Sebastopol, CA Real Estate & Homes for Sale
By Matthew Martinez, Founder, CEO & Managing Broker, Diamond Real Estate Group. California DRE #01869679.
Sebastopol is an incorporated city of about 7,500 people in west Sonoma County, California, 7 to 8 miles west of Santa Rosa, where housing ranges from single-family homes to apartment complexes and mobilehome parks, all inside a voter-approved growth boundary. Redfin put the city’s median sale price at $1,071,541 in August 2026. Most of the 95472 ZIP code lies outside the city, so check first whether the city or the county sets the rules.
- County
- Sonoma County
- Government
- Incorporated city since 1902
- ZIP code
- 95472 (mostly unincorporated outside the city)
- Median sale price
- $1,071,541 (Aug 2026, Redfin, city)
- Population
- 7,532 (2024 Census estimate)
- Water and sewer
- City of Sebastopol (city wells)
- Hotel and rental tax
- 12% city TOT
- Transfer tax
- $1.10 per $1,000 in all (city’s $0.55 included)
Sebastopol homes for sale
Current MLS listings for Sebastopol appear below, including homes with a Sebastopol mailing address that sit outside city limits. Our property search lets you add Graton, Forestville and the rest of west county, or filter by lot size, price and property type.
What do homes in Sebastopol sell for?
$1,071,541
August 2026, Redfin
$1,202,147
Three months to September 2026, Redfin
103.5%
August 2026, Redfin
Homes inside the city sold above their asking price on average in August 2026, and 56.3% of them went over list. That city figure rests on just 16 sales, which is why it jumped 50.6% from a year earlier. Redfin’s three-month figure for the whole 95472 ZIP code, which takes in the countryside around the city and had 65 sales in September alone, rose a steadier 17.3%. Both sit well above the Sonoma County median of $875,000 for September 2026 reported by the California Association of REALTORS®.
| Measure | City of Sebastopol | ZIP 95472 |
|---|---|---|
| Period | August 2026 | Three months to September 2026 |
| Median sale price | $1,071,541 (up 50.6% year over year) | $1,202,147 (up 17.3%) |
| Homes sold | 16 (17 a year earlier) | 65 in September |
| Median days on market | 36 (26 a year earlier) | 42 (32 a year earlier) |
| Median price per square foot | $867 | $662 |
| Sale-to-list ratio | 103.5% | 102.2% |
| Sold above list price | 56.3% | 51.6% |
| Redfin Compete Score | 82, “very competitive” | 72, “very competitive” |
| Source | Redfin city page | Redfin ZIP page |
These are Redfin’s calculations from MLS data; a few large sales can move them a long way. When we price a home, we pull closed MLS sales for that part of town and keep in-city homes on city services separate from rural parcels with wells and septic. Our Sonoma County market report follows the county trend by quarter.
Inside city limits or in the county?
The city covers about 1.9 square miles, while the 95472 ZIP code runs out into the orchards and hills around it. The city’s vacation rental handout notes that most of the ZIP code is unincorporated, so Sonoma County, through Permit Sonoma, regulates those properties. A mailing address won’t tell you which applies; the parcel record will.
| Question | Inside the City of Sebastopol | Unincorporated 95472 |
|---|---|---|
| Permits and zoning | City planning and building departments | Permit Sonoma |
| Water | City water from wells in town | Not city water: confirm the well or water system for the parcel |
| Sewer | City sewer, treated at Santa Rosa’s Llano Road plant | A septic system, unless the parcel is inside a sanitation district |
| Vacation rentals | City permits and the 12% city tax | County permit, license and certified manager; not allowed in R1, R2 or R3 zones |
| Fire hazard map | The city’s 2025 local responsibility area map | CAL FIRE’s state responsibility area map (effective April 1, 2024) or the county’s local map |
| Growth limits | The 1996 urban growth boundary | County General Plan and zoning |
| Transfer tax | $1.10 per $1,000, which includes the city’s $0.55 | $1.10 per $1,000 county tax |
The city also runs separate evacuation-zone lookups for addresses inside and outside city limits, a quick way to confirm jurisdiction before you tour.
