Sacramento Appraisal Blog

Market trends and real estate appraisals for divorce, estate settlement, loans, property tax appeal, pre-listing and more. We cover Sacramento, Placer and Yolo County. We're professional, courteous and timely.

Gated Communities: What are they worth to Sacramento Area Buyers?

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Does a gate around a community add value? Can you sell a property for more if it is located inside a gated-community as opposed to outside of the community? Do you think that buyers consider a gate as a feature worth paying a monthly HOA fee for? Does an enclosed community attract some people while turning others off? And a sociological question to ponder just for fun, why is there a gate? 

The best way to determine if there is a premium for the gate is to analyze recent and past sales, run data, talk with Realtors, investigate properties within and outside the community and interview home owners among other things. This is part of the normative appraisal process. It would be nice if there was a simple formula to apply to determine the value or lack thereof for a gate, but that just isn’t the case.

No Recent Sales in a Gated Community?  Sometimes recent sales within the gated community are not available – maybe because of the small size of the community or other factors which may also be important. One must always ask why there are no new sales. Is there litigation preventing new sales? Is there a reason why buyers in the market are turned off by the community? Is there some sort of environmental concern? 

In today’s market, some HOAs are actually suffering because of the vacant houses due to foreclosure and/or residents not having the extra cash to pay their monthly HOA fees. There are even some reports of HOAs going bankrupt. Could this impact value or be the reason why there are no recent sales within a planned HOA community? Could it be worth investigating how the HOA is doing if you are a buyer?  

This is a photo of the gated ”Whitney Oaks” neighborhood in Rocklin, CA. There are a series of gated communities throughout this area.

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There are many questions to ask when it comes to something simple like a gate. This is part of the job of an appraiser – to ask questions throughout the appraisal process and get answers. So with all this being said, do gates really matter in terms of value? Sometimes. Sometimes not. It’s really not a black and white issue. 

If you have any questions or potential appraisal needs in the Sacramento area (or Whitney Oaks in Rocklin), feel free to contact me at 916-595-3735 or www.lundquistcompany.com

Vacant Construction Sites: A Sign of the Times in the Sacramento Region

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I snapped the following photos in Los Banos, CA last week while on an inspection. Vacant construction sites are quite common in today’s market throughout the Sacramento Region. The view is fairly typical – a paved street, curbs and driveway entrances prepped, wiring ready…. but no houses being built. It’s like a ghost town in a sense. I see this situation everywhere from Rancho Cordova to West Sacramento to Atwater to Yuba City. 

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There are many streets throughout counties surrounding the Sacramento Region which face a similar phenomenon. This is a sign of the times and a lesson in supply and demand too.

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City of Carmichael Market Trends (Sacramento Region)

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What’s happening in the Carmichael real estate market lately? The graph below displays the past 36 months of sales. What do you see?

carmichael-market-trends

For starters, the overall trend appears to be declining over the past 36 months. No surprise there, huh? We are seeing this phenomenon in most niches in the Sacramento area. It looks like the bulk of sales over the past 90 days have sold between 200-300K, though there are certainly sales well beyond that range. It is also evident that there have been fewer sales above $1,000,000 in the past year.

Carmichael Real Estate Market Data:

  • 85 sales over past 90 days
  • Median Price of $219,000 over past 90 days
  • Low Price of $72,000 over past 90 days
  • High Price of $2,200,000 over past 90 days
  • Average Days on Market over past 90 days: 84
  • 125 current Active listings
  • 76 current Short Sale Active listings
  • 60 current Pending listings
  • 21 properties have sold above $1,000,000 over the past 36 months
  • 4 properties have sold above $1,000,000 over past 12 months

Carmichael Links:

NOTE: Carmichael is technically not a city, but a Census-Designated Place (CDP) in Sacramento County.

If you have any questions about the data above or any potential real estate appraisal needs within Carmichael or surrounding areas, feel free to contact me at 916-595-3735 or www.lundquistcompany.com

El Dorado Hills Market Trends (El Dorado County)

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What’s going on in the real estate market in El Dorado Hills? Here is a trend graph displaying 36 months of sales based upon Sacramento Metrolist. The data was limited to sales under $2,000,000 since there were only 11 sales at $2,000,000 or above over the past 3 years (listed on MLS).

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What do you see? For starters, El Dorado Hills has houses selling at higher levels than many surrounding areas, doesn’t it? It does look like there is a trend downward over the past 36 months with homes selling at overall lower levels as well as less houses which have sold above 1.5 million lately.

El Dorado Hills Real Estate Market Data:

  • Past 90 days:  96 sales
  • Median Price over past 90 days: $442,470
  • Low Sale over past 90 days:  $230,000
  • High Sale over past 90 days:  $1,798,000
  • Past 12 Months:  580 sales
  • Current Active Listings:  255
  • Current Short Sale Active Listings:  91
  • Current Pending Listings:  63

El Dorado Hills Links:

If you have questions about the data above or any potential appraisal needs for tax appeal, estate settlement, purchase, refinance, etc… feel free to contact me at 916-595-3735 or www.lundquistcompany.com

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