Real Estate Market in Sacramento

The housing market feels like chaos

April 13, 2021 By Ryan Lundquist 29 Comments

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.

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The housing market feels like a crazy auction

March 16, 2021 By Ryan Lundquist 18 Comments

This market is just crazy. Today I have two quick things on my mind and then for anyone interested I have lots of visuals to highlight the Sacramento market.

TWO THINGS:

1) This market feels like an auction: The market feels like an auction where buyers are making really aggressive bids with the hope of winning due to being the highest. Throughout the country we are seeing offers in many markets that are totally disconnected from a reasonable value. On that note someone asked if appraisals need to change so buyers have a better chance of getting deals done in this crazy environment. Nope. The appraiser’s role is to reflect the market, which very likely might not be the highest bidder. Don’t get me wrong, there are many things that need changing in the appraisal profession, but it’s not the appraiser’s job to fix an irrational dynamic in today’s market.

2) Do higher rates matter? I’ve heard the sentiment quite a bit that rising rates really don’t matter. The idea is the market is so hot and nothing can cool it. But I feel like the housing market could say, “Hold my beer.”

Here are a few considerations:

A) No difference yet: Higher rates haven’t slowed down buyers. If anything locally the market has become more aggressive. For reference, purchase mortgage applications increased from the previous week nationally.

B) Still too low: Rates around 3% are freakishly low and that’s just not high enough to alter the market. But what about 3.5%? Or 4.0%? Can you imagine a time when higher rates would matter?

C) Watch mortgage applications: The MBA reported a 43% dip in refinance application volume last week, so clearly borrowers have pumped the brakes a bit. The purchase market is up 2% from last year, but it looks like mortgage applications decelerated last week per Freddie Mac economist Len Kiefer.

D) Rosy narratives & sensitive to rate changes: Over the years the real estate market has become very sensitive to rate changes. I think of 2018 when rates shot up closer to 4.5% and buyers backed off the market. Do you remember the headlines about how dark real estate felt? I share this because recent history reminds us rate changes can make a difference in whether buyers engage or not. My advice? Don’t embrace a rosy narrative to think higher rates cannot change things. They can. Maybe not yet. But let’s not downplay how meaningful low rates have been in creating the market we have right now. Know what I’m saying?

NOTE: Props to a conversation with Ann O’Rourke last week that influenced the auction analogy above.

———————- (skim or digest slowly) ———————–

BIG MARKET UPDATE

For those interested, here’s a big Sacramento market update:

THE SHORT VERSION:

Here is a highlight reel to talk through some of the bigger themes right now. In short, the stats are stunning and this is likely the most competitive market we’ve ever had. Demand is simply excessive while supply is anemic.

QUICK RECAPS:

I’m thinking about doing these charts every month. Do you like them?

NOTE: I’m not going to do Yolo or El Dorado County charts because there aren’t enough sales. Stats would be ALL over the place year over year.

THE LONGER VERSION (organized by county):

1) Sacramento Region
2) Sacramento County
3) Placer County
4) El Dorado County

I welcome you to share some of these images on your social or in a newsletter. Please use this stuff. In case it helps, here are 5 ways to share my content (not copy verbatim). Thanks.

1) SACRAMENTO REGION:

2) SACRAMENTO COUNTY:

3) PLACER COUNTY:

4) EL DORADO COUNTY:

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

Thanks for being here.

Questions: What else would you add about my two quick topics above? What stands out to you about the market lately? I’d love to hear your take.

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Rates are low, but buyers aren’t going nuts

July 11, 2019 By Ryan Lundquist 21 Comments

Rates and inventory are really low, so on paper it seems like the market should be booming. But it’s not. The truth is sales numbers are down despite rates doing the limbo below four percent again. It’s like the market looks hot on paper, but it’s also a bit lackluster in some ways.

Affordability: A big issue today is buyers are struggling with affordability. After seven years of price increases, we’re seeing the market become too expensive for many prospective buyers since wage growth has not kept pace with price growth. Some buyers feel uncertain about the future also, which is causing hesitancy about whether to purchase.

Hot couple analogy: The market is like a super hot couple that looks great on paper. They’re rich, attractive, successful, and they get a ton of “likes” on Instagram. Everything looks perfect, but then out of nowhere they break up because it turns out their relationship wasn’t as good as everyone thought. In a similar way, the real estate market looks stellar on paper. Rates are low, inventory is sparse, and it’s actually really competitive out there. But we’re also seeing weaker sales volume which shows us buyers aren’t as enthusiastic as we’d assume them to be.

Any thoughts?

—–——– Big local monthly market update (long on purpose) —–——–

Now for those interested, let’s talk about Sacramento trends. If I had to pick a few phrases to describe the market it would be competitive if priced right, modest price growth, slumping volume, and fairly normal stats for the spring.