Vacation rentals, rent rules and local taxes
Short-term rentals
Sebastopol allows vacation rentals of 30 days or less but favors hosted ones. A hosted rental, where the owner lives on site and sleeps there while guests stay, needs an administrative permit, and at most two bedrooms can be rented. A new non-hosted rental of a whole house needs a conditional use permit and a Planning Commission hearing, and the city says it discourages them. Occupancy is capped at two guests per bedroom plus two, up to 10.
The numbers are small. A September 2024 Planning Commission report counted 37 approved vacation rentals, 34 of them hosted and 3 non-hosted, with a hosted permit review costing about $480 and a non-hosted use permit requiring a $3,000 deposit. Every rental also needs a business license and pays the city’s 12% transient occupancy tax. If short-term income matters, compare these rules with the county’s in our guide to vacation rental rules in Sonoma County.
Rent rules for landlords
- Mobilehome parks: the city’s mobilehome rent stabilization chapter, amended in 2023, limits space-rent increases in any 12 months to 3% or 75% of the change in the consumer price index, whichever is lower. When a home is sold and stays on its space, the base rent can rise by up to 10% (Municipal Code 9.28.050 and 9.28.230).
- Large affordable complexes: a temporary just-cause chapter adopted in late 2025 protects tenants of deed-restricted affordable units in projects of 40 or more units from the first day of their lease, and requires a no-fault relocation payment of three months’ rent or three months of HUD fair market rent, whichever is greater. It doesn’t cap rents and it’s repealed on January 1, 2027 (Municipal Code chapter 9.36; city staff report).
- Everything else: state law applies, including, for the units it covers, the just-cause rules in Civil Code 1946.2 once a tenant has been in place for a year.
Taxes when you buy
Sebastopol’s code sets a city real property transfer tax of $0.55 per $1,000 (Sebastopol Municipal Code 3.08.020), but the County Clerk-Recorder counts it inside the county’s documentary transfer tax of $1.10 per $1,000 of value, so $1.10 is the total here. Santa Rosa, by contrast, adds $2.00 per $1,000 on top of the county tax (Sonoma County Clerk-Recorder). Under Proposition 13, the home is reassessed at market value when it changes hands, and the base rate is 1% plus voter-approved bonds. Our guide to buying a home in Sonoma County walks through the rest of the closing costs.
The Laguna de Santa Rosa and flood risk
The Laguna de Santa Rosa is a 22-mile channel that runs from Cotati to the Russian River at Forestville and drains a 254-square-mile watershed, according to the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board. Its wetlands, creeks and grasslands cover more than 30,000 acres, and when the Russian River runs high, the Laguna acts as its overflow basin. Sonoma County Regional Parks calls it the largest freshwater wetland complex in the county. Its 2.4-mile Laguna de Santa Rosa Trail, opened in 2012, crosses the City of Sebastopol’s Laguna Wetland Preserve on the way to Santa Rosa.
Low ground near the Laguna can flood in big storms. During the February 2019 storm, water filled Morris Street for blocks and reached mobile homes and much of the community center (ABC7, March 1, 2019). The city’s floodplain ordinance adopts FEMA’s flood insurance rate maps dated December 2, 2008, along with later revisions (Sebastopol Municipal Code 15.16.070).
On any home near the Laguna or the Morris Street area, order a FEMA flood zone determination and a flood insurance quote before you remove your contingencies, ask your lender early whether flood coverage will be required, and ask the seller whether the property took water in 2019.
Water, sewer and wildfire maps
Inside city limits, the City of Sebastopol supplies the water and runs the sewer. Its water comes from wells around town, backed by two reservoirs, and city policy is to be able to produce twice its demand. Wastewater is piped to the City of Santa Rosa’s treatment plant on Llano Road under a contract with the Santa Rosa Subregional Water Reclamation System (City of Sebastopol). Outside the city, a home may rely on a private well and septic system, so confirm with county records; our wells, septic and rural utilities guide lists the inspections to order.
For fire, the city posts the State Fire Marshal’s map of its local responsibility area, dated February 24, 2025; the map’s legend lists only the Moderate class, with no High or Very High zones (city FHSZ map). Parcels outside the city are mapped separately by CAL FIRE or the county and may carry a different rating. If a property lands in a High or Very High zone, California’s AB 38 rule applies at sale: the seller provides a recent defensible-space inspection, or the buyer agrees in writing to complete one within a year of closing. Get insurance quotes early in escrow.
