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The smell of gentrification in Oak Park

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Gentrification is either a dirty word or something wonderful depending on who you ask. One of the best examples of gentrification locally is the Oak Park area of Sacramento. Let’s take a deeper look at this neighborhood that is in the process of change. I’d love to hear your take in the comments below.

Oak Park high sale

Seriously, $428,000? When telling a few locals on Twitter last week that a property on 34th Street recently sold for $428,000, the responses were mostly, “What the heck? Really? Wow!!” I know that doesn’t sound like much for certain areas of the country, but it gives pause for Oak Park because it seems symbolic of what is happening in the neighborhood as well as indicative of values that have risen dramatically in recent years.

What is gentrification? According to Merriam Webster, it is the process of renewal and rebuilding accompanying the influx of middle-class or affluent people into deteriorating areas that often displaces poorer residents.

1) Neighborhoods Have Life Cycles:

Growth: A period during which there are gains in public favor and acceptance. Demand increases.
Stability: A period of equilibrium without marked gains or losses. No real obvious change.
Decline: A period of diminishing demand and acceptance.
Renewal: A period of rejuvenation and rebirth of market demand.

2) The Good & Bad: Blight needs to be cleaned up, so it’s a good thing when that begins to happen in neighborhoods. However, it’s a bad thing when native residents are displaced because they can no longer afford the neighborhood.

An Example of Gentrification: The Oak Park area of Sacramento has been gentrifying for more than a decade. In some portions of the neighborhood there are signs of revitalization as residential properties are rehabbed, chain link fences are removed, and commercial businesses along Broadway are starting to attract outsiders (which is something that rarely happened in previous years). Overall a shift in attitude is taking place, and that is being reflected with greater demand and higher home prices. There are “gentrification pockets” so to speak in various areas of Oak Park, but not all areas.

Oak Park Sales in Sacramento - by Sacramento Appraisal Blog

Here are all Oak Park sales over the past 6+ years. This graph shows all portions of Oak Park including North Oak Park (not Med Center). These are residential sales from MLS (no private sales). The highest sale in Oak Park recently closed at $428,000. On one hand this sale is higher than anything else, and that gives us pause, but on the other hand it is larger in size and new homes tend to command a value premium.

Oak Park and Med Center Sales in Sacramento - by Sacramento Appraisal Blog

Med Center Thoughts: North Oak Park has been a very hot market, and some would say the line between Med Center and North Oak Park has been blurred in recent years, meaning higher values of the Med Center area have trickled throughout North Oak Park. If you are a buyer, would you pay a premium for Med Center or do you not care? As an appraiser I like to graph Med Center separately because some properties in Med Center can still command a premium. However, the graph does show the highest prices in Oak Park are more readily competing with Med Center prices.

SNL’s Gentrification Skit: By the way, if you haven’t seen Saturday Night Live’s skit on gentrification, they nailed it. Watch below (or here). There is some language, so be careful about kids being present.

Questions: Any thoughts, stories, or points to share? I’d love to hear your take. How has your perception of Oak Park changed over the past decade? Do you think there is a price difference between Med Center and North Oak Park? What are the strengths and weaknesses of gentrification?

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Big demand and the force of FHA in Sacramento’s housing market

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Big demand. Big FHA. Let’s talk the latest housing trends in Sacramento. If you’re local, my goal is to give you 10 quick talking points to share with clients. If you’re not local, what are you seeing in your area?

Two ways to read my big monthly market post:

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

star-wars-real-estate-photo-by-sacramento-appraisal-blog-530

One Paragraph to Describe the Sacramento Market: This year the market feels much stronger than it did last year at the same time. Values have not skyrocketed like they did a few years ago, but there has been somewhat of a desperation among buyers to get into contract before interest rates and/or values rise much more. This has made for an environment where multiple offers have been commonplace (at least for properties that are priced correctly and in average condition). Housing inventory did increase slightly last month, and we are starting to see slightly more price reductions, but demand is still “off the charts” in that pendings are a good 20% higher than one year ago. Regional prices have seen an uptick these past few months, and sales volume is 7% higher so far this year compared to last year. We all know low interest rates and sparse inventory have been driving the market, but having such a huge percentage of escrows going FHA has also boosted sales figures. Remember that many FHA buyers are not putting much “skin in the game” so to speak, and at times they tend to offer more than anyone else to get a contract accepted. Being that 25% of all sales in the Sacramento region were FHA last month (and 29% in Sacramento County), this definitely creates more competition at certain price ranges and makes housing stats look more impressive. As housing inventory presumably begins to increase over the next few months (as it did last year), watch out for price reductions, unrealistic expectations from sellers, and buyers gaining more power.

