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Graph of unemployment

A flattening market, jobs and bathroom reading for Sacramento real estate

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If you’re looking to stay on top of the Sacramento real estate market, here are a few tidbits to check out. I hope this helps give you a sense of what is happening. If you have any questions or insight, feel free to comment below.

1) The Market is Flattening Out: Realtor Doug Reynolds posted a video two days ago about how the market in Sacramento has been flattening out. This is right in line with the way I’ve been describing things. It’s important to watch trends closely so we are empowered to employ the best strategies for business and be on top of our game for clients. This is worth a watch or listen below (or here).

It’s normal in real estate to see the market slow down in Fall and then heat up again in Spring. The only issue is that some locals are shocked to hear this since they have only heard the market is “on fire” or that values have increased by 30%. But when we take a closer look, the trend has shifted. We’re now in a new market, so let’s keep an eye on the past, but focus on the present and future.

Sacramento County price per sq ft - Sacramento Appraisal Blog

2) The Word on Unemployment: If you didn’t catch the recent news, the unemployment rate in Sacramento County is now 8.9% as of August 2013. It’s been hovering around 9.0% for a few months now, while the unemployment rate in California is currently 8.8% and it’s 7.3% in the United States.

Unemployment in Sacramento California United States - August 2013 - blog size - by Sacramento Appraisal Blog

Here’s my take on the interaction of jobs with real estate. The recent upward trend in values was very strongly influenced by forces external to the Sacramento market as opposed to our local economy. Now that interest rates are increasing and some investors have begun to exit the market (down nearly 8% over the past few months), the job market will stand out a bit more now that we are missing some of the outside power that gave the market a boost. Remember, there are many factors that impact real estate values, and jobs is just one of the “layers of the cake” so to speak.

The Wright Report3) Forty Pages to Explain the Market: This is the most exhaustive report I know of in Sacramento. It’s worth printing and reading in the bathroom (or wherever you do your reading) to help gain some context for what is influencing the local market. If you want to go green, just download and read it on your tablet or computer. It is 40 pages in length, so it’s not a quick blog style read (many of the pages are graphs). I contributed a page or two to this report as well as some charts, which is always an honor. Visit Joel Wright’s website or DOWNLOAD HERE (PDF).

Question: What are you seeing happening in the market?

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Unemployment declined from March to April in Sacramento County

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New unemployment stats are out for Sacramento County. The unemployment rate dropped from 11.4% to 10.5% from March to April 2012. This is a big drop for one month, so we’ll have to see what coming months yield to see if this is just a blip or not. Whatever the case, it’s nice to see the overall downward trend in unemployment over the past year. It’ll only mean good news for the housing market to keep seeing this number decline. Source: EDD.

Unemployment Rate January 2009 to April 2012 - by Sacramento Home Appraiser - 530 pixels

Here is a graph of unemployment in Sacramento County since 1990 to give a panoramic view of the job market. It’s amazing to consider the history of where we’ve been (and maybe a bit depressing too).

Unemployment in April 2012 - graph by Sacramento Appraiser - 530 pixels

Do you want to share these graphs? If you’d like to use these graphs on your blog or website to be a resource to your readers and clients, please do so. If you need a larger size for a presentation or newsletter (or your blog), let me know. Please see my sharing policy for details. As always, thank you for linking back to me and keeping my images intact. It’s a huge honor when others share my content.

What do you see above? Anything stand out to you?

If you have any questions or Sacramento area real estate appraisal or property tax appeal needs, contact me by phone 916-595-3735, email, Twitter, subscribe to posts by email or “like” my page on Facebook

A graph of the unemployment rate from 1990-2012 in Sacramento County

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Anytime I hear hyper-positive news about the national housing market, I wonder if it’s spin I always sift the details through the local economy in Sacramento and the need to see the unemployment rate continue to drop to see improvement in our market. It’s been somewhat encouraging to see the unemployment rate decline from the high of 13.2% in July 2010 to 11.2% in February 2012, but I’ll feel even better once we see unemployment down a few more percentage points. I’ve been posting unemployment trends and graphs for quite some time, but the graph below stands out in my mind since I added an additional eight years (1990-1998) from my previous graphs. It’s amazing to consider what a wild ride it’s been over the course of two decades. The economy and unemployment have been up and down to say the least (sort of like a roller coaster), and hopefully we’ll have a downhill ride in coming years to get that rate down a bit.

Feel free to use this image on your blog, website or in a presentation. I do have a larger size available too, so email me if that’s relevant for you. Please just keep the image intact and feel free to link back.

What stands out to you about the graph? What time period do you remember most?

Unemployment in Sacramento County 1990-2012 - graph by Sacramento Appraiser - 530 pixels

Property Tax Class This Week: By the way, on an unrelated note, on Thursday I am teaching a class at the Sacramento Association of Realtors YPC forum called “How to Appeal Your Property Taxes.” The class is open to SAR members and affiliates, but even if you are not a part of the association, you can come as my guest. Just let me know beforehand if you’re interested (send me an email, call or comment below). I’ll be talking about the nuts and bolts of property tax appeals, FAQs and advice for consumers from my experience consulting with home owners.

YPC Forum: “How to Appeal Your Property Taxes” – April 19, 2012 9am Sacramento Association of Realtors 2003 Howe Avenue, Sacramento, CA 95825

If you have any questions or Sacramento area real estate appraisal or property tax appeal needs, contact me by phone 916-595-3735, email, Facebook, Twitter or subscribe to posts by email.