What’s being built in Sebastopol?
Sebastopol grows slowly by design. Its 1994 General Plan set limits on growth, and in 1996 voters adopted an urban growth boundary (city profile). The largest approved project inside it is The Canopy.
| Project | Location | What’s planned | Status (city project pages) |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Canopy | 1009–1011 Gravenstein Highway North | 80 three-story, all-electric townhome condominiums (2 to 4 bedrooms) and about 16 potential ADUs on 6.1 acres, by City Ventures | EIR certified and entitlements approved April 2, 2024; design review approved May 28, 2024 |
| Woodmark Apartments | 7716 and 7760 Bodega Avenue | 84 deed-restricted low- and very-low-income rentals in two phases | Phase 1’s 48 units fully occupied as of January 27, 2025 |
| Huntley Square | 7950 Bodega Avenue | 10 small townhomes | Approved |
| Habitat for Humanity townhomes | 333 North Main Street | 4 townhomes | Approved |
| Barlow Hotel | 6782 Sebastopol Avenue | 83-room hotel | In the approval stage; joint Planning Commission and Design Review hearing March 25, 2025 |
The Canopy would add 80 for-sale townhomes on the north side of town, and about 16 could include an ADU that the city describes as a rental opportunity. Timelines change, so check the city’s project list before relying on one.
Downtown, the plaza and The Barlow
Downtown Sebastopol centers on the plaza at Weeks Way, where the farmers market runs every Sunday from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., year-round (Sonoma County Tourism). Nearby, The Barlow fills 12.5 acres and four city blocks along McKinley Street. It was the Barlow family’s applesauce cannery, built in 1939 to process fruit from more than 11,000 acres of orchards; after it closed, the buildings sat largely empty until a 2005 sale and an 18-building rebuild that began in 2012.
Two hotel projects are in the city’s pipeline: the 83-room Barlow Hotel on Sebastopol Avenue, still in approvals, and the 66-room Piazza Hotel, approved in 2017, which had its building permits issued in October 2022. If you’re buying near either site, read the project pages for parking and traffic conditions.
Gravenstein apples and the land around town
Sebastopol’s farm history is mostly an apple story. Russian trappers brought the Gravenstein to Sonoma County in 1811, and it ripens at the beginning of August (Slow Food Foundation). In 1940, the Sebastopol area had 13,875 acres of apples, 9,750 of them Gravenstein. County crop reports show Gravenstein acreage falling from 6,792 acres in 1952 to 684 in 2018, while wine grapes grew from 13,463 acres to 62,782 (Sonoma Index-Tribune, July 31, 2020).
The variety still shapes the town’s calendar and its roads. The Gravenstein Apple Fair, held since 1973 and staged in August at Ragle Ranch Regional Park, is produced by Sonoma County Farm Trails (Gravenstein Apple Fair), and Highway 116 carries the Gravenstein Highway name north and south of town. If you’re looking at an orchard or vineyard parcel outside the city, check the zoning, any Williamson Act contract and the water source before you value the land as a home site.
Trails and parks: Joe Rodota, West County and Ragle Ranch
Two rail trails start in Sebastopol, both built on the bed of the old Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railway, and together they cover 14 miles (Sonoma County Regional Parks).
- Joe Rodota Trail: 8.5 paved miles east to the Prince Memorial Greenway in downtown Santa Rosa. Free parking off Burnett Street; dogs on leash.
- West County Regional Trail: a mostly paved 5.5-mile trail north from near North Main Street through Graton to downtown Forestville, including a boardwalk across the Atascadero Creek wetland (Regional Parks).
- Ragle Ranch Regional Park: at 500 Ragle Road, with more than 3 miles of unpaved trails along Atascadero Creek, a paved loop, an off-leash dog park and soccer and softball fields. Parking is $8, or free for members (Regional Parks).
Schools and getting to Santa Rosa
Public schools in the city include the Sebastopol Union School District, which runs Park Side Elementary and Brook Haven Middle School, and the West Sonoma County Union High School District, whose schools include Analy High School. The Census Bureau’s district map shows several other elementary districts around the city, including Twin Hills Union and Gravenstein Union, so confirm the assigned schools for a specific address with the district.
