Sacramento Appraisal Blog

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The anatomy of doom & gloom real estate articles

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The market is going to crash. This time it’s going to be even worse. Have you been seeing more doom and gloom housing headlines? I sure have. This week I’ve had quite a few articles emailed to me. What do you think of this one? What do stats actually show? What do I say to my buyer who feels concerned? Let’s chat about this.

This photo is me holding a sign that says "doom and gloom"

This is me holding a shabby chic doom sign I made this past weekend.

UPCOMING PUBLIC SPEAKING GIGS:

  • 2/25/2022 Placer Assn of Realtors market update (details)
  • 3/15/2022 NARPM Luncheon (details)
  • 3/22/2022 SAFE Credit Union market update (details)
  • 4/28/2022 SAR Think Like an Appraiser (details)

TEENAGE BLOG: My blog turned thirteen years old on Sunday. I’m definitely going to be watching the car keys and liquor cabinet closely… 

NOTE: This post focuses on breaking down what I tend to see in so many doom and gloom real estate articles (and YouTube videos). If you’re looking to read about market ups and downs, check out a piece I wrote a few months ago, “Is the housing market going to crash?”

THE ANATOMY OF DOOM & GLOOM ARTICLES

Sensational title: These posts start with a sensational title such as, “We’re going to see a massive implosion,” or “It’s going to be worse than 2008.” I get it. A great title helps people click.

Minimal statistical substance: In many doom articles we tend to see big ideas without statistical substance. These articles often say, “Prices are high, so we’re going to see the same thing happen again.” In my mind that’s not enough substance, especially since there is no such thing as a rigid formula where the housing market has to do exactly what it did the last time. Moreover, many websites have been sharing this message for years, so at some point we have to question credibility. But back to stats, many doom articles seem to hype up the future without entertaining the present. I guess the message of, “The market will change in the future,” feels a bit vague and boring to me. For reference, here’s a post I wrote a few years ago to discuss price cycles in real estate. Remember, not every price cycle rises and falls exactly the same. In other words, what happened last time isn’t automatically the new template for the future.
 
Perspective that goes against stats: Sometimes people say things like, “We’re going to see massive mortgage delinquencies and a new foreclosure crisis.” But when we look at actual stats, mortgage delinquencies are really low and foreclosures hardly exist. During the beginning of the pandemic, the mortgage delinquency rate shot up, but it has since declined. This doesn’t mean we cannot have a problem in the future, but current stats don’t support a doom narrative.
Here’s a look at forbearance rates also. They’ve been declining, and 1.30% of all loans are in forbearance (compared to 8.53% in early 2020). At the start of the pandemic there was so much concern (rightly so), but a housing collapse based on this hasn’t panned out.
 
A visual to show the decline of forebearance rates through the past couple of years. This is a line graph.
Fringe source: A few people sent me an article this week, and I wrote back stating, “This is a fringe political website that I’ve never heard of. I wouldn’t give any credibility to this slanted source.”
 
An obsession with doom: If someone is going to write with a doom lens, I’m skeptical because I know I’m not getting objectivity. To be fair, I feel the same way about a positive-only lens that ignores anything negative.
 
Experts likely not quoted: In many doom articles it’s just one person pontificating without expert perspective (or stats). It reads more like a housing diatribe instead of housing research.
 
That timeless feeling: The big thing is these articles feel timeless because they are so general in what they’re predicting. These pieces basically could have been written three years ago, and maybe they’ll even get repackaged next year. In my mind this “timeless” feel is the tell we’re reading sensationalism more than stats. Of course, one day the authors will be right since markets don’t always go up. But like the saying goes, a broken clock is right twice a day.
 

Other: What did I miss?

CONCLUSION:

I’m not saying all housing articles predicting demise are bad, but the doom niche tends to be formulaic with much of what I mentioned above. The truth is we should be talking about the current housing market as well as the future. Let’s keep doing that. But be careful not to get swept away by weekly articles that don’t add substance to the conversation. Know what I’m saying?

TWO RECOMMENDATIONS:

1) Know the numbers: Pay attention to actual stats and let the numbers form your perspective and narrative. Ultimately, without a good sense of seasonal trends and current stats, it’s easy to get tossed around by each new sensational headline. Moreover, a quick way to lose credibility in real estate is to habitually share articles that lack merit. I know, that sounds so judgy, but it’s the truth. If you feel like you’re not in tune with stats in your market, maybe start pulling them yourself, find a few people who are doing a good job (and devour their stuff), or even check out what a source like Redfin puts out there.

