Top Realtors in St. Helena, CA (2026 Guide)
By Matthew Martinez, Founder, CEO & Managing Broker, Diamond Real Estate Group. California DRE #01869679.
Disclosure: This guide is published by Diamond Real Estate Group, one of the brokerages listed. Our own broker is listed first so you know who wrote it. Every other agent is listed alphabetically; the order is not a ranking, and inclusion is not an endorsement.
St. Helena is a small, high-priced wine town, so look for an agent who knows its in-town streets, the vineyard parcels beyond the city limits and the different rules on each side of that line. This guide lists licensed agents whose public profiles name St. Helena, with a link to each state license record.
In the three months to June 2026, the 94574 ZIP code’s median sale price was $2,199,503, up 41.9% from a year earlier, though that figure rests on just 20 sales in June (Redfin).
How we chose the agents in this guide
We started with agents active in St. Helena and kept only those we could verify: a current California real estate license on the Department of Real Estate public lookup (checked October 2026), a named brokerage, and a public profile that names St. Helena, a nearby town or the county among the areas they serve, or an office in the area. We don’t rank agents or report sales volumes, reviews or awards. Areas and specialties are as shown on each agent’s public profile or directory listing; we link profiles on agent and brokerage sites, not ranking or review sites. License status and brokerages change, so check the DRE record before you hire anyone, and interview more than one agent.
St. Helena in numbers
| Census measure | Saint Helena |
|---|---|
| Population (July 1, 2025 estimate) | 5,194 |
| Land area | 4.96 sq mi |
| Median home value (owner-occupied) | $1,647,700 |
| Owner-occupied homes | 66.4% |
| Median gross rent | $2,535 |
| Median household income | $148,750 |
| Mean commute | 21.1 min |
Census QuickFacts, 2020-2024 estimates.
The Census counts 5,194 residents on just under five square miles, and the median value of an owner-occupied home is $1,647,700, nearly double the county’s $869,500 (Census QuickFacts). About two-thirds of homes are owner-occupied, and the median household income is $148,750.
At those prices the market moves slowly. Redfin gave the ZIP code a Compete Score of 18, “not very competitive,” and estimated that a typical home sells about 5% below list and goes pending in about 72 days. Only 5.3% sold above list, 27.4% of listings were cut, and the median price per square foot was about $1,020 (Redfin). Buyers usually have room to negotiate, and sellers should plan for a longer listing period than in the City of Napa.
What’s shaping the town
St. Helena became a town on March 24, 1876, after settlers began planting vineyards in the 1860s and the railroad arrived in 1868, and three blocks of downtown are a National Register historic district (City of St. Helena). Growth is deliberately slow. The 2040 General Plan, adopted in 2019, keeps development inside an Urban Limit Line, and the city’s state housing target for 2023 to 2031 is 256 units, of which 24 had been permitted by mid-2024, according to a draft LAFCO review (Napa LAFCO draft review). The same draft puts the population at about 5,160 in 2025, down from 5,814 in 2010.
St. Helena rules, utilities and risks
- Short-term rentals: Ordinance 2012-2 allows 25 permitted short-term rentals in the city, and there is a waiting list for new permits (City of St. Helena).
- Shared ownership: under a February 2024 settlement, Pacaso may keep its four existing St. Helena homes but cannot add more under the current timeshare ordinance (St. Helena Star). Our guide to Pacaso and co-ownership explains the model.
- Historic properties: the Historic Preservation overlay sits in zoning chapter 17.21.040, adopted October 2023, with an overlay map updated in March 2024 (City of St. Helena). Ask whether a home is on the local register before planning changes.
- Water: the city draws on Bell Canyon Reservoir, its Stonebridge wells and treated water bought from the City of Napa (City of St. Helena). The draft LAFCO review says about a third of supply is purchased, notes a brown-water episode in 2025, and reports that city code generally bars new water connections outside city limits (Napa LAFCO draft review).
- Sewer: a new tertiary treatment plant was finished in December 2024 for about $18.8 million, after a 2016 cease-and-desist order on the old plant (Napa LAFCO draft review).
- Fire: the draft review places the city in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone (Napa LAFCO draft review), and the city posts CAL FIRE’s updated local maps, the first since 2008 (City of St. Helena). Sellers in those zones owe buyers defensible-space documentation (State Fire Marshal).
- ADUs: junior ADUs can be up to 500 square feet, standard plan review takes about 28 days, and pre-reviewed plans qualify for a 14-day rapid permit (City of St. Helena).