Santa Rosa is 7 to 8 miles east. On Sonoma County Transit Route 20, the scheduled run from the Laguna Park Way hub to the Santa Rosa Transit Mall takes about 15 minutes, with a stop at the downtown Santa Rosa SMART station. Route 26 serves Cotati and Rohnert Park, and Route 24 is the local shuttle. SMART trains don’t reach west county.
Sebastopol compared with nearby areas
| Area | Government | One verified difference |
|---|---|---|
| Sebastopol | Incorporated city | City water and sewer; 12% city TOT; city median $1,071,541 (August 2026, Redfin) |
| Graton | Unincorporated, Sonoma County | Sewer from the Graton Community Services District; the West County Trail runs through it |
| Forestville | Unincorporated, Sonoma County | Northern end of the West County Trail; the Laguna meets the Russian River there |
| Occidental | Unincorporated, Sonoma County | Draws water from the same Russian River wells as Camp Meeker |
| Camp Meeker | Unincorporated, Sonoma County | Water from the Camp Meeker Recreation and Park District; ZIP 95419 |
| Santa Rosa | Incorporated city | Adds a $2.00 per $1,000 city transfer tax; has SMART stations |
How Diamond Real Estate Group helps Sebastopol buyers
Much of the work on a Sebastopol purchase is sorting out which rules the property lives under. Before you write an offer, we confirm whether the parcel is in the city, check its FEMA flood zone and fire map, and read the permit history for any ADU or conversion. If rental income matters, we check the city’s vacation-rental and rent rules, or the county’s if the parcel is outside the city. For rural parcels, we raise the well, septic and zoning questions while there’s still time in the contingency period.
- See our list of licensed agents who serve Sebastopol, published by us and disclosed as such.
- Selling here: our seller services price against in-city and rural comparables.
- Investors: see how we work with investors, with the city’s rental rules above in mind.
For the wider picture, see our Sonoma County real estate guide and how we help buyers.
Selling a home in Sebastopol
Most of the 95472 ZIP code lies outside the city, and that line shapes the whole sale. Inside city limits, the City of Sebastopol’s planning and building departments hold the permits. Outside them, Permit Sonoma holds the permit, septic and well records, and those are the files a buyer’s agent will request.
Transfer tax and fixtures
The county recorder lists Sebastopol under the county rate, with no separate city tax, so the total is $1.10 per $1,000 of value: $1,100 on a $1,000,000 home. The seller customarily pays in Diamond’s North Bay markets, but who pays is negotiable. Our guide to California transfer tax walks through it.
Sebastopol’s own fixture-retrofit rule (Municipal Code 15.110.130) applies to new residential development and annexations, not to resales. For an ordinary sale, the state rule is the one that counts: Civil Code 1101.4 requires the seller to disclose in writing whether noncompliant plumbing fixtures remain.
What Sebastopol buyers look for
- Flood information. Near the Laguna de Santa Rosa and the Morris Street area, buyers ask for the FEMA flood zone, any elevation certificate and a flood insurance quote. Have what you have on hand at listing.
- Septic records on rural parcels. Systems with supplemental treatment carry a Permit Sonoma operational permit that is renewed every year and self-monitored in March and October. The owner must notify the next owner of those conditions.
- Well information. Buyers of orchard and hillside parcels usually test yield and water quality; our guide to wells and septic in Sonoma County lists the tests.
- Fire zone. The city and the surrounding county are mapped separately. Where a parcel is High or Very High, Civil Code 1102.19 calls for defensible-space documentation or a signed buyer agreement.
- Smoke alarm and water heater. A written smoke alarm statement and a written bracing certification.
Our page on California seller disclosures explains the forms. When you are ready to talk about pricing an in-town home or a rural parcel, see how Diamond represents sellers.
Sources for this section: County of Sonoma Clerk-Recorder: Documentary transfer tax; Sebastopol Municipal Code: Section 15.110.130, fixture retrofit requirements; California Civil Code section 1101.4 (California Public Law); Permit Sonoma: Operational Permit and Monitoring Program; Permit Sonoma: Form WLS-043, acknowledgement of operational permit requirement; Justia: California Civil Code section 1102.19; California Health and Safety Code section 13113.8 (California Public Law); California Health and Safety Code section 19211 (California Public Law).
