Packing a market punch in Sacramento

It’s easy to say things like, “The market is on fire” or “Buyers are hungry out there”. Yet I find vague statements don’t pack much of a punch. It’s far more powerful when we get specific. For instance, did you know sales volume is up almost 10% this year so far? Or FHA buyers were 28% of all sales this past quarter in Sacramento County? Those stats carry some weight and bring me pause.

Goal of the Big Monthly Post: The goal of this big market update is to help highlight what the market is doing and help us describe it a bit better. If you’re local, absorb what is here and share some of the talking points below with your contacts. If you’re out of town, I’d love to hear about your market also. Email subscribers, I recommend reading this post on the blog instead of email.

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.

One Paragraph to Describe the Sacramento Market: The first half of 2015 is now over, and all year buyers have expressed a huge appetite for the market. Sales volume is up about 10% in the region, and pendings have routinely been 20%+ higher each month this whole year. Sales volume in June was actually higher than it’s been in about three years. More sales has led to inventory declining, though it’s important to note more listings have definitely been hitting the market (and there have been more price reductions too). While many properties are generating multiple offers and selling very quickly, buyers are also finicky about pulling the trigger on anything that is not well-priced or with an adverse location or condition. Some sellers are severely overpricing their homes too. The median price stayed about the same last month compared to the previous month. One of the biggest factors shaping this market is the power of FHA buyers who now represent 23% of all sales in 2015 in the Sacramento region (and 27.5% of all sales last month in Sacramento County). The byproduct of more FHA buyers is stiff competition at the lower end and higher offers too (this makes overall 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 64 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 County Market Trends for June 2015:

1. The median price at $290,500 is 7.5% higher than one year ago (June 2014).
2. It took an average of 30 days to sell a house last month (35 in May).
3. Cash sales were 16% of all sales during Q2 2015 (31% in 2013).
4. Short sales were only 5.1% of all sales in Q2 2015.
5. REOs were only 5.3% of all sales in Q2 2015.
6. FHA sales were 27.9% of all sales in Sacramento County in Q2 2015.
7. Sales volume is 17.5% higher this June compared to last June.
8. There is 1.6 months of housing inventory (2.1 months last June).
9. The average price per sq ft is 186 (8% higher than last June).
10. The average sales price is $323,082 (9.8% higher than last year).

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

1. Sales volume was up 17% in June 2015 compared to June 2014.
2. Sales volume for the year is up 9.6% compared with 2014.
3. The median price at $332,250 is 7.1% higher than one year ago (June 2014).
4. FHA sales are up 31% this year so far.
5. Cash sales were roughly 16% of all sales last month.
6. It took an average of 33 days to sell a house last month (37 days in May).
7. FHA sales were 23.7% of all sales in the region last month.
8. There is 1.85 months of housing inventory (1.92 months in May 2015).
9. The average sales price is $370,013 (7.9% higher than last year).
10. It took 4 less days to sell a house this June compared to June 2014.

Placer County Market Trends for June 2015:

1. The median price in Placer County is $401,000.
2. The median price is 5.5% higher than one year ago (June 2014).
3. It took 36 days on average to sell a house last month.
4. Cash sales were 14% of all sales last month.
5. FHA sales were 17.8% of all sales in Placer County last month.
6. Sales volume was 31% higher this May compared to last May.
7. Sales volume is up 18% in 2015 compared to last year.
8. There is 1.88 months of housing inventory (2.76 months last June).
9. The average price per sq ft is is 200 (up from 184 last June).
10. The average sales price is $454,643 (8% higher than June 2014).

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

DOWNLOAD 64 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.

Home Office Progress: I’ve been sharing some progress on my new home office. It’s been so much fun to build and now customize. Last week I finished some cork boards and hung crown moulding. Yes, I know I need to upgrade my chair (coming soon) and have multiple monitors (coming soon).

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.