St. Helena agents with verified licenses
Matthew Martinez, Diamond Real Estate Group (publisher of this guide)
Broker, California DRE #01869679; brokerage Diamond Group Estates Inc, DBA Diamond Real Estate Group, DRE #02163490. Based in Sonoma, working with buyers and sellers across Sonoma, Napa and Marin counties and nearby areas. About Matthew | Contact
These agents appear in alphabetical order. Because the town is small, the table includes agents who list nearby Calistoga, Rutherford, Angwin or the Napa Valley as well as those who name St. Helena.
| Agent | Brokerage | License | Matching areas on profile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Connie Johnson | Golden Gate Sotheby’s International Realty | Salesperson, DRE #00915198 | Calistoga, St. Helena, Angwin |
| Cyd Greer | Coldwell Banker Brokers of the Valley | Broker, DRE #01390876 | Napa Valley, Napa County |
| Denise Montalvo | Compass | Salesperson, DRE #01780793 | Napa County |
| Ginger Martin | Sotheby’s International Realty | Salesperson, DRE #00643485 | St. Helena, Rutherford |
| Joe Brasil | Coldwell Banker Brokers of the Valley | Salesperson, DRE #01470511 | Napa Valley |
| Joel Toller Team | Coldwell Banker Brokers of the Valley | Salesperson, DRE #01259088 | St. Helena, Calistoga, Angwin, Rutherford |
| Marcia Hadeler | Coldwell Banker Brokers of the Valley | Salesperson, DRE #01312086 | Calistoga |
| Mark Stornetta | Compass | Broker, DRE #01440416 | Napa Valley |
| Mary Carpenter | Vanguard Properties | Salesperson, DRE #01468434 | Napa Valley |
| Michael Stone | Mike Stone Real Estate | Broker, DRE #01139380 | Calistoga |
| Peter Colbert | Compass | Salesperson, DRE #01703429 | St Helena, Calistoga |
| Tim Hayden | Compass | Broker, DRE #01027532 | St. Helena |
12 agents, in alphabetical order. 5 of them name St. Helena on a public profile; the other 7 list a nearby town or the wider county, as the last column shows.
Picking a St. Helena agent for a slow, high-priced market
- Ask how close to list their recent St. Helena sales closed. When typical homes sell about 5% under asking, the gap between list and sale price shows you how an agent prices.
- Confirm which side of the city limit the address is on. Inside, you get city water, the rental permit system and the historic overlay; outside, county rules apply and a well may be the only water source.
- For vines, ask about the appellation and the permits. The St. Helena AVA, established in 1995, and the Rutherford AVA both use Zinfandel Lane as a boundary. Our Napa County vineyards guide covers conservation and winery rules.
- Raise insurance on day one. In a Very High hazard zone, ask which carriers the agent’s recent buyers used and how long quotes took.
- Be clear about how you’ll use the home. With 25 rental permits and a cap on co-ownership, an agent should tell you plainly what’s possible at a given address.
Learn more in our St. Helena guide and luxury real estate guide, and see the Napa Valley appellation guide for the AVAs. Nearby agent lists cover Calistoga, Yountville and the whole county, and our Rutherford and Angwin pages describe the communities next door.
St. Helena questions
Why does St. Helena cost so much more than the rest of the county?
Homes are few and much of the land around town is protected farmland. The Census median owner-occupied value is $1,647,700, against $869,500 countywide.
Can I get a short-term rental permit?
The city caps permits at 25 and keeps a waiting list. Ask the planning department where you would stand before you count on rental income.
Will the city serve water to a home just outside town?
Generally not. According to the draft LAFCO review, the municipal code bars new water connections outside city limits except in limited cases, so rural buyers should plan around a well.
How long does it take to sell?
In the three months to June 2026 the median was 60 days on market, up from 54 a year earlier, and Redfin estimated about 72 days to go pending for a typical home.
Sources & notes
- California DRE license lookup
- Census QuickFacts: St. Helena
- Redfin: ZIP 94574 housing market, three months to June 2026 (retrieved October 2026); Census QuickFacts: Napa County
- City of St. Helena: short-term rentals; history; water; historic overlay; fire maps; ADUs
- Napa LAFCO draft review (August 3, 2026, not yet adopted); St. Helena Star: Pacaso settlement; State Fire Marshal: AB 38 bulletin; St. Helena AVA; Rutherford AVA
Last reviewed October 2026 by Matthew Martinez.
