The market has been shifting a bit and the stats are showing it. Cash sales in Sacramento County have been declining over the past several months, which has increased room for others to have a fighting chance to get into contract.
Inventory has increased over the past several months and there has been less investors playing the market. Despite an uptick in sales in Q2 of 2013, for example, investors played a lesser percentage role in overall sales. For reference, there were 3831 sales in Sacramento County in Q1 2013 and 4748 sales in Q2 of 2013.
Good News for Buyers: Monthly data should be taken with a grain of salt because as time unfolds stats can get stronger and end up swaying in a different direction. However, I believe the stats for July 2013 do tell a story that real estate agents mentioned in last week’s post, “Sacramento’s real estate market in one sentence“. Overall as cash has decreased, FHA has seen a slight increase and conventional sales have been up slightly too (conventional sales rose about 4% from Q1 to Q2 for all of Sacramento County). This is good news for buyers and especially first-time buyers who are looking to purchase. Yes, the market is still heavily saturated with investors and inventory is still tight…. BUT buyers have definitely gained more power lately. To use a line for buyers inspired from the book The Hunger Games, “May the odds be ever in your favor”. 🙂
Question: As an agent, buyer or seller, what are you experiencing out there? Comment below.
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Good article, Ryan. Glad to see the buyers have a fighting chance. Curious as to how many of my colleagues are now seeing buyers who had foreclosures 3+ years returning to the market…I’ve had 2 the last month.
Thanks so much Gena. That’s fantastic to have buyers return to the market. I bet they’ve been really happy to pay such “low” prices compared to 2004-2006. Keep up the great work!
I’m a Realtor and I’m definitely seeing that! I am also seeing quite a few deluded sellers who aren’t quite on the cutting edge of the market who think they have all the cards in their favor still, and I would argue that’s not the case. It also seems as though we’re seeing prices taper off and inventory sitting (very slightly) longer. What are you seeing?
Thanks Alyssa. I appreciate your perspective. I would say inventory is still tight, so it is still a Seller’s market. BUT it is not the same type of market that it was three to six months ago where sellers could price a property wherever they wanted (and get 20-30 offers). Buyers have definitely gained ground. The proof in part is properties spending more time on the market. In many neighborhoods lately when I run stats, I usually see something like this: All sales over the past 90 days spent an average of 26 days on the market. All current pendings spend 26-30 days on the market. All actives have been on the market for 35+ days. All things considered, it is definitely taking longer for properties to sell. They are still going quickly, which is evidence of a seller’s market, but it is definitely more crucial to price properties appropriately.