DOWNLOAD 70+ visuals: Please download all graphs here as a zip file. See my sharing policy for 5 ways to share (please don’t copy verbatim).

THE SHORT VERSION:

Prices are up, volume is down
It kinda feels normal right now
Price growth has been modest
46% of sales had multiple offers last month
Sales volume is down for the 14th month in a row
Low rates have helped change the feel of the market this year
Inventory is thin, but slightly higher than last year
The post is long on purpose. Skim or pour a cup of coffee

THE LONGER VERSION:

Here are some of the bigger topics right now:

Normal: The market felt really dull last year, but it’s been a somewhat normal year so far in 2019. There are certainly concerns about affordability, but from a stats perspective it’s been a pretty standard first half of the year. Pendings continue to be strong also, so buyers still clearly have a strong appetite for the market.

14 months in a row of slumping volume: Despite mortgage rates being low we’re seeing somewhat sluggish sales volume. In fact, sales volume was down 11.6% in the region last month and it’s down 8.6% so far in 2019. Moreover, we’ve had fourteen months in a row with lower sales volume compared to the previous year. In my mind it’s still best to say we’re having a slower year instead of a volume meltdown because levels aren’t alarmingly low by any stretch. Let’s watch this carefully.

Dude, rates will never get below 4% again: It’s been a little surprising to see how low rates have gone again, right? The narrative for a while was, “Dude, they’ll never go below 4% again. We’ve bottomed out.” Yet here we are. My sense is if rates keep going down it’ll only increase competition and artificially inflate prices. That would be temporarily nice for buyers, but an unfortunate byproduct is low rates in a wider picture tend to create less incentive for sellers to move. Why sell if you’re sitting on a 3.5% mortgage rate?

Purplebricks & the tech invasion: Last week it was announced that Purplebricks will be exiting the United States housing market after a 75% loss in shares. This company is going to the grave in the U.S., but the reality is we’re still in a market where tech companies are trying to disrupt the traditional real estate model. Next up? Zillow is said to be coming to Sacramento by the end of the year.

Joe Montana’s $49M overpriced listing: Former Quarterback Joe Montana listed his property for $49M and it didn’t sell because it was profoundly overpriced. In fact, the price has now been reduced to $28M. Many sellers are like Joe in trying to attract mythical unicorn buyers who will mysteriously overpay for some reason. My advice? Be aware that today’s buyers are incredibly picky about paying the right price.

The dream of selling at the top: I met a guy who wants to sell because he says the market might top out soon. His concern is a friend sold two years ago thinking the market was at its peak, but it wasn’t. The truth is it’s not so easy to time a market perfectly. We talk about how simple it is to do this, but most people pull it off from dumb luck more than anything. The reality is the bulk of buyers don’t buy based on price metrics, but rather lifestyle and affordability.

This is a fascinating chart, right? It shows a few price cycles over the past twenty years in Sacramento County. I don’t share this to say prices are about to change directions, but at some point that’s probably what we ought to expect because that’s what markets do. They go up and down. For now price momentum has been slowing and we’ll continue to watch this closely to see how it plays out. Let’s remember the collapse we saw in 2005 was not a normal trend that’s now the formula for the next price cycle. That was a market built on fraud and rampant speculation.

The coming recession: There are lots of predictions about a coming recession, and at some point one will happen. But predicting recession specifics is a bit like predicting housing market specifics. At the end of the day we might have ideas, but we don’t know the future if we’re honest. Moreover, the last “great” recession isn’t now the template or formula for all future recessions.

Eyeballs vs offers: Over two years ago I wrote about a $250M listing in Bel-Air. At the time it was the highest-priced property in the United States, and it was called “record breaking”. But today it’s still on the market and priced at $150M. Despite going viral and having global attention this listing did not sell. This reminds us it’s nice to have eyeballs on a listing, but the only thing that matters is offers. Sellers, if you aren’t getting offers, it may be time to adjust your pricing until the market bites.

Preparing for a slower season: At this time of year we typically see the market begin to slow down. The sales stats don’t show it yet, but when July stats come out we usually see it starts to take slightly longer to sell in July compared to June. This is a clue into a slowing market, and eventually we see more slowness in actual prices (but it often takes a few months to see the slow trend show up in actual sales stats). This is a good reminder to pay close attention to pendings today because that’s where we see what the current market is doing. What is similar and actually getting into contract? That is THE question.

I could write more, but let’s get visual instead.

FOUR BIG ISSUES TO WATCH:

1) SLOWER GROWTH: The market has moved forward this year, but it’s been at a slower pace. In other words, the market has felt competitive this year, but price momentum has continued to slow. Remember, “slower” and “slow” are not dirty words in real estate. They are market realities.

2) A QUICK RECAP: All year prices have shown a modest uptick. What I mean is prices are up from last year, but not by much. Keep in mind the lowest prices are likely the “hottest” market in town too.

3) VOLUME SLUMP: The number of sales has slumped in the region for 14 months (and 13 months in Sacramento County). Overall volume is noticeably lower this year, but it’s still not outside of normal low ranges though either (see 2014 and 2015).

SACRAMENTO REGION:

Key Stats:

June volume down 11.6%
Volume is down 9.9% over the past 12 months

SACRAMENTO COUNTY:

Key Stats:

June volume down 13.4%
Volume is down 9.3% over the past 12 months

PLACER COUNTY:

Key Stats:

June volume is down 10%
Volume is down 9.2% over the past 12 months

EL DORADO COUNTY:

Key Stats:

June volume down 6.3%
Volume is down 12.4% over the past 12 months

4) PRICES TICKED UP IN JUNE: The market generally showed price increases last month, though they were pretty subtle.

NOTE: Take El Dorado County data with a grain of salt. Stats change significantly month by month.

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Please enjoy more images now.

SACRAMENTO REGION (more graphs here):

SACRAMENTO COUNTY (more graphs here):

PLACER COUNTY (more graphs here):

EL DORADO COUNTY (more graphs here):

DOWNLOAD 70+ visuals: Please download all graphs here as a zip file. See my sharing policy for 5 ways to share (please don’t copy verbatim).

Questions: What are you seeing out there? What do you think prices are doing? What are you hearing from buyers and sellers lately?

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Picky buyers, the housing crash, and a Sacramento market update

October 12, 2016 By Ryan Lundquist 10 Comments

How did the previous housing crash affect buyers? In other words, how are buyers different today because of what they went through years ago? Without writing a dissertation, let’s consider a few thoughts below. Then for anyone interested, let’s take a deep look at the Sacramento market. Any thoughts?

56718353 - careful and picky choice of properties with a magnifying glass

Three ways the housing crash seems to have impacted buyers:

Getting into Contract: Despite inventory being low, buyers seem to be picky about price. In other words, if the price isn’t right, they won’t make an offer (in Sacramento at least). Sellers haven’t fully embraced this yet, but it’s very real. You’d think buyers would feel desperate and offer on anything since housing inventory is sparse, but it’s simply not the case. There could be many reasons for this, but one of them is buyers are being cautious about what they offer because they don’t want to feel like they are making the mistake of overpaying like they did a decade ago. Of course prices today are much higher than they were just four years ago and buyers are willing to pay these prices. It’s just buyers are generally more cautious about overpaying. Also, keep in mind buyers are much more informed about prices because of Metrolist, Zillow, Redfin, etc…. This means buyers can often sniff out something that’s overpriced.
Staying in Contract: Many real estate agents in Sacramento have been reporting contracts falling out of escrow much more often. It’s like buyers are picky about getting into contract in the first place and then they are picky about staying in contract. I’ve heard some say contracts falling apart is a sign the market is beginning to crash, but there have actually been more sales this year than last year in Sacramento. Thus the truth is more contracts are actually closing regardless of however many are falling out.
Sensitive about Location & Condition: Buyers seem to be exhibiting a sensitivity to adverse locations and properties that are not in pristine condition. In other words, buyers have higher expectations about what they are buying and they aren’t overlooking the true condition of a home or paying top dollar for junk. Lenders and appraisers certainly aren’t overlooking the condition either (or at least they shouldn’t be). Also, consider how HGTV and other networks have exploded in popularity this past decade. I have to think constantly seeing the latest designs on TV (and Pinterest) only helps foster a more finicky buyer when looking for a home.

What do you think? Any further insight? Let’s talk. Please comment below.

—-—–—– And here’s my big monthly market update ———–—–

Two ways to read the BIG POST:

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

DOWNLOAD 79 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: The market is softening just like we’d expect to see during the fall. Sometimes we talk about real estate in only hyper-positive terms as if values do nothing but increase, but that’s simply not realistic. Almost every year values soften as a part of the normal real estate cycle, and that seems to be what we’re seeing right now. It’s starting to take longer to sell, prices are down a few percent from the summer, housing inventory is up from a few months back, and sales volume is beginning to slough off. Keep in mind one year ago it was taking an average of 6 days longer to sell, which reminds us the fall market this year has been more aggressive so far. Overall single family housing feels flat and the market is very price sensitive, so sellers ought to be very cautious about pricing according to properties that are actually getting into contract in their neighborhood and price range. On a different note the 2-4 unit market has been somewhat subdued for a number of years as values have recovered much more slowly than the single family market, but it seems to be heating up as news of higher rents is spreading