2) Read mostly everything: I recommend reading from a variety of sources and following lots of different people who talk about housing. Having a well-rounded perspective is important as a system of checks and balances too. On a related note, if someone has a positive-only or negative-only housing outlook, don’t waste your time. All that said, I appreciate hearing what Ivy Zelman has to say lately because she’s been more contrarian than most other housing analysts (which piques my curiosity). Some of my favorite housing voices include Calculated Risk, Altos Research, Odeta Kushi, Jonathan Miller, Len Kiefer, Daryl Fairweather, Steven Thomas (SoCal), Patrick Carlisle (Bay Area), etc…

MARKET STATS: I’ll have lots of market stats out this week on my social channels, so watch Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

Thanks for being here.

Questions: What are you seeing out there in the market? What doom and gloom articles have you read lately? What housing sources are you listening to right now?

If you liked this post, subscribe by email (or RSS). Thanks for being here.

The housing market feels like chaos

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It feels like chaos out there. The housing market is on steroids and it’s mind-blowing to see such rapid growth lately. Today I want to unpack ten things I’m watching in today’s market. For my out-of-area readers, I’m guessing you are probably seeing the same trends. But please let me know. What is similar or different in your area?

MARKET UPDATE PRESENTATION: I’m giving a big presentation next week by Zoom for SAFE Credit Union. It’s free and you are invited to sign up here. It could be useful for background noise while working. Hope to see you there.

10 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE MARKET

Skim or read in depth. The following post is organized around ten points.

1) PRICES ARE INSANE:

We’ve seen enormous price increases lately. It’s mind-blowing to see 20% increases because the market really was slowing down in recent years. Also, the median price in the region is up nearly 9% from two months ago in January.

Here’s a different way to look at prices. The orange line represents 2021. It’s an outlier market, right?

2) BUYERS MADE TWICE AS MANY OFFERS LAST MONTH:

Buyers made twice as many offers last month compared to the previous year. These figures are based on closed sales and MLS data.

3) MORE BUYERS ARE OFFERING 5-10% ABOVE THE ORIGINAL PRICE:

Here’s a look at what buyers are paying right now in relation to the original list price. One of the glowing stats is we’ve seen about five times as many buyers paying 5-10% above the original list price this year. Wild times, right? Of course only six percent of sales sold below the original list price last month too, which reminds us very few properties are overpriced. Yet nearly one in five sales sold at the original list price. I know, that almost seems like an error, but it’s really not because take a look at last year which represents what should be happening. As you can see if we were having a normal year we’d probably be seeing about half of all sales selling at the original list price. 

Takeaway: Be cautious about saying everything is selling 20% above the list price. The stats don’t support that claim.

4) HOUSING SUPPLY HAS BEEN CHOPPED IN HALF:

I feel like a broken record. Housing supply is about half of what it was last year. The truth is we have weeks of listings and months of buyers.

5) SALES VOLUME HAS BEEN UP FOR TEN MONTHS IN A ROW:

There aren’t enough listings out there to satisfy demand, but for ten months in a row buyers have been buying basically everything, which means we’ve been able to surpass numbers from last year. Some people don’t believe it when I tell them this, but it’s the truth. In short, it is not easy out there, but buyers are getting it done.

NOTE: I have images like these for Placer, El Dorado, and Sacramento County too. Send me an email if you need something.

6) MORE LISTINGS ARE FINALLY COMING:

We are starting to see more listings hit the market. It really is a normal seasonal amount so far, so it’s nothing to write home over, BUT during a pandemic anything that feels close to normal is something we covet. Granted, there are not enough listings to satisfy crazy demand yet or slow down the market, but at the least we’ve seen more lately.

Mortgage applications drop: Speaking of shopping for homes, for three weeks in a row we’ve seen mortgage applications drop. This seems to be a reflection of rising rates and prices lately and it’s one small metric to watch to get a sense of demand in the market. 

