Here is a brief podcast recap of the 2009 real estate market in general in the Greater Sacramento region. What will 2010 have in store for us? Do you think the market will surge, stabilize or decline? Do you feel like now is a good time to buy? Your comments are welcome below.
Market Trends
Riding the Same Wave in Carmichael & Fair Oaks
I’m wrapping up an appraisal report tonight for an investor in Carmichael. While crunching numbers and running data, I decided to do a little comparison of sales in Carmichael and Fair Oaks. So I graphed all detached single family residential sales (from MLS) over the past three years and came up with the following trend graph. I only included sales less than 1.5 million since there are a very limited number of properties above that level.
All sales over the past 36 months in Carmichael are listed below in blue and all sales in Fair Oaks are displayed in green.
It’s interesting to see an overall common trend for both Carmichael & Fair Oaks, though not ultimately surprising since the communities tend to overall have a somewhat similar appeal in the marketplace (though Fair Oaks has a slight edge as local Realtor Nate Sisam mentions below). Despite there being niches in both communities that may be superior to other areas, and a slightly higher median price level in Fair Oaks, it seems that the ups and downs of the real estate market over the past few years have been taken in stride for both of these communities. In fact, the median price level for Fair Oaks over the past year was only 2% higher than Carmichael during the first 6 months of the year, and 4% higher during the past two consecutive quarters. For reference, the latest unemployment rate in Carmichael as of November 2009 is 9.2%, whereas the unemployment rate in Fair Oak si 7.0%. The rate of unemployment in Sacramento County as a whole for November 2009 is 12.5%.
Sacramento Realtor Nate Sisam gives us further insight:
Fair Oaks and Carmichael are both established neighborhoods that offer people larger than overage lot sizes and diverse architecture. It has always been that Fair Oaks commanded a slightly higher price due to several key elements. Fair Oaks was one of the first established “Country communities” in the 20’s-40’s with a rich history in Olive and Citrus farming. Today that heritage is still evident when looking at property in Fair Oaks. Additionally the Fair Oaks Village brings the community together and adds to the charm of the area. From an accessibility standpoint Fair Oaks is slightly more freeway accessible. I would note that these communities are diverse and that pockets within each of them could be considered equal.
What do you think of the graph above? Does anything stand out to you? If you live or work in Carmichael or Fair Oaks, what do you enjoy about the community? If you had your choice to live in either of these areas, which would you choose? Comments are welcome below.
City of Fairfield Recent Sales and Pendings
Here is a quick trend graph for you of all sales in the city of Fairfield over the past 12 months (red dots) as well as all current pendings (blue dots). What do you notice? Does anything stand out to you? Can you decipher any citywide trends based on this scatter graph? By the way, the unemployment rate in Fairfield as of November 2009 is 13.1%.
I know citywide graphs are not as descriptive as neighborhood-specific graphs or even if we looked at a specific square footage or age range in Fairfield. Just take the graph above for what it’s worth. It’s interesting to see six of the highest sales of the year over the past six months. Does it seem too that the lowest end of the market is a tad higher than the lowest point during the beginning of the year?
www.SacramentoAppraisalBlog.comCity of Fairfield Recent Sales and Pendings
Taking a Dip in the Plumas Lake Real Estate Market
The Sacramento real estate market has been hit hard over the past several years, and Plumas Lake has not escaped the damage either. Plumas Lake is a community located in Yuba County about 30 miles north of Sacramento and 10 miles south of Marysville. This neighborhood was built out over the past six years, with the bulk of houses being constructed between 2003-2005.
Plumas Lake is a suburban community, but it does have somewhat of a secluded feel because of the lack of commercial property and conveniences within the immediate neighborhood. The plan was to have developed many commercial parcels by now, but unfortunately little progress has been made beyond a Walgreens. By the way, kudos to Walgreens because they also built a store in the Anatolia area of Rancho Cordova, which faced a similar situation (a new neighborhood was built, but commercial construction lagged far behind residential construction due to the market bubble burst).
Anyway, let’s take a look at recent real estate market trends in the Plumas Lake neighborhood. The graphs below depict the past three years of sales, past one year of sales and current listings and pendings.
What do you see in the graphs above? Does anything stand out to you? If you are a home owner in Plumas Lake, what is it you enjoy about your community? If you are considering buying a property in Plumas Lake, what is it that draws you to the neighborhood?
Your comments are welcome below. Please also contact me if you have any questions or a need for more developed research or my appraisal services. 916-595-3735 or ryan@lundquistcompany.com.
NOTE: Plumas Lake is located in Yuba County and so data is interesting. Since both Sacramento MLS and Yuba/Sutter MLS carry data for the Plumas Lake area, it’s important to look at and compare both sets of data to make sure to analyze all market activity. With that being said, the graphs above are based on Sacramento MLS for ease of use. Maybe a future post will analyze and compare both systems.
www.SacramentoAppraisalBlog.com Taking a Dip in the Plumas Lake Real Estate Market