• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Sacramento Appraisal Blog | Real Estate Appraiser

Real estate appraisals for divorce, estate settlement, loans, property tax appeal, pre-listing and more. We cover Sacramento, Placer and Yolo County. We're professional, courteous and timely.

  • About
  • Appraisals
  • Order
  • Ask Ryan
  • Areas
  • Classes
  • Press
  • Trends
  • Share
  • Contact

cash buyers

Are first-time buyers targeting 2-4 unit properties?

February 2, 2021 By Ryan Lundquist 5 Comments

There’s no inventory. It’s just incredibly sparse out there. So are buyers starting to look more to 2-4 unit properties since they are struggling to get into contract with single family homes? Well, maybe so. Let me share some visuals. If you’re not local, what’s happening in your market?

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE 2-4 UNIT MARKET

1) First-time buyers are pulling the trigger: Last year more first-time buyers purchased two to four units compared to previous years in the Sacramento region. Both FHA and VA loans have seen an uptick and are essentially at their highest level in recent years. Keep in mind FHA has actually been declining as a loan type in the single family market, so it’s interesting to see this uptick among multi-units. We need more time to fully understand this trend, but this could very well be an example of buyers looking to other types of properties since the single family market is struggling so heavily with few listings to purchase. 

2) Prices have increased: Here is a look at the annual median price over 18 years. The trend for multi-units follows the single family market closely as there was a huge increase, a bubble burst, and we’re now in our tenth year of price growth (with the current nominal price having surpassed 2005 prices).

3) Volume isn’t what it used to be: Just like the single family market, we’re seeing fewer sales today from the previous market height between 2003 to 2005. Moreover, last year there were 10.9% fewer multi-unit sales in the region. When the pandemic started investors pumped the brakes, but the second half of the year was much stronger. 

4) Types of financing: Here is a deeper look at the type of financing involved in two to four unit sales. In recent years conventional has been dominant and cash has been declining. This is the same trend we’re seeing in the single family market because it’s just so cheap to borrow money. Look at FHA and VA though showing an uptick overall, which is telling of a growing appetite among many first-time buyers for multi-units.

5) X-factors to consider: One thing to consider while pulling comps these days is whether tenants are paying full rent in light of an eviction moratorium in place in California. The reality is some investors may expect a price discount in light of rent not being paid. Also, it’s important to keep watching to see any effects of rent control since we’ve now had one year of rent control under our belts.

I hope that was interesting or helpful.

Questions: What are you hearing from first-time buyers? What are you seeing in the 2-4 unit market? I’d love to hear your take.

If you liked this post, subscribe by email (or RSS). Thanks for being here.

Share:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Filed Under: Market Trends Tagged With: 2-4 unit market, Appraisal, Appraiser, cash buyers, conventional buyers, Duplex, FHA, first-time buyer duplex, Fourplex, greater sacramento housing blog, rising duplex prices, Sacramento Appraisal Blog, Triplex, VA

High demand persists in the Sacramento real estate market

April 9, 2015 By Ryan Lundquist 6 Comments

What is the real estate market doing? That’s not always a quick 10-second answer you can give someone while standing in line at Starbucks. Yet here’s the scoop: Demand is very high, values are up, and inventory is down. We are seeing exactly what we would expect to see in a Spring market, and I’d like to invite you to unpack the market with me in this post so you can share specific trends with your clients.

buyers are ready to pull the trigger - image purchased by sacramento appraisal blog and used with permission

One Paragraph to Explain the Market: The market is having a normal Spring so far. Prices are up, sales volume is increasing, and housing inventory is down. Buyers are hungry out there, which is seen with pendings being 25% higher in the regional market in March 2015 compared to March 2014. Cash sales continue to decline in volume, while FHA buyers are gaining a greater share of the market. Short sales and bank-owned sales are still hovering at very low levels, though there was a slight uptick in volume this past quarter (nothing to sound the alarm about). It took an average of 51 days to sell a house in the region last month, which is 4 days longer than it took last year (thus while the market feels hot, we can also see the market is slowing down too). Well-priced listings are going quickly and experiencing multiple offers, but properties with adverse locations and/or a lack of upgrades are tending to sit on the market. There is a huge demand for quality inventory, yet at the same time the market is price sensitive since buyers are showing discretion. Many neighborhoods over these past few months experienced a seasonal increase in value (not all areas though). Remember in coming time that inventory historically sees a huge increase from April onward, and that can very easily change the tone of the market.

