Let’s look at three trends today. Instead of only unpacking Sacramento County though, let’s glance at the region as a whole to understand larger dynamics at hand. I hope this will help give you a few more real estate talking points, whether for conversation with friends or clients. Any thoughts?

1)  It’s taking 20% longer to sell properties compared to last year

It’s not earth-shattering news that properties are spending more time on the market these days compared to last year. It’s simply one of the byproducts of having more housing inventory. Keep in mind 47 days is actually really quick considering sales in March 2012 took more than 80 days.

2) Inventory is up by 110% compared to last March

The Sacramento Region had just above one month of housing supply for an entire year. Inventory began to increase when interest rates shot up from 3.5 to 4.0% between May and June 2013 (and investors also began exiting the market around this time). It’s easy to get sensationalistic about a stat like this, but remember that current inventory is still VERY low.

3) Sales volume is down 17% from last year

Sales volume has been really low lately. The first quarter of 2014 was down 17% in sales volume when compared to the first quarter of 2013 and 25% from the first quarter of 2012. As you can see above, cash sales are an X-factor for why volume has been low, and the market has been feeling the impact. This is true in Sacramento County, and it’s true when looking at the region (Placer, Yolo, El Dorado & Sacramento).

BONUS: The first quarter of 2014 saw a 44% decline in cash sales compared with Q1 2013.

A quick video of where the market is. Watch below or here.

I hope this was helpful.

Sacramento Bee Quote: By the way, I wanted to share that I was quoted in a SacBee article last week entitled Sellers’ market has few sales. That’s always an honor. Thank you to anyone who clicked over from the story or even subscribed. I really appreciate you being here, and I’m looking forward to talking together.

Questions: What stands out to you above? What are you seeing in the trenches of the local market? I’d love to hear your insight. Comments are welcome below.

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