DOWNLOAD 51 graphs HERE (zip file): Please download all graphs in this post (and more) here as a zip file (or send me an email). Use them for study, for your newsletter, or some on your blog. See my sharing policy for 5 ways to share.

Sacramento Regional Trends for May 2015 (Sac, Placer, Yolo, El Dorado):

  1. The median price in the Sacramento Region is $333,250.
  2. The median price is 7.5% higher than one year ago (May 2014).
  3. Sales volume is up 7.3% so far in 2015 compared to the beginning of 2014 (January through May).
  4. It took an average of 38 days to sell a house last month (44 days in April).
  5. Cash sales were 15.6% of all sales last month.
  6. FHA sales were 25.4% of all sales in the region last month.
  7. Sales volume was 7% higher this May compared to last May.
  8. There is 1.9 months of housing inventory (2.2 months in May 2014).
  9. The average sales price is $368,525 (7.5% higher than last year).
  10. It took 14 less days to sell a house this May compared to May 2014.

median price and inventory in sacramento placer yolo el dorado county

fha and other sales in sacramento placer yolo el dorado county

volume cash and conventional in region by sacramento appraisal blog

months of housing inventory in region by sacramento appraisal blog

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

Sacramento County Market Trends for May 2015:

  1. The median price in Sacramento County is $289,950.
  2. The median price is 7% higher than one year ago (May 2014).
  3. It took an average of 35 days to sell a house last month (42 in April).
  4. Cash sales were only 15% of all sales last month.
  5. FHA sales were 29% of all sales in Sacramento County last month.
  6. Sales volume is 5.7% higher this May compared to last May.
  7. There is 1.7 months of housing inventory (2.0 months last May).
  8. The average price per sq ft is 183 (13% higher than last May).
  9. The average sales price is $317,000 (7.5% higher than last year).
  10. It took 12 days shorter to sell a house this May compared to May 2014.

Median price and inventory since 2011 by sacramento appraisal blog - with median figures

price metrics since 2014 in sacramento county

months of housing inventory by sacramento appraisal blog

CDOM in Sacramento County - by Sacramento Appraisal Blog

sales volume in May in Sacramento County since 2008 Interest Rates Since 2008

Placer County Market Trends for May 2015:

  1. The median price in Placer County is $400,000.
  2. The median price is 5.3% higher than one year ago (May 2014).
  3. It took 38 days on average to sell a house last month.
  4. Cash sales were 15.8% of all sales last month.
  5. FHA sales were 21.5% of all sales in Placer County last month.
  6. Sales volume was 9.8% higher this May compared to last May.
  7. There is 2.1 months of housing inventory (2.5 months last May).
  8. The average price per sq ft is 201.
  9. The average sales price is $445,218 (5.7% higher than May 2014).
  10. It took 16 days shorter to sell a house this May compared to last.

Placer County median price since 2012 - by home appraiser blog

months of housing inventory in placer county by sacramento appraisal blog

days on market in placer county by sacramento appraisal blog

number of listings in PLACER county - May 2015 - by home appraiser blog

Placer County sales volume - by sacramento appraisal blog

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

I hope this was helpful. Thank you so much for being here.

DOWNLOAD 51 graphs HERE (zip file): Please download all graphs in this post (and more) here as a zip file (or send me an email). Use them for study, for your newsletter, or some on your blog. See my sharing policy for 5 ways to share.

My New Office & the Desk I Built: By the way, I wanted to share some exciting news. I’m in the process of building a new home office since I recently moved to Carmichael. By this time next week my office should theoretically be finished, but for now here is a desk I built out of reclaimed wood last week. It’s a beastly 12′ long, and it’s designed for two work stations.

The desk I built

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

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How can 3 appraisers give 3 different values for the same property?

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Imagine 3 appraisals on one property, and all of them have a different value. How can appraisers have any credibility when there is so much difference? I hear this question all the time, so I wanted to pitch in some thoughts to hopefully strike a balanced conversation for home owners, agents, and appraisers. Here are three points to consider for perspective. Any thoughts?