NOTE: This post is longer since it is my big monthly market update. I am experimenting with more graphs and less text. Do you miss the numbers and bullet points? I’d love some feedback.

Two ways to read this post:

  1. Scan the talking points and graphs quickly.
  2. Grab a cup of coffee and spend a few minutes digesting what is here

DOWNLOAD 62 graphs HERE for free (zip file): Please download all 62 graphs here as a zip file (or send me an email). Use them for study, for your newsletter, or even some on your blog. See my sharing policy for 5 ways to share.

SACRAMENTO REGION (Sac, Placer, Yolo, El Dorado):

median price and inventory in sacramento placer yolo el dorado county

days on market in placer sac el dorado yolo county by sacramento appraisal blog

months of housing inventory in region by sacramento appraisal blog

number of listings in Placer Sacramento Yolo El Dorado county - by home appraiser blog

interest rates inventory median price in sacramento regional market by sacramento appraisal blog

SACRAMENTO COUNTY:

Median price and inventory since 2012 by sacramento appraisal blog price metrics since 2014 in sacramento county

cash in sacramento county

fha and cash in sacramento county - by sacramento appraisal blog

Volume and cash since 2009 - by Sacramento Appraisal Blog

reo and short sales in sacramento county

months of housing inventory by sacramento appraisal blog

CDOM in Sacramento County - by Sacramento Appraisal Blog

sales volume through feb 2015 in sacramento county

sales volume in march in Sacramento County since 2001

PLACER COUNTY:

Placer County median price and inventory - by home appraiser blog

days on market in placer county by sacramento appraisal blog months of housing inventory in placer county by sacramento appraisal blog

Placer County median price since 2012 - by home appraiser blog

Placer County sales volume - by sacramento appraisal blog

interest rates inventory median price in placer county by sacramento appraisal blog

Questions: How do you think sellers and buyers are feeling about the market right now? What are you seeing out there?

If you liked this post, subscribe by email (or RSS). Thanks for being here.

Share:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Filed Under: Market Trends Tagged With: cash buyers, cash investors, El Dorado County, FHA buyers, graphs, Home Appraiser, House Appraiser, increasing values, Market Trends, Placer County, Sacramento County, Sacramento Real Estate Market, Sacramento real estate trends, sacramento regional market, Yolo County

5 trends to watch in Sacramento’s flattening real estate market

September 16, 2014 By Ryan Lundquist Leave a Comment

Let’s take a wider view of real estate today. I shared by big monthly post last week about Sacramento County, but what is regional market doing when we consider multiple counties surrounding Sacramento? Let’s look at five quick trends below.

Taking a wide view of real estate - image purchased by sacramento appraisal blog

Two ways to read this post:

  1. Briefly scan the 5 talking points and graphs below in 1 minute.
  2. Take a few minutes to digest the graphs and commentary.

Enjoy and let me know what you think.

free market trend graphs from sacramento appraisal blog

THE SACRAMENTO REGION:

1) Prices have been flat for 4 months:

median price sacramento placer yolo el dorado county

The median price has been the same for four months in the Sacramento Region, which is why so many in the real estate community have been talking about a flat market. As you can see on the graph, values cool off when inventory increases.

But Trendgraphix says… Trendgraphix shows the median price increased over the past few months from $310,000 to $315,000 for the Sacramento Region, but they seem to have pulled their sales data too early. When running stats in MLS for the past four months, the median price is clearly stable at $310,000 for each respective month. This is not to bash Trendgraphix at all because I am an enormous fan of their work. I only wanted to point out the importance of waiting long enough to publish stats, and how publishing even a few days too early can make a big difference.