Sebastopol real estate FAQs
Is every Sebastopol address inside the city?
No. The city notes that most of the 95472 ZIP code is unincorporated, and those properties follow Sonoma County’s rules for permits, vacation rentals, wells and septic. The city’s evacuation-zone lookup is a quick way to check an address.
What is the median home price in Sebastopol?
Redfin put the city’s median at $1,071,541 for August 2026, from 16 sales, and the 95472 ZIP code’s at $1,202,147 for the three months to September 2026. Both are well above the county’s $875,000.
Is the Sebastopol real estate market competitive?
Yes, by Redfin’s measures. In August 2026, city homes sold at 103.5% of list price on average, 56.3% sold above asking, and Redfin rated the city 82 out of 100, “very competitive.” The median home still took 36 days to sell, up from 26 a year earlier.
Can I run a vacation rental in a Sebastopol home?
Inside the city, a hosted rental, where you live on site and rent up to two bedrooms, needs an administrative permit. A new whole-house rental needs a conditional use permit, which the city discourages. Outside the city, the county’s rules apply instead.
What is Sebastopol’s transient occupancy tax?
12% of the rent, under Sebastopol Municipal Code 3.12.030. Vacation rentals must hold a business license and show their TOT certificate number in listings.
Does Sebastopol have rent control?
Only for mobilehome spaces, where yearly increases are capped at the lower of 3% or 75% of CPI. A temporary just-cause ordinance, in effect until January 1, 2027, covers deed-restricted units in complexes of 40 or more units but doesn’t cap rents. Other rentals follow state law.
Does Sebastopol charge a city transfer tax?
Yes, but not as an extra charge. The city’s $0.55 per $1,000 (Municipal Code 3.08.020) is included in the county’s $1.10 per $1,000, so $1.10 is the total a sale pays. Santa Rosa and Petaluma are the county’s two cities whose tax is added on top.
What is The Canopy in Sebastopol?
An approved City Ventures project of 80 three-story townhome condominiums, plus about 16 potential ADUs, at 1009–1011 Gravenstein Highway North. The City Council approved it on April 2, 2024; check the city’s project page for construction timing.
Does Sebastopol flood?
Low ground near the Laguna de Santa Rosa does; in February 2019, floodwater filled Morris Street for blocks. Check the FEMA flood zone for any home you’re considering.
Where does Sebastopol’s water come from?
From city wells around town, stored in two reservoirs, with wastewater treated at Santa Rosa’s Llano Road plant. Homes outside the city aren’t on city water or sewer, so confirm the source for each address.
Is Sebastopol in a high fire hazard zone?
The State Fire Marshal’s February 2025 map of the city’s local responsibility area shows the Moderate class and no High or Very High zones. Rural parcels outside the city are mapped separately and may be rated differently, so look up the parcel before you assume AB 38 won’t apply.
Which school districts serve Sebastopol?
The Sebastopol Union School District and the West Sonoma County Union High School District, which includes Analy High. Other elementary districts serve the surrounding area, so confirm by address.
Sources & notes
- Market: Redfin, Sebastopol (August 2026), Redfin, ZIP 95472 (to September 2026), C.A.R. September 2026 report, Census QuickFacts
- City of Sebastopol: profile, water and wastewater, vacation rentals (with the 2019 handout and 2024 report), just-cause staff report (2025), projects, 2025 fire map; municipal code 3.08.020, 3.12.030, 9.28, 9.36 and 15.16.070
- County and state: transfer tax, Permit Sonoma vacation rentals, AB 38 guidance, North Coast Water Board on the Laguna
- Regional Parks: Joe Rodota, West County Trail, Ragle Ranch, Laguna trail
- Other: KRCB (2023), ABC7 (2019), The Barlow, Slow Food Foundation, Sonoma Index-Tribune (2020), Gravenstein Apple Fair, the Sebastopol Union and West Sonoma County Union High school districts
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: Sonoma County community directory. Check official information for the address you are considering; area descriptions do not establish a property’s permitted uses.
