Is it just me, or has the market felt a bit funky? On one hand demand has felt very aggressive, but actual value appreciation has been fairly modest overall. Let’s take a look at the latest trends in the Sacramento housing market below. If you’re local, I hope the 10 quick trends help give you some talking points with clients. If you’re not local, what are you seeing in your area?
One Paragraph on the Market: More listings came on the market last month, but buyers readily absorbed them. Pendings are still a good 20%+ higher than last year in the Sacramento area, and clean and well-priced properties are getting into contract very quickly. As aggressive as demand has felt though, we haven’t seen the rapid appreciation this Spring that we saw in 2013. Values more or less have experienced a normal seasonal increase, though when compared to sales during the Fall of 2014, prices are clearly MUCH higher since there was a lull in the market last Fall. Overall price levels now generally seem to have recovered back to the height of last Summer (or even a bit higher depending on the area). Well-priced listings are getting into contract VERY quickly, and there have been multiple offers. But at the same time buyers are tending to overlook properties that are overpriced and anything with an adverse location or a lack of upgrades. As housing inventory presumably begins to increase over the next few months, keep an eye out for more price reductions, unrealistic expectations from sellers, and buyers gaining more power from sellers. Remember too the market does not behave the same at every price level or in every neighborhood.
Two ways to read my big monthly market post:
- Scan the talking points and graphs quickly.
- Grab a cup of coffee and spend a few minutes digesting what is here.
DOWNLOAD 52 graphs HERE for free (zip file): Please download all 52 graphs here as a zip file (or send me an email). Use them for study, for your newsletter, or even some on your blog. See my sharing policy for 5 ways to share.
Sacramento County Market Trends for April 2015:
- The median price in Sacramento County is $280,000.
- The median price is 5.6% higher than one year ago (April 2014).
- It took 42 days to sell a house last month.
- Cash sales were only 16.5% of all sales last month.
- FHA sales were 27% of all sales in Sacramento County last month.
- Sales volume was 9.2% higher this April compared to last April.
- There is 1.5 months of housing inventory (1.8 months last April).
- The average price per sq ft is 182 (7% higher than last April).
- The average sales price is $310,000 (5.7% higher than last year).
- It took 3 days longer to sell a house this April compared to last.
Placer County Market Trends for April 2015:
- The median price in Placer County is $391,500.
- The median price is 6.9% higher than one year ago (April 2014).
- It took 41 days to sell a house last month.
- Cash sales were 17% of all sales last month.
- FHA sales were 20% of all sales in Sacramento County last month.
- Sales volume was 27.5% higher this April compared to last April.
- There is 1.9 months of housing inventory (2.5 months last April).
- The average price per sq ft is 200 (3% higher than last April).
- The average sales price is $441,163 (3.8% higher than last year).
- It took 10 days shorter to sell a house this April compared to last.
Regional Market Trends for April 2015 (Sac, Placer, Yolo, El Dorado):
- The median price in the Sacramento Region is $325,000.
- The median price is 9.4% higher than one year ago (April 2014).
- It took 44 days to sell a house last month.
- Cash sales were 16.9% of all sales last month.
- FHA sales were 23.7% of all sales in Sacramento County last month.
- Sales volume was 10.5% higher this April compared to last April.
- There is 1.7 months of housing inventory (2.1 months last April).
- The average price per sq ft is 192 (7.2% higher than last April).
- The average sales price is $360,351 (6.9% higher than last year).
- It took the same amount of time to sell in April 2015 and April 2014.
Questions: How do you think sellers and buyers are feeling about the market right now? What are you seeing out there?
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The market ripened early this year. Buyers have simply been ready before sellers. On one hand listings and sales have been at fairly normal levels for the first two months of the year, so we can say the market is normal in that regard. But buyer demand really took off last month as pendings in the regional market were up by almost 30% compared to last February. This is the part that is not normal, and why we can say the Spring market ripened early.
One Paragraph to Explain the Market: Well-priced listings are going quickly and experiencing multiple offers, but otherwise properties are sitting on the market if they are not priced correctly. Buyers have been anxious to get into contract, but at the same time they seem to be showing discretion by not readily pulling the trigger on homes with adverse locations or issues. This has led to a sense of many current listings feeling like leftovers since they’ve been well vetted like thrift store clothing. The good news is we are reaching the time of year where more listings should be hitting the market to help alleviate the pressure of a lack of good inventory. Lastly, it took a few less days to sell last month, inventory decreased, and the sales to original list price ratio increased (all normal in Spring).
NOTE: I am posting once a week now, and this means my big monthly post will have less text, but a few more graphs (Placer, Sacramento County, & Regional Market).
Two ways to read this post:
DOWNLOAD 45+ graphs HERE for free (zip file): Please download these 45+ graphs here as a zip file (or send me an email). Use them for study, for your newsletter, or even some on your blog. See my sharing policy for 5 ways to share.
SACRAMENTO COUNTY:
PLACER COUNTY:
SACRAMENTO REGION (Sac, Placer, Yolo, El Dorado):
Questions: What is driving buyers to get into contract? Is it low rates? Is it a sense of needing to get in a home before values rise too quickly? What do you think?
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