why are appraisals so different in value - by sacramento appraisal blog

  1. Range of Values: We like to think value is incredibly precise, but one of the best things we can do is realize there is a range of value in real estate. This means realistically buyers might be willing to pay anywhere between $330,000 to $340,000 for a particular property instead of such an exact figure of $334,568. The same is true when we buy a new car or even buy something on Craigslist. Rather than being tied down to one exact figure, we often recognize there is a price range we’d be comfortable paying. We might think of a Camry as having a value anywhere from $21,500 to $23,000 or a used bookcase being a deal between $55 to $65. Real estate works very similarly, though since appraisers have to put an exact number in an appraisal report for lending purposes, we are stuck with that exact figure.
  2. If I asked 3 Agents: Since appraisers give a written value for a property, it’s easy to criticize the value (rightly so). But if I asked three real estate agents to give a precise written and supported value for a property, chances are I would get three different values, right? This would be especially true for a custom home or something that is unique or lacking decent comps. I bring this up because it takes real skill and time to nail a value, and there is going to be a difference in opinion even among qualified and respected professionals throughout the real estate community – whether appraisers or agents. When speaking in real estate offices and this point arises, I often ask, “If I asked 10 different agents for a value on a property, what do you think the result be?” While it sounds like a cop out to gloss over bad appraisals, there is a valid point here.
  3. Quality Spectrum of Appraisers: Lastly, it’s worth noting there is sometimes a difference in values because some appraisers simply do a better job. Remember, an appraisal is about two things: 1) Comps; and 2) Adjustments. When comps or adjustments are out of sync with the market, it’s easy for value to be out of line. This is the part where the appraisal industry has a black eye, and it certainly deserves criticism when an appraisal is not what it should be (whether too high or too low).

The Pain of 2 Appraisals: While it’s perfectly reasonable to see a minor difference in value among appraisers (or any real estate professional), the reality is lenders sometimes require two appraisals when a property has been flipped or even when a property is very unique. We all know this can lead to turmoil for a transaction if one value is at or above the contract price and the other is below. This is why it’s best for a transaction to have just one appraisal, and better yet, to have a lender who understands the above issues and can be reasonable when there are two different values on one property (hopefully the values are somewhat close).

I hope these points are helpful for framing the conversation next time this issue comes up. I’d love to hear your take in the comments below.

Question: Any thoughts or stories to share? What other points would you put in here?

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5 reasons why median price increases don’t translate dollar for dollar to actual value

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If the median price goes up by 2% in one month in a zip code, does that mean you have 2% more value for your property? Should you add that 2% to a new listing or appraisal? Or since the median price rose by 75% from early 2012 in Sacramento County, does that mean you have 75% more value? Not necessarily.

NOTE: Understanding how the median price works is important for valuing properties and communicating with clients.

Image purchased and used with permission by Sacramento Appraisal Blog

What is the median price? If you lined up all sales in a county or zip code from lowest to highest price, the median price would be the sale in the middle. Over time this figure can help us see how a market is moving, but applying median price increases from a zip code to a particular home can get us into quick trouble.

5 reasons why median price increases don’t translate to actual dollar for dollar increases:

  1. what-is-the-median-price-by-Sacramento-Appraisal-BlogSales Volume: The monthly median price is based on how many sales there were in a given month. If there are few sales in a market, the median price could see a huge swing, which means it can go up and down very quickly (which means we should be very careful about applying the increase or decrease to our property’s valuation).
  2. Less junk sales at the bottom: In 2012 and 2013 cash investors gutted the distressed market (low-priced short sales and foreclosures), and then flipped many of these low sales at higher levels. This essentially means the bottom of the market was removed. Now imagine the median price again, which is the sale in the middle of all sales if you lined them up by price. All of the sudden the sale in the middle got much higher because the bottom distressed part of the market was removed in a short period of time. Thus the market on paper shows very significant median price increases, but that’s really because of the bottom disappearing, right?
  3. Seasonal Moods: The median price tends to see a huge uptick during the early Spring.. For instance, imagine the median price increased by $25,000 from January to March. Does this mean values increased by $25,000? Not necessarily. It’s just the stale sales from Fall were much lower in price, and now current values are in high gear for the Spring (which is normal for Spring). Sometimes values in the beginning of the Spring are aggressive and they seem incredibly high, but in reality they might be picking up where the market left off at the end of Summer (or maybe slightly above). This is why we need to look at sales well beyond just the past 90 days.
  4. Larger Homes: Imagine there were larger-sized homes that sold last month compared to the previous month. We might look at the median price and say, “Wow, look how much the market increased last month”, but in reality there were simply bigger homes that sold at higher levels that made the median price increase.
  5. Zip Code vs Neighborhood: Not every neighborhood is experiencing the same trends as the entire zip code, and not every price range behaves the same way either. The zip code might show a 2% monthly increase in median price, but are neighborhood listings being priced higher or lower than recent sales? Are listings spending longer or shorter times on the market? Are sellers getting what they ask for? We have to be sure to take a hyper-local look at sales and listings in the immediate neighborhood before blindly applying zip code trends. The zip code might show a 2% median price increase, but maybe after looking at the numbers in the neighborhood itself, values in the neighborhood increased very modestly by maybe 0.50 to 1.0% in actual value over the month.

I hope this was helpful. As always, thank you sincerely for reading.

Question: Anything else you’d add? I’d love to hear your take.

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