How is the real estate market doing? That’s actually a loaded question. I shared about median price and inventory the other day, so let’s touch on some other trends today – distressed sales, cash and FHA. Real estate has many different layers of value, so it’s important to watch the market closely to be able to speak with authority about what is happening and also be a great resource to clients.

A Market Facts Download: First off, here is an image I made that recaps some stats from 2013. Feel free to use it on your blog, Facebook or wherever. You can link back to me if you wish. Click on the image below (or here) to view and save a larger file so you can re-size as needed. Or download a PDF here.

For reference, the graphs below are based on all single family detached homes in Sacramento County. These are quarterly trend graphs, but the short stem at the end of the trend line represents the month of January. Any thoughts?

The Bank-Owned Lowdown: Foreclosures have seen an uptick recently. There have definitely been more REOs hitting the market. yet at the same time the past three months have actually seen VERY few sales, so a small spike in foreclosures should be taken with a grain of salt. Assuming there are more sales in coming months, we’ll then have a better context for interpreting this trend. Short sales continue to hover around 10% of all sales. Is it just me, or have there been some really low-priced short sales lately?

FHA Digging Deeper: FHA purchases have continued to increase. The vanishing of cash investors over the past two quarters has hands-down given more space for FHA buyers to dig deeper roots in the market. Last year FHA offers became less attractive in the midst of so many cash and conventional offers, but this year looks to be different. If you’re not in tune with FHA appraisal guidelines and minimum property standards, spend a few minutes looking over my FHA article library to get you up to speed. By the way, the percentage of conventional buyers has also increased lately.

Waving Goodbye to Cash: There was a slight uptick with cash sales in January, but with so few sales last month (lowest amount of sales in six years) it’s best to wait two months to see if this is a developing trend or not. Overall cash has decreased by about 15% through the course of the year. The market in 2013 was dominated by cash, but we’re now in a different market.

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 about 5 different ways to share my content. Or if you need a quote for a blog post you’re writing, let me know.

Question: Any stories, thoughts or questions? Feel free to comment below.

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