7) THE REST OF THE COUNTRY FEELS LIKE SACRAMENTO:

I love this image from Altos Research because it helps show depleted inventory is something happening across the entire country. This is a good reminder because it’s tempting for locals to blame the aggressive market on Bay Area buyers when in fact many markets feel just like this. I’m not diminishing the reality of what seems like increased Bay Area migration, but let’s not forget we’re seeing an ultra-competitive market almost everywhere due to crazy low rates and anemic housing supply during the pandemic.

8) IT’S NOT A DISTRESSED MARKET:

There is so much talk about a coming foreclosure wave, but for now it doesn’t look like there is one on the horizon as forbearance rates are heading in the right direction. We are still in the thick of the pandemic of course, so we are certainly not out of the woods. All I’m saying is I’d recommend being cautious about embracing a doom and gloom narrative because so far the stats don’t support this idea. Let’s stay tuned though. And for the record I will be the first to change my narrative if the stats change… In terms of distressed sales at the moment, we really have bottomed out. It’s hard to get too much lower than 0.39% of sales being bank-owned and 0.30% of sales being short sales.

9) HUGE GROWTH AT THE TOP:

The market is very much top heavy right now. What I mean is we’ve seen explosive growth at higher prices – especially above $1M. This is a dynamic being mirrored in many markets across the country too.

BIG TAKEAWAY: When talking about price stats being 20% higher it’s important to realize some of that growth has to do with the types of homes selling. In short, less at the bottom and more at the top naturally elevates price stats.

10) CONVENTIONAL IS MORE DOMINANT THAN CASH:

The narrative is that cash buyers are gutting the market, but it’s not technically true. Cash really isn’t king these days because it’s so cheap to borrow money. Locally we’re seeing 7 out of 10 sales go conventional. BUT cash is absolutely winning when conventional buyers can bridge the appraisal gap and offer other incentives to the seller. It’s not so easy to get an FHA offer accepted either, but at least 1 out of 10 sales were FHA last quarter.

BONUS: Here are two visuals to show what the median price looks like over the past few decades. In one visual I adjusted for inflation too (which can be an important consideration when comparing today with 2005). Here are some thoughts on how long this market can keep going.

Other visuals: Not that you needed more, but check out my social media in coming days and weeks for extra visuals and commentary. I am posting daily stuff on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Oh, and sometimes Instagram.

Thanks for being here.

Questions: What stands out to you about the market lately? I’d love to hear your take.

If you liked this post, subscribe by email (or RSS). Thanks for being here.

The slowing, competitive, & price-sensitive market in Sacramento

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Slowing down. Competitive. Price sensitive. Still more aggressive than last year. These are all ways I would describe today’s housing market in Sacramento. Let’s unpack the latest trends today to really see the market so we can better understand it and explain it to clients.

slow but competitive market in sacramento - image purchased and used with permission from 123rf - sacramento appraisal blog

4 Hours to write this post: This post usually takes easily 4-5 hours to write each month. Keep in mind I create 50-60 graphs and then break down the trends into bite-sized talking points. I honestly LOVE doing this, and the goal is to be able to use the information for life and business. Why am I mentioning this? I just wanted to let you know how much I value helping us stay in tune with the market. New readers, the three other monthly posts are short, sweet, and general, but this one is long and hyper-local.

Two ways to read THE BIG MONTHLY POST:

  1. Scan the talking points and graphs quickly.
  2. Grab a cup of coffee and spend a few minutes digesting what is here.

DOWNLOAD 54 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 (please don’t copy verbatim). Thanks.

One Paragraph to Describe the Sacramento Market: Last month I talked about how the market has been slowing down. Sometimes when we say “slow”, it can really freak people out. But it’s actually very normal for real estate to soften during the later summer and fall after a more aggressive buying season in the spring. Moreover, when the market does change, it’s simply an opportunity to price more efficiently and explain the changing market to clients. The danger is when we say the same thing about the market all year long despite the trends really not being the same. What are some of the signs of slowing? It took 4 days longer to sell a home last month than the previous month in the Sacramento region. Housing inventory increased slightly in the surrounding four counties last month. The sales to list price ratio decreased by 1% last month. The median price in Sacramento County has been the same for four months in a row. The median price in the Sacramento region has declined by 1% over the past few months. I could go on and on. Of course let’s remember that sales volume is up by a whopping 10.9% so far this year in the region, and housing inventory is actually 22% lower right now in the region compared to the same time last year. Ultimately it’s still very competitive out there as buyers are hungry to get into contract before interest rates rise too much or while they feel like they can still afford the market (that’s so 2004). All year the market has been remarkably price sensitive too, which means buyers have been hesitant to write offers on overpriced homes. As housing supply presumably continues to increase over the next few months, watch out for price reductions to continue to increase, unrealistic expectations from sellers, and buyers gaining more power.