2) Inventory is steadily increasing in the Sacramento Region:

months of housing inventory in region by sacramento appraisal blog

Housing inventory has been increasing and is helping fuel a greater sense of confidence among buyers (they’ve become more picky too), as well as many price reductions. Housing inventory increased from 2.50 months to 2.64 months over the course of the past month. Inventory is still not very high, but many sellers seem to have an unrealistic mindset about what their properties are worth, which is only leading to inevitable price reductions. Moreover, we are seeing weaker demand than in years past in light of less cash investors playing the market. My advice? Consider pricing according to the most recent competitive listings, that is, ones that are actually getting into contract (as opposed to the highest sale in the neighborhood three months ago).

number of listings in Placer  Yolo El Dorado Sacramento - by home appraiser blog

The graph above is a slightly different way to look at inventory. As you can see, the bulk of listings are between 200-400K, but there are quite a few from 400-750K too. Remember, not every price range, neighborhood, or property type is experiencing the same exact trend.

3) It took 2 days longer to sell a home last month:

days on market in placer sac el dorado yolo county by sacramento appraisal blog

In July it took three days longer to sell a home, and last month it took days longer. When days on market increases, it’s a sign the market is slowing down. Yet at the same time this is a very normal trend because the hot buying season does fade away as summer closes. Generally speaking, the higher the price, the longer it is taking to sell.

4) Sales volume is down 10% in 2014 compared to 2013:

SALES volume in sacramento region - by home appraiser blog

number of listings in Placer Sacramento Yolo El Dorado county - July 2014 - by home appraiser blog

Sales volume is down by slightly more than 10% this year compared to last year, and less sales is definitely one of the factors helping to cool the housing market. Less sales has led to increased inventory and a transfer of power from sellers to buyers.

5) Cash is down by 37% this year in the Sacramento Region:

cash sales and volume in sacramento region - by home appraiser blog

I mentioned already that the sales volume is down by 10%, but the X-factor for lower volume is really less cash sales. There have only been about 50 more non-cash sales in 2014 compared to 2013, but almost 2000 less cash sales this year. Having this many fewer sales has made certain months in the year feel sluggish, and it’s certainly contributed to the flattening trend we’ve seen over the past several months.

BONUS MATERIAL: PLACER COUNTY

Placer County median price and inventory - by home appraiser blog

median price in placer county and sacramento county by sacramento appraisal blog

Uptick, but still flat in Placer County: Placer County saw an uptick in median price last month, but it’s not really anything to write home about. One month of data does not mean the market is now increasing after being flat. Moreover, when talking with real estate agents, Placer County is very similar to Sacramento County in that the market is very price sensitive. If it’s not priced right, it’s going to sit.

Placer County housing inventory - by home appraiser blog

months of housing inventory in placer county by sacramento appraisal blog

Inventory in Placer County increased last month: Monthly inventory saw an increase last month from 2.72 months to 2.91 months. This effectively means there are 2.91 months worth of houses for sale in Placer County right now. Generally speaking, the higher the price, the more inventory there is.

days on market in placer county by sacramento appraisal blogIt’s taking two days longer to sell compared to last month: On average it is taking 47 days to sell a home in Placer County compared with 45 days last month. For context it is taking 40 days in Sacramento County and 42 days in the entire region. There were only 2 sales under $100,000, so disregard the 97 days listed above.

Placer County sales volume - by sacramento appraisal blog

Sales volume was fairly similar to last month: Sales volume was similar to last month, and is overall approaching more normal levels (though volume is still down slightly from 2013).

Sharing Trends? It’s a huge joy to put together these graphs each month, and I hope they’re helpful for you and your contacts. If you want to share graphs online or in your newsletter, please see my sharing policy. I hope you reach out for the graphs I didn’t post here too as I’d love to make those available to you. Fill out the form above or send me an email.

Thank you for being here.

Question: How else would you describe the market? I’d love to hear your take no matter what your level of interest or knowledge is about the housing market.

If you liked this post, subscribe by email (or RSS). Thanks for being here.

Share:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Filed Under: Market Trends Tagged With: cash buyers, cooling values, flat median price, Home Appraiser, House Appraiser, increasing inventory, less cash investors, lower sales volume, price reductions, real estate appraisers, Real Estate Market in Sacramento, sacramento region housing market, slower real estate sales

The Sacramento market in 30 seconds or 3 minutes

December 9, 2013 By Ryan Lundquist 2 Comments

Are you ready? It’s time again for a monthly beefy play-by-play of the Sacramento real estate market. There are many things to talk about, but fortunately there are two options for reading this post:

  1. 30 Seconds: Briefly scan the graphs below in 30 seconds.
  2. Three Minutes: Take a few minutes to digest the graphs and commentary.

