Sacramento Appraisal Blog | Real Estate Appraiser

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.

market stats

How much value does a pool really add?

By 18 Comments

What is a built-in pool worth? I get asked this question all the time. Well, let’s look at some fresh stats to help show why there isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer.

New Pool Stats: I pulled some stats and I’m excited to share these. If you aren’t local, does your market look similar regarding pools? Also, what other property features besides pools could we look at this way?

BIG POINTS:

– There are more pools at higher prices
– There are less pools at lower prices
– The percentage of pools differs greatly by location
– Some areas have tiny lots, so there are less pools
– The market expects a pool in some price ranges

THE HUGE VALUE POINT:

It’s easy to get stuck giving the same value adjustment every time we see a pool, but the market doesn’t pay the same amount for a pool everywhere because buyers have different expectations based on location and price range. So a pool probably isn’t worth anything in Antarctica while it’s worth way more in Arizona. As local stats show, in some areas like Granite Bay, buyers hands-down expect a pool to be present while in other places pools are extremely rare. Of course just because a pool is not common doesn’t mean it doesn’t add value. I’m just saying this gives us pause to consider the value of a pool might not be the same everywhere. 

SORRY: I know I didn’t answer the question in my blog title, but that’s on my purpose. My goal is to give us something to think about rather than a bogus adjustment that isn’t going to apply everywhere. But if you do want to find out what a pool is worth, start comparing homes with and without pools to see if you can discern a price difference.

MARKET UPDATE VIDEO: Here’s a market update I did a few weeks ago. It’s about 40 minutes. Enjoy below (or here) if you wish.

SPEAKING GIGS THIS WEEK: On Friday I’m talking at the Gold County Women’s Council of Realtors. Then on Monday night I’m talking at the Real Estate Round Table (at a tavern). 

I hope this was interesting or helpful.

Questions: What stands out to you about the data above? What is the most or least value you’ve ever seen for a built-in pool? Anything to add?

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

The fidget spinner “bubble” and softening real estate values

By 16 Comments

I see fidget spinners everywhere. It’s incredible how popular they’ve become over the past few months, right? Though like any fad, the market is about to change. Well, that’s what my 11-year old son thinks anyway. He sensed a “bubble” brewing, so he unloaded some of his spinner inventory on the last day of school and ended up raking in $37 (little stud). 

Slower “spin” in real estate: About this time of year the real estate market begins to cool or “spin” more slowly so to speak. Though at times it feels controversial or blasphemous to say that because it goes against the grain of an ultra-positive real estate shtick. Yet no matter what, it’s normal for values to soften every year, and right now we seem to be in the beginning stages of that. This doesn’t mean the market is not incredibly competitive still or values have stopped increasing. It just means high altitude values in spring tend to subtly begin a downward descent right about now.

Pregnancy analogy: The problem is when the market slows we don’t see it in the stats yet for a couple months. It’s like taking a pregnancy test. You can be pregnant, but an over-the-counter test won’t tell you that for two weeks even though your body has 100% changed. Similarly, the real estate market may have begun to shift, but we might not see any difference in the stats yet. For example, almost every year July sales take longer to sell than June sales. It’s easy to then say, “The market changed in July.” But the truth is things actually began to change in May and June. After all, let’s remember the sales that closed in July got into contract in May and June. Thus when July sales stats show a slowing, it really tells us the market began to slow a couple months prior.

The Point: Whether spinners or real estate, let’s watch for signs of change so we can speak definitively about trends and give solid advice. Let’s be cautious to not talk about markets like they always stay the same either.

I hope that was helpful or interesting. Any thoughts?

–——-——- Big monthly market update (it’s long on purpose) ———–——-

If you didn’t know, sales volume last month was the strongest May we’ve seen over the past 4 years. But don’t get too excited because sales volume for the entire year is about the same as last year. No matter how we look at it, price metrics are up 7-9% from 2016 and they increased by 2-4% last month. One of the themes that won’t go away is we have a shortage of housing. In fact, housing supply is 22% lower right now compared to last year, and it’s been putting pressure on values to increase – particularly at entry-level price ranges. The tricky part lately is many contracts are getting bid up due to multiple offers (even beyond a reasonable appraised value). This can favor sellers accepting offers from buyers who have more cash to make up the difference between the appraised value and the contract price, though FHA sales stats show first-time buyers are still finding ways to close deals. In higher price ranges the market feels much softer, though we are still seeing multiple offers when properties are priced correctly. This is a good reminder that it’s possible for the market to feel more aggressive than actual value increases. In other words, having multiple offers doesn’t mean values are increasing rapidly or at all. Lastly, we are starting to hear more about lenders rolling out 100% financing to help buyers artificially afford higher prices (sounds healthy, right?). I could go on and on with words, but let me share some graphs to show the market visually.

DOWNLOAD 55 graphs (and a stat sheet) HERE: Please download all graphs in this post (and more) here as a zip file. See my sharing policy for 5 ways to share (please don’t copy verbatim).

Sacramento County graphs this month (more here):

Sacramento regional graphs (more here):

DOWNLOAD 55 graphs (and a stat sheet) HERE: Please download all graphs in this post (and more) here as a zip file. See my sharing policy for 5 ways to share (please don’t copy verbatim).

Questions: Do you think we’re in a fidget spinner “bubble”? What else are you seeing in the real estate market? Did I miss anything? I’d love to hear your take.

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

5 things to remember about lofty list prices

By 14 Comments

There’s huge buzz this week about a $4.1 million dollar condo that just hit the market. I know that’s chump change in other places, but it’s a conversation piece in Sacramento since we don’t see listings anywhere near that level in Downtown (or almost anywhere in the county). Anyway, there’s some good conversation to be had from this, so I hoped we could consider a few ideas and then unpack local market trends (for those interested). Any thoughts?

5 things to remember about lofty list prices:

1) Attention & buzz: A high list price for a luxury property is designed to get attention, create buzz, and help market a property. In this case the $4.1 million dollar condo listing is located in a development called The Residences at The Sawyer. This penthouse unit is 3323 sq ft and is located directly across from the new arena at 500 J St (killer location). 

2) Records & price context: When hearing of high listings it’s tempting to treat the list price like a record has been broken. But if we’re honest this list price doesn’t matter unless the property actually sells at that level. Last year in Sacramento we had a $5M listing, the year before it was a $7M one, and a few years back there was a $10M listing. None of them sold = No records. There have actually only been three sales on MLS in the past that have sold at $4,000,000 or above in Sacramento County. They include: 1) The Governor’s Mansion built in Carmichael when Ronald Reagan was Governor (sold in 2004 at $4.1M); 2) A property in Sierra Oaks in 2013 that sold at $4.7M; and 3) An estate in Elk Grove that sold at $4.6M in 2005, and then re-sold for $1.3M in 2011 after a foreclosure.

3) Marketing to non-locals: Most locals aren’t anywhere close to affording a $4,100,000 listing – not to mention the whopping $4,021 monthly HOA fee (that’s not a typo). But the thing is this property is probably being marketed to someone from the Bay Area, maybe one of the owners of The Kings, or one of the Kings players. The Beverly Hills firm who is running the sales office is likely focused on non-locals more than anything because this is the type of property that would appeal to a wider group outside of the region. In that sense the property is an anomaly of sorts. Of course there is no guarantee they can fetch a price that high. For reference, the highest condo price I’m aware of in Midtown is the L-Street Lofts penthouse which former NBA player Kevin Martin bought for $1.34M in 2008 (and it re-sold in 2014 for $1.3M). The location on J St is bound to fetch higher prices, but how much higher? We’ll see.

Here’s a Twitter pricing poll I ran yesterday.  🙂

4) Reductions and good deals: It’s tempting for sellers to list something at an absurdly high price level, reduce the list price, and still feel tied to the original list price. So the seller says, “Hey, we came down 30% in price already. The buyer is getting a great deal.” But the problem is the listing was priced 30% too high to begin with. We see this with outrageously priced high listings, but we also see it in just about every neighborhood too. Thanks Jonathan Miller for influencing my thoughts on this.

5) Freaking out: When hearing about a “4 million dollar” property, it’s easy to freak out and start saying, “Holy Batman, prices in Sacramento are now at LA and SF levels,” or “I cannot believe how high values have risen.” Take a breath though because this is just a listing right now. If it makes you feel better, remember that $250,000,000 listing in Bel-Air that garnered world-wide attention in January? Well, that one’s still listed for sale at the same price… In short, let’s give this one some space and see if this price pans out or not.

I hope that was helpful or interesting. Any thoughts?

———–——-——- big monthly market update below ——-———–——-

A LOCAL MARKET SUMMARY:

Values have continued to increase in the spring, though at the same time the market isn’t aggressive in every price range. When looking at Sac county and the region as a whole, both the average sales price and average price per sq ft saw increases last month. On the other hand the median price softened slightly (don’t make too much of that since the median can go up and down depending on what has sold). Housing inventory feels like it is doing the Limbo as it keeps going down and down. Seriously, inventory was already low last year, but it’s 20% lower this year. This is definitely putting pressure of values to increase in some price ranges. My sense is lower prices in just about every neighborhood are experiencing upward pressure because that’s what represents affordability to buyers for those areas. So buyers in La Riviera are feeling the pressure under $300,000, buyers in Whitney Ranch are feeling it under $400,000, and buyers in East Sacramento are feeling similar pressure under $450,000. Yet buyers at middle-to-upper ranges are not experiencing this same dynamic because the market is flat or soft in many areas at upper price levels (yet we still might see multiple offers though). As expected, last month it took about 5 less days to sell than the previous month. I could go on and on with words, but let me share some graphs to show the market visually. 

DOWNLOAD 53 graphs HERE: Please download all graphs in this post (and more) here as a zip file (including a quick stat sheet). See my sharing policy for 5 ways to share (please don’t copy verbatim). Thanks.

Sacramento County graphs this month (more here):

Sacramento regional graphs (more here):

DOWNLOAD 53 graphs HERE: Please download all graphs in this post (and more) here as a zip file (including a one-page quick stat sheet). See my sharing policy for 5 ways to share (please don’t copy verbatim). Thanks.

Questions: What do you think of the $4.1M condo listing? Did I miss anything? What are you seeing out there in the market? I’d love to hear your take.

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

That awkward moment when the market changes

By 20 Comments

Have you ever met someone who looked really good on the outside, but the inside was a different story? That’s sort of like the housing market right now. Sales stats look super attractive, but if we really consider listings and other metrics we begin to see a different story. The market is slowing. Since it’s not always easy to explain that, here are a few analogies to help describe how important it is to look beyond just sales to gauge the temperature of the market. Then for those interested, let’s take a deep look at Sacramento trends. Any thoughts?

Examples to explain the market when it begins to slow:

  1. First Date: A first date is all about putting your best foot forward, and that’s exactly why we usually need more than just one good date to make up our mind about someone (gotta be sure the person is not psycho). The same thing happens with real estate. Shining sales stats are like a first date because they lure us in and make us feel good. But we can’t really judge an entire market just by the sales. We need to consider listings and other metrics too.
  2. Taking the Temperature in the Shade: If you take the temperature in the shade in the summer, you’re going to get a much different reading. The same thing happens in real estate where we can get the wrong temperature of the market if we only focus on sales instead of listings and other factors.
  3. Judging by one Tweet: These days it’s easy to judge a person by one tweet instead of looking at their wider body of work (their life). The same thing happens in real estate when we only look at sales instead of listings and other stats. If our vision is too narrow, we might not see what the market is actually doing.
  4. Pregnancy Test: I asked my author wife for an analogy and she said the market is like a pregnancy test (I wouldn’t ever have thought of that). You can technically be pregnant but an over-the-counter test won’t tell you that for a couple of weeks. Similarly, the market may have changed, but we may not see a price difference in sales for a month or two. But the change is definitely there when we look at listings and other metrics.
  5. Pokemon: I’m just kidding. I won’t go there.

In a small way, I hope this was helpful. It’s very powerful to explain the market in different ways. Any other analogies to share?

—————– For those interested, here is my big market update  —————–

Big monthly market update post - sacramento appraisal blog - image purchased from 123rfTwo ways to read the BIG POST:

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

DOWNLOAD 80+ graphs HERE: Please download all graphs in this post (and more) here as a zip file. 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.

Quick Market Summary: On paper the market has been hot. We’ve seen all the normal stuff like price increases, slightly higher sales volume in 2016, and sparse housing inventory. If you didn’t know, the median price in Sacramento County is 105% higher than it was in 2012 and 16% lower than the peak in 2005. Distressed sales actually reached their lowest level since 2009 last quarter too. Cash sales volume has been hovering at a normal level while FHA sales volume has been declining. Overall the market is still really competitive, but it’s starting to turn. Keep in mind it’s common for real estate to lose some steam around mid-Summer. While the sales stats don’t show it yet, we see a slower market with the sales-to-list price ratio declining last month from the previous month, it took the same amount of average days to sell for the past two months in the region, and there has been a slightly more optimistic tone among real estate professionals about buyers getting into contract. While it felt utterly hopeless to get an offer accepted a few months ago in certain price ranges, it is starting to feel slightly more hopeful based on feedback from agents. Moreover, it seems like there has been growing price resistance lately (particularly at the higher end of the market). The market has been price sensitive all year as buyers are not fooled by absurdly high prices, but the sensitivity seems more heightened right now.

Sacramento County:

  1. FHA volume has been about 24% of the market (it was nearly 27% of the market last year at the same time).
  2. Cash volume is roughly the same as it was last year at the same time (around 16% of the market).
  3. It took an average of 25 days to sell a home last month, which is 2 days less than the previous month (and 5 less days compared to last year).
  4. REOs were only 2.9% of all sales last quarter (lowest level in years).
  5. Sales volume is up very slightly Q2 2016 compared to Q2 2015.
  6. There is only 1.38 months of housing supply in Sacramento County, which is 14% lower than it was last year at the same time.
  7. The median price increased by 3.5% last month.
  8. The median price is 13% higher than the same time last year.
  9. The avg price per sq ft increased by 1.4% last month.
  10. The avg price per sq ft is 9.7% higher than the same time last year.

Some of my Favorite Graphs this Month:

inventory - June 2016 - by home appraiser blog

CDOM in Sacramento County - by Sacramento Regional Appraisal Blog REOs and Short Sales in Sacramento - 1 inventory in sacramento county Since 2013 - part 2 - by sacramento appraisal blog

Cash & FHA sales in sacramento county

median price context in sacramento county price metrics since 2015 in sacramento county - look at all

june market in sacramento - by sacramento regional appraisal blog 2

layers of the market in sacramento county - by sacramento appraisal blog

Bottom of the Market in Sacramento

SACRAMENTO REGIONAL MARKET:

  1. It took the same amount of time to sell last month as it did the previous month (though 3 less days to sell this June compared to last June).
  2. Sales volume is up slightly in 2016 compared to 2015.
  3. Cash volume is about the same this year (16% of the market for Q2).
  4. FHA volume is down 7.5% so far this year in the region.
  5. The sales to list price ratio was 98% in the region last month.
  6. There is 1.6 months of housing supply in the region right now, which is 13.5% lower than it was last year at the same time.
  7. The median price increased 3.6% last month from the previous month.
  8. The median price is 11% higher than the same time last year.
  9. The avg price per sq ft increased by nearly 1% last month.
  10. The avg price per sq ft is 8.9% higher than the same time last year.

Some of my Favorite Regional Graphs:

sales volume 2015 vs 2016 in sacramento placer yolo el dorado county

sacramento region volume - FHA and conventional - by appraiser blog

days on market in placer sac el dorado yolo county by sacramento appraisal blog interest rates inventory median price in sacramento regional market by sacramento appraisal blog - market median price and inventory in sacramento regional market 2013 median price sacramento placer yolo el dorado county Regional Inventory - by Sacramento regional appraisal blog Regional market median price - by home appraiser blog

PLACER COUNTY:

  1. It took 4 less days to sell a house last month than the previous month (and 3 less days than last year at the same time).
  2. Sales volume was up about 1% in June 2016 compared to last June and is down slightly for the year (about 2%).
  3. FHA sales were 17% of all sales last month and cash sales were 13% of all sales last month.
  4. There is 1.7 months of housing supply in Placer County right now.
  5. Housing inventory is 8.5% lower than it was last year at the same time.
  6. The median price increased 0.5% from the previous month and is up 7% from last year at the same time.
  7. The average price per sq ft was $212 last month (was $200 last year at the same time).
  8. The average price per sq ft is up 1.4% from the previous month and 6% from last year at the same time.
  9. Bank owned sales were only 1% of all sales last month.
  10. Short sales were 1.9% of sales last month.

Some of my Favorite Placer County Graphs:

days on market in placer county by sacramento appraisal blog months of housing inventory in placer county by sacramento appraisal blog number of listings in PLACER county - 2016 Placer County housing inventory - by home appraiser blog Placer County price and inventory - by sacramento appraisal blog Placer County sales volume - by sacramento appraisal blog

DOWNLOAD 80+ graphs HERE: Please download all graphs in this post (and more) here as a zip file. 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.

Question: Any other market insight you’d like to add? I’d love to hear your take.

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