Sacramento County Market Trends for August 2015:

  1. The median price has been hovering at $290,000 for 120 days.
  2. It took an average of 34 days to sell a house last month (up 3 days from July).
  3. Last year at this time it was taking an average of 40 days to sell a house.
  4. FHA sales were nearly 27% of all sales in Sacramento County last month.
  5. Sales volume is 9.7% higher so far in 2015 compared to last year.
  6. Sales volume was 15% higher in August 2015 compared to August 2014.
  7. There is a 1.76 month supply of homes for sale (slightly lower than July).
  8. Housing inventory is nearly 27% lower right now compared to August 2014.
  9. The average price per sq ft is 185 (5.5% higher than last August).
  10. The average sales price is $319,636 (slightly lower than past two months).

context for median price - by sacramento appraisal blog

CDOM in Sacramento County - by Sacramento Appraisal Blog

inventory in sacramento county Since 2013 - part 2 - by sacramento appraisal blog

inventory - August 2015 - by home appraiser blog

price metrics since 2014 in sacramento county

number of listings in sacramento - August 2015 - by home appraiser blog

sales volume in Sacramento County

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

  1. Sales volume was up 12.8% in August 2015 compared to August 2014.
  2. Sales volume for the year is up 10.9% compared with 2014.
  3. The median price at $328,825 is up 6% from last year, but down 1% from the past two months.
  4. It took an average of 39 days to sell a house last month (4 days longer than last month).
  5. FHA sales were 23% of all sales in the region last month.
  6. There is 2.05 months of housing inventory (up from 1.98 last month).
  7. The average sales price is $367,545 (4.2% higher than last year, but down slightly from two months ago at $370K).
  8. It took 3 less days to sell a house this August compared to August 2014.
  9. FHA sales volume has increased by 30% in 2015 compared with 2014.
  10. Housing inventory is nearly 22% lower right now compared to August 2014.

sales volume 2015 vs 2014 in sacramento placer yolo el dorado county

days on market in placer sac el dorado yolo county by sacramento appraisal blog

breakdown of sales fha and everything else in sacramento placer yolo el dorado county

months of housing inventory in region by sacramento appraisal blog

breakdown of sales in sacramento placer yolo el dorado county

interest rates inventory median price in sacramento regional market by sacramento appraisal blog

Placer County Market Trends for August 2015:

  1. Sales volume was up 11.7% in August 2015 compared to August 2014.
  2. Sales volume for the year is up 17% compared with 2014.
  3. The median price in Placer County is $402,900 (increased from last month, but it’s been hovering from $390-400K generally).
  4. Cash sales were 18.5% of all sales last month (very normal level).
  5. It took 46 days on average to sell a house last month (6 more days than July).
  6. Last year at this time it took 1 day longer to sell a house.
  7. FHA sales were 19% of all sales in Placer County last month.
  8. There is 2.35 months of housing inventory (up from 2.17 months in July).
  9. The average price per sq ft is 201.8 (been hovering around this level for a few months).
  10. REOs were less than 2% of all sales and short sales were roughly 2.5% of all sales last month.

days on market in placer county by sacramento appraisal blog

Placer County sales volume - by sacramento appraisal blog

months of housing inventory in placer county by sacramento appraisal blog

Placer County median price and inventory - by home appraiser blog

interest rates inventory median price in placer county by sacramento appraisal blog

Regional market median price - by home appraiser blog

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

Quick Pricing Advice:

  1. Remember it is normal for the market to cool off during the latter part of the year. Knowing seasonal cycles and communicating them is key.
  2. Price according to the most recent listings that are getting into contract rather than the highest sales from the spring. Remember, it’s normal for housing inventory to increase during the fall, so this will only allow buyers to be more picky.
  3. The market is still very price sensitive, which means buyers are not biting on overpriced listings despite inventory and interest rates being relatively low.
  4. Price according to the neighborhood market rather than county-wide trends since your neighborhood might be more or less aggressive compared to the entire county.

DOWNLOAD 54 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 (please don’t copy verbatim). Thanks.

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.

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