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million dollar market

Not getting distracted by outlier sales

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It’s been a record-breaking couple of years. In New York we saw the highest residential sale ever in the United States at $238M. Then a couple months ago California got a new record with the Beverly Hillbillies mansion at $150M. And now there’s a listing in Bel-Air that just hit the market at $500M. The truth is it’s easy to get distracted by the bling of outlier sales because of how lofty the prices are, but here are a few things to keep in mind.

Price records: It’s not a price record unless it actually sells. In many cases higher-end sales are overpriced by hundreds of thousands of even millions of dollars. As an extreme example, that $250M listing finally closed for $94M after two years of aspirational pricing.

That “One” five hundred million dollar flip: Have you heard about that five hundred million dollar flip in Bel-Air? This property hit the market last week and it’s called “The One.” It’s said to be one hundred thousand square feet and it comes with a bowling alley, night club, and four swimming pools. This property has been talked about for years and it’s finally here. You can buy this one or here’s what you can get in Sacramento instead:

Price records in Sacramento this past year: 

– Sacramento County $5M
– East Sacramento $3.8M
– Woodland $2.94M
– El Dorado Hills $3.9M

Growth at the top: Here are a couple visuals to show growth in the million dollar market over time in the Sacramento Region.

Sales over $50M in the United States: If you woke up wondering how many homes are selling above $50M in the United States, you’re in luck thanks to Jonathan Miller who tracks this information and let me share the image. There were twenty three sales above $50M last year in the country. On one hand we’ve definitely seen more sales lately, but this is still a really uncommon price point (probably because FHA financing isn’t available).  🙂

Now here’s some final commentary.

QUICK CLOSING THOUGHTS:

1) These sales don’t pull the market up: Outlier sales don’t pull the rest of the market up, and they have nothing to do with the entry-level market or affordability for the average person.

2) I just gotta have it: My observation with the highest sales is sometimes cash buyers offer prices that seem disconnected from what looks reasonable on paper. This doesn’t happen in all situations, but sometimes it does where the buyer simply says, “I just gotta have it.”

3) Not the new comps: Unless you have an outlier home, the highest sales in town aren’t the new comps. In other words, don’t price higher because of an outlier. What is similar and selling? That’s probably the better question.

4) They sometimes sell for less: What’s interesting is watching record-breaking sales list again after having sold a few years prior. Sometimes they sell for more, but in other cases they end up selling for less than their original purchase despite the rest of the market having risen since the purchase. This actually happened with two of the top ten sales ever in the Sacramento region.

5) A different trend: I was asked recently if you can look at what a high-end sale sold for years ago and simply apply the appreciation rate from the city or county to come up with the value today. Look, there are many ways to figure out value, but as an appraiser I’m more interested in comps today rather than giving too much weight to a previous sale. After all, a past sale might have sold for too much if it was a unicorn “gotta have it” type deal. I saw this recently with a home that ended up selling 25% lower than the original purchase six years ago despite the surrounding market having seen massive gains. In short, I’m cautious about applying county or zip code metrics to these high-caliber sales. It’s just a completely different market that may or may not follow the county trend. What will the current market bear? That’s the bigger question.

I hope this was interesting or helpful.

CLASS I’M TEACHING: I’m doing my favorite class at SAR on Feb 18th from 9am-12pm called “How to Think Like an Appraiser.” Sign up here.

Questions: Why do you think people are so fascinated by lofty sales? What else have you observed about the high-end market? Anything to add?

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Street names & hot stats with an asterisk

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I have two things on my mind. Street names and super “hot” market stats. Then for those interested I’ve include my big monthly market update below. 

Two things:

1) Street Names: Just for fun, could a street name actually affect value? I mean, if it was really off-color, would buyers pay less because of a name? In my mind it seems iffy because I’ve never seen a name that would actually deter buyers. Yet the middle schooler in me can think of some examples that might work… Anyway, after a conversation on Twitter, here are some of the more random street names in Sacramento. What funny or odd street names have you seen?

2) Hot stats with an asterisk: Last year we experienced a REALLY dull market in many places across the country. If you remember mortgage rates ticked up and it was as if a dark cloud was looming over the housing market. I’m bringing this up because stats last year were depressed. Thus when comparing last year to more glowing or normal numbers today it can make recent price figures look really sexy. My advice? Over these next few months be aware of more sensational data due to lackluster stats from last year. Otherwise if we’re not careful we might end up thinking the market is much hotter than it actually is.

Any thoughts?

—–——– Big local market update (long on purpose) â€”–——–

This post is designed to skim or digest slowly.

Summary: The numbers are “hot” this month. Prices are up to a greater extent than they’ve been most of the year, inventory is down, pendings are strong, and sales volume has been up too. Part of the reason why the numbers are so stellar is because last year’s numbers were dull, but some of the hotness stems from low mortgage rates a few months back too. In other words, strong pendings from the summer finally closed in October.

DOWNLOAD 90+ visuals: Please download all graphs here as a zip file. See my sharing policy for 5 ways to share (please don’t copy verbatim).

THE SHORT VERSION:

  • It’s been a normal fall so far
  • FHA buyers have been hungry
  • Zillow bought their first house
  • Anemic housing supply
  • Celebrity flippers are coming
  • Rent control doesn’t apply to every property
  • Market crash vs recession
  • Strong million dollar market
  • Slowing price momentum
  • Overpricing is still an issue

THE LONGER VERSION:

Here are some of the bigger topics right now:

Normal fall so far: Not all fall seasons are created equal. What I mean is some falls are duller than others, and this year so far has seemed to be a stronger season. Granted, prices are still softening like we’d expect, but it’s nothing like the painfully dull fall we had last year when some thought the market was about to take a big turn. 

Hungry first-time buyers: Last month FHA was 21% of the market in Sacramento County. It’s been over two years since we’ve seen a month with 21% of the market go FHA. For years FHA has been declining because there are conventional products that can readily compete, but so far in 2019 FHA is up 5.6% in Sacramento County.

Zillow’s first purchase in Sacramento: About a month ago Zillow entered the Sacramento market and they just closed on their first house. It was a $560,000 private sale in Carmichael. On a related note, a piece came out in Forbes this week about iBuyer models paying close to market value. Look, we need to remember the credits these companies are getting from owners are padded into the purchase price. So instead of reducing the price to account for repairs, iBuyer tech companies are keeping the price higher and getting a credit for repairs within the purchase price. This is a huge advantage because it makes it look like the price is even closer to fair market value.

Anemic housing supply: Last week the big news was sellers are spending an average of 13 years in their homes instead of 8 years. As a result we’re seeing fewer homes hit the market. This is surely in part a consequence of eight years of historically low mortgage rates. We now have millions of owners with less incentive to list because they’re sitting on a low rate with equity.

Celebrity flippers are coming on strong: A few weeks ago I couldn’t sleep and I snapped this image while watching television at 4am. This flipping program aired simultaneously on four major networks. My advice? Be careful. We all want financial freedom, but you can spend thousands of dollars on these seminars to obtain “secret” flipping knowledge you can probably get for free.

Rent control does not apply to single family homes in Sacramento: I have an exhaustive Q&A post on rent control coming soon, but for now I wanted to mention something important. Rent control in the City of Sacramento only applies to properties within city limits with two units or more that were built prior to 1995. It does NOT apply to single family homes. However, if an investor owns ten or more properties under an LLC (and a couple other scenarios), rent control can apply. Keep in mind California has some differences between Sacramento rent control. Here’s an overview of rent control in California with a video link to a lawyer talking through rent control dynamics.

Ready for the market to crash because of a recession: Some prospective buyers are waiting for a recession in hopes of the market crashing, but real estate doesn’t always crumble when a recession happens. In fact, sometimes prices even rise. Here’s a video I made to talk through the past five recessions in Sacramento. This is a huge topic right now.

Strong million dollar market stats: The million dollar market has been growing. We really are in a market of outliers where we’re seeing some of the highest prices ever (Sellers, don’t overprice because of this). For reference, the top three sales ever in East Sacramento have all sold this year.

Slowing price momentum: Overall price growth has slowed down from years ago. This isn’t a shocker because I’ve been beating this point to death for the past couple years at least. What I mean is prices are moving forward still, but it’s not the type of rapid growth we saw in early 2013.

The plague of overpricing: Sellers these days are fixated on glowing stats and they’re often thinking the market is more competitive than it actually is. It’s like sellers are saying, “The market is SO hot and I’m going to get tons of offers,” but then buyers are like, “OK, boomer” (sorry, had to fit that in). Seriously though, overpricing is an enormous problem for sellers among all ages, price ranges, and locations. My advice? Price according to similar homes that are actually getting into contract. Remember, the market in later November and December is usually the slowest time of year. If you’re priced right you’ll likely get one or two offers, but if you’re priced too high you’ll likely get zero.

I could write more, but let’s get visual instead.

FIVE THINGS TO TALK ABOUT:

1) SLOWER GROWTH: Price growth has been slowing. This isn’t my idea or agenda. It’s what stats are telling us. This market is still very competitive when priced correctly, but it’s not a market with hefty price appreciation.

NOTE: Two of the categories above are showing slightly more price growth in 2019 compared to last year. But remember, when looking at data for October or the past 90 days, we have to consider how dull the market was last year.

2) PRICE CYCLES: Here’s a look at the past few price cycles in various counties. This is a fascinating way to see the market. What do you notice?

3) LAST YEAR vs THIS YEAR: All year long most price metrics have been up about 2-4% each month compared to last year, but this month they were a little stronger. This is likely due to stats sagging last year during a really dull 2018 fall season. Additionally, mortgage rates went down a few months ago and we’re likely seeing some of the effect of that.

4) VOLUME SLUMP: We’ve been having a definitive sales volume slump since mid-2018, but lately volume has been stronger. In other words, sales volume has been down fifteen out of the past eighteen months. But sales volume has been up for three out of the past four months. This is something to keep on the radar. It’s not a volume meltdown, but it’s definitely been a slower year.

5) PRICES ARE SOFTENING FOR THE FALL: The market generally slowed in October, which is expected for the time of year.

NOTE: Take El Dorado County data with a grain of salt. Stats change significantly month by month. Also, if you’re in Placer, be careful about only looking to Placer data because limited sales can mean numbers jump around quite a bit from month to month.

Thanks for respecting my content: Please don’t copy my post verbatim or alter the images in any way. I will always show respect for your original work and give you full credit, so I ask for that same courtesy. Here are 5 ways to share my content.

Please enjoy more images now.

SACRAMENTO REGION (more graphs here):

SACRAMENTO COUNTY (more graphs here):

PLACER COUNTY (more graphs here):

EL DORADO COUNTY (more graphs here):

DOWNLOAD 90+ visuals: Please download all graphs here as a zip file. See my sharing policy for 5 ways to share (please don’t copy verbatim).

Questions: What’s the wildest street name you’ve seen before? What market trend above stands out to you the most? Anything to add?

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Ch-ch-ch-change in neighborhoods

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Neighborhoods change. Sometimes they end up growing in a positive direction and other times they go downhill in a big way. Today I want to share a quick example of what I mean.

Million Dollar Sales: Here are two images to show million dollar sales in East Sacramento. Prices were definitely rising during both of these time periods, so they’re helpful for comparison. Prices declined during 2007 through 2011, so I didn’t include those years. What do you notice?

Two Observations:

1) More: Today we have more than three times the number of million dollar sales compared with the past cycle. This makes sense because prices in East Sac have generally surpassed where they were prior to the “bubble” bursting. Thus some of the growth is simply because of where prices are at today. 

2) Expansion: The million dollar market used to be concentrated almost exclusively in the Fab 40s and McKinley Park area, but it’s definitely expanded into other places. Over time we’ve seen lots of old homes torn down and rehabbed, and demand for the market has also increased. There is even a newer development called Sutter Park that is already fetching million dollar pending contracts in a location that has previously not seen that price point.

THE BIG TAKEAWAY: As neighborhoods change, so can value. In other words, just because value was one way in the past doesn’t mean it will be the same today. This is why over time we tend to see pockets of value emerge where buyers are willing to pay much than they used to. On the other hand it’s possible to see neighborhood decay where demand wanes and buyers tend to look elsewhere. I’ve written about the four stages of neighborhood life before, so I won’t rehash that much, but it’s so important to stay in tune with how markets are changing. Is the neighborhood growing? Is it stable? Is it in a stage of decay? Are we seeing rebirth? These are all good questions to ask.

Luxury Market Speaking Gig: I’m giving a presentation tomorrow at a luxury market event. I’ll likely share these two images as one of my talking points. Come by the event if you wish (I think you have to register).

What’s the market going to do? I was asked on Norm Shriever’s podcast recently about what the market is going to do in Sacramento over the next few years. In my mind these are some of the bigger points in this conversation.

Questions: What stands out to you about the images above? What sort of change have you seen in markets where buyers are willing to pay more or less? I’d love to hear any stories or examples.

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Seven years of price increases & my blue kitchen island

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Let me get straight to it. I’m excited to share some new visuals. I’m geeking out because these new images help tell a compelling story of seven years of price increases. Whether you’re local or not, I hope you can dig these.

A FEW QUICK THINGS THIS WEEK:

1) Loan Limits: You probably heard conforming loan limits were raised for the third year in a row. This basically helps buyers continue to afford higher prices. I’m not saying that’s bad, but it would be nice if wage growth more than anything was helping people afford the market.

2) Sign the Petition for Appraisers: Last week I wrote about a move to start getting rid of appraisers. This is a big deal with huge implications for the housing market and future escrows. I co-wrote a petition through change.org and I want to ask you to please sign it. SIGN HERE.

3) Cool Graphing Link: On a lighter note, Freddie Mac launched a new graphing tool where you can make quick visuals and even compare different markets throughout the United States. Not every city is listed, but it’s worth checking out and getting lost for a few minutes.

4) My Blue Kitchen: I talked about blue being the rage in kitchens, and I guess my post inspired me. During Thanksgiving break I built a new kitchen island and we painted it blue. Woodworking is definitely a passion and it’s something I do to help keep my sanity. Anyway, this was a fun project and I wanted to share.

SEVEN YEARS ON ONE GRAPH (NEW VISUALS):

Here’s some images for four counties (Sacramento, Placer, Yolo, & El Dorado). What I like is we see price trends for seven years on one graph. It may take a moment to figure out how to digest these images, but look for changes in price and volume over time. So far people who have seen these have noted rising prices and definitely vanishing affordability. Keep in mind they don’t include most of December for 2018, and that could change the look slightly by next month. 

What do you see?

SACRAMENTO COUNTY:

SACRAMENTO REGION:

PLACER COUNTY:

EL DORADO COUNTY:

YOLO COUNTY:


SHARE THESE IMAGES: You are welcome to share any of these images in your newsletter, on social media, or on your blog, etc… See my sharing policy for details and 5 ways to share (please don’t copy my post verbatim).

I hope that was interesting or helpful.

Questions: What do think of these images? Which ones do you like best? Any suggestions for improvement? I’d love to hear your take.

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