilogy, the age-restricted community, buyers expect the HOA’s governing documents, current dues, budget and reserve study early. On acreage, they look for wind-lease or easement entries on the preliminary title report.
To see how your home compares with recent sales in the same part of town, ask for a private home valuation.
Sources for this section: Old Republic Title: A Guide to Bay Area Counties, Closing Costs (January 2024); California Public Law: Civil Code section 1103.4; CEQAnet: TAFB and Rio Vista Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan Amendments (2024); Solano County: Airport Land Use Commission; 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; Justia: California Civil Code section 1102.19.
Rio Vista real estate FAQs
What’s the typical sale price in Rio Vista?
Redfin’s median sale price was $424,769 for the three months to June 2026, down 7.7% from a year earlier, at $261 per square foot. The Census survey median for owner-occupied homes was $489,700 for 2020 to 2024. Both are well below Solano County’s September 2026 median of $580,000 (C.A.R.).
Are Rio Vista homes in a FEMA flood zone?
The answer is parcel by parcel. The city’s code has a flood hazard chapter and a floodway zoning district, so check the address on FEMA’s flood map, read the Natural Hazard Disclosure Statement and ask for any elevation certificate.
Will my lender require flood insurance in Rio Vista?
If the home is in a FEMA special flood hazard area and you use a federally backed mortgage, yes. Outside those zones it’s optional; get a quote during your inspection period either way, because the price tells you how insurers see the parcel.
What is Trilogy at Rio Vista?
It’s an age-restricted 55+ community of single-family homes, begun in 1996 and developed by Shea Homes since 1999, planned for around 3,000 homes with a golf course and clubhouses. Occupancy follows the federal Housing for Older Persons Act, California Civil Code §51.3 and the community’s recorded CC&Rs, and homes there come with an HOA.
Who can live in a 55+ community like Trilogy?
Under federal rules, at least 80% of occupied homes must have a resident 55 or older. California law lets a senior community require one qualifying resident per home and also allows certain other permanent residents, such as a spouse or cohabitant. The community’s own rules on guests and rentals are in its CC&Rs.
How far is Rio Vista from Sacramento and the Bay Area?
By the city’s figures, Interstate 5 is 17 miles away and Interstate 80 is 25 miles, both by Highway 12. Sacramento International Airport is 50 miles and San Francisco International 75 miles.
Was the Rio Vista Bridge closed for repairs?
Caltrans scheduled an $11.2 million rehabilitation of the Helen Madere Memorial (Rio Vista) Bridge for July 2024 to December 2025, covering the deck, rails, approach slabs and an accessible ramp. Check Caltrans District 3 for any current lane closures before a move-in day.
What are the wind turbines near Rio Vista?
They’re part of the Solano County Wind Resource Area in the Montezuma Hills. SMUD’s Solano 4 project alone covers 2,549 acres southwest of town and is rated at 91 megawatts.
Is California Forever building near Rio Vista?
Nothing has been approved. Its 2024 initiative for a new city between Fairfield and Rio Vista was withdrawn before the vote, and it is now seeking to annex land to Suisun City through a review expected to run into 2027 or 2028.
Which school district serves Rio Vista?
The River Delta Unified School District, which has three schools inside the city limits. School assignments follow the address, so check with the district before you buy.
Can you get around Rio Vista without a car?
Delta Breeze Transit runs a paratransit bus to surrounding cities. The closest Capitol Corridor stations are in Suisun City and Fairfield, and the city puts the Suisun City Amtrak station 22 miles away, so plan on driving for most trips.
Are vacation rentals allowed in Rio Vista?
Short stays owe the city’s 10% transient occupancy tax, and the city issues a certificate for collecting it. We didn’t find a separate short-term rental ordinance in the code, so ask the city about permits for the specific address, and in Trilogy check the CC&Rs first.
Sources & notes
- Market and population: Redfin, Rio Vista (three months to June 2026), C.A.R. county medians (September 2026) and Census QuickFacts
- City of Rio Vista: About Rio Vista and transient occupancy tax
- State Clearinghouse: Rio Vista Flood Control Feasibility Study (2017) and FEMA Flood Map Service Center
- 24 CFR 100.305 (HOPA 80% rule), California Civil Code §51.3 and 55places: Trilogy at Rio Vista
- Caltrans District 3: Rio Vista Bridge rehabilitation
- State Clearinghouse: SMUD Solano 4 Wind Project, Addendum No. 1 (2022)
- The Vallejo Sun: California Forever withdraws initiative (July 2024) and later coverage
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.
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: Solano County local government. Check official information for the address you are considering; area descriptions do not establish a property’s permitted uses.