Enjoy. By the way, should I keep doing this format? Is it helpful or too much?

housing supply and median sales price by sacramento appraisal blog

Warning – Traditional Economics at Work: As inventory has increased, the median sales price has decreased. It’s always a bit normal to see values cool off during colder months, but it’s also a function of basic economics. When supply increases, prices tend to go down. Let’s look at a closer view below.

housing supply and median sales price trend graph by sacramento appraisal blog

A Closer Look at Price & Inventory: The median price in Sacramento County for November 2013 was about $245,500, which is down from a high of $253,000 a few months ago. Housing inventory is now at 2.5 months, which is a dramatic change from being at a one-month supply for nearly one year until about six months ago when inventory began an upward trek.

absorption rate sacramento county - november 2013

How Fast are Listings Being Absorbed? The absorption rate is basically how fast current listings are being sold or pended each month. It’s an inverse of the months of inventory really, so this rate declines as inventory increases. Right now the absorption rate is 40.4%, which means that roughly 40% of all listings entered “pending” status on MLS or closed escrow last month. All you need to do to figure out the monthly absorption rate is divide the number of sales over the past month by the number of current listings. By the way, here is a quick tutorial on how to calculate housing inventory in case it’s useful (YouTube video).

Foreclosures and Short Sales 2009 to 2013 in Sacramento County - by Sacramento Appraisal Blog

Same Old Distressed News: Foreclosure sales used to dominate the market, but now they’re only hovering at about 5% of all sales in Sacramento County. Short sales have persisted to decline and only represent about 10% of all sales so far this quarter.

Foreclosures and short sales in Sacramento County - by Sacramento Appraisal Blog

The Difference of Five Years: It’s incredible to see that in five years the market has gone from being 84% distressed to roughly 16% distressed. Isn’t that an amazing stat?

cash and FHA sales in Sacramento County - by Sacramento Appraisal Blog

Trading Places in the Market: Cash sales have seen a hefty 14% decline over the past few quarters, and this is creating more space for FHA and conventional buyers to actually get offers accepted. On a personal note it means I’ve been doing quite a few FHA appraisals. An increase in inventory also means buyers can be more picky, which is also why we’re seeing sellers beginning to offer closing costs again as an incentive to “seal the deal”. This is no longer a “price it however you want” market.

cash and FHA under 200K in Sacramento County - by Sacramento Appraisal Blog

Changes at the Lower End: The market under $200,000 was basically gutted by cash investors over the past year, but FHA is gaining ground again as you can see in the graph above.

cash sales under 200K in Sacramento County - by Sacramento Appraisal Blog

A Return to the Bottom: Right now cash sales are at a level close to when the market hit bottom in early 2012 for under $200,000 and even before for the entire county. This is significant because investors swooped in when values bottomed out in the first quarter of 2012 and were one of the big factors for helping create the latest real estate boom. The exponential increases in value were primarily driven by investors, low interest rates and low inventory. Rates are still really low, but things are clearly changing in the cash and inventory department.

Sacramento real estate market stats through 2013 - by sacramento appraisal blog

A Different Market: A chart like this helps to show that the market is now different from even six months ago. Cash is down and conventional and FHA are up. This is true for the entire county, and it’s also true for the lower end of the market under $200,000. Some believe that FHA has not been increasing because of mandated mortgage insurance, but that is simply not true.

sacramento real estate market trend graph closer look by sacramento appraisal blog

The Forces of the Market: Real estate is not just about supply and demand. There are some many “layers” of the market that help create or impact value. As you can see, a decline of interest rates, improving job market and increase of housing supply tends to impact price over time.

sacramento real estate market trend graph by sacramento appraisal blog

A Busy Graph Worth Digesting: Here is a panoramic view of the same trends above, but with ten more years of data. I know this is a VERY busy graph, but it’s also really telling. Spend a minute digesting what is going on here.

unemployment rate US CA Sacramento by sacramento appraisal blog

The Word on Jobs: Sacramento and California both saw an exponential increase in joblessness after the previous real estate “bubble” burst. Both the state and county since have been slowing getting back to levels more consistent with the rest of the nation.

jobs and median sales price by sacramento appraisal blog

unemployment rate and median sales price trend graph by sacramento appraisal blog

Specifics on Jobs: Unemployment in Sacramento County has been declining since the summer of 2010. Currently the unemployment rate as of October 2013 is 8.4%. It’s still definitely not where we’d like it to be closer to 5%, but at least it’s not still 13% like it was, right? This graph pairs jobs with the median price. Jobs are a layer of value in the market that can impact the overall direction of values, but they are really only one layer. Ultimately the Sacramento real estate market will be healthier and stronger when the local economy improves and it’s easier to find good jobs. Bottom line.

Video of Trends: If you’d rather watch or listen to my interpretation of the market, check out the video above (or here). Feel free to share this video on your blog of social media too.

Share the Graphs: As always, you can use these images unaltered in your newsletter, on social media sites or blog posts (just link back). See my sharing policy for more details.

Question: Any thoughts, insight or stories to share? I’d love to hear your take.

If you liked this post, subscribe by email (or RSS). Thanks for being here.

Share:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Filed Under: Market Trends Tagged With: cash buyers, FHA, foreclosures, Home Appraiser, housing inventory, interest rates, investors, market update, median price level, November 2013 real estate, Sacramento Appraiser, Sacramento real estate trends, Short Sales, Unemployment Rate

  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Connect with Ryan

 Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube Instagram

Subscribe to Weekly Post

* indicates required

Search this site

Blog Categories

  • Appraisal Stuff (407)
  • Bankruptcy (3)
  • Divorce (4)
  • Estate Settlement (6)
  • FHA Appraisal Articles (56)
  • Internet (53)
  • Market Trends (482)
  • Photos from the Field (126)
  • Property Taxes (70)
  • Random Stuff (231)
  • Resources (566)
  • Videos (161)

Blog Archives: 2009 – 2021

Lundquist Appraisal Links

  • Appraisal Order Form
  • Appraisal Website
  • Rancho Cordova Appraiser Website
  • Sacramento Appraisal Blog Sitemap
  • Sacramento Real Estate Appraiser Facebook Page
  • Twitter: Sacramento Appraiser (@SacAppraiser)
  • YouTube: Sacramento Appraiser Channel

Most Recent Posts

  • How much have prices risen since the bottom of the market?
  • How long can this market keep going?
  • What is your housing persona?
  • Rapid price growth & the Gilmore Girls next door
  • Are first-time buyers targeting 2-4 unit properties?
  • Stale real estate headlines & buyers flocking to El Dorado County
  • My new sewer line adds huge value, right?
  • The housing market nobody predicted
  • Real estate trends to watch in 2021
  • You carried me & a spreadsheet for Christmas

Disclaimer

First off, thank you for being here. Now let's get into the fine print. The material and information contained on this website is the copyrighted property of Ryan Lundquist and Lundquist Appraisal Company. Content on this website may not be reproduced or republished without prior written permission from Ryan Lundquist.

Please see my Sharing Policy on the navigation bar if you are interested in sharing portions of any content on this blog.

The information on this website is meant entirely for educational purposes and is not intended in any way to support an opinion of value for your appraisal needs or any sort of value conclusion for a loan, litigation, tax appeal or any other potential real estate or non-real estate purpose. The material found on this website is meant for casual reading only and is not intended for use in a court of law or any other legal use. Ryan will not appear in court in any capacity based on any information posted here. For more detailed market analysis to be used for an appraisal report or any appraisal-related purpose or valuation consulting, please contact Ryan at 916-595-3735 for more information.

There are no affiliate links on this blog, but there are three advertisements. Please do your homework before doing business with any advertisers as advertisements are not affiliated with this blog in any way. Two ads are located on the sidebar and one is at the bottom of each post. The ads earn a minor amount of revenue and are a simple reward for providing consistent original content to readers. If you think the ads interfere with your blog experience or the integrity of the blog somehow, let me know. I'm always open to feedback. Thank you again for being here.

Copyright © 2021 Sacramento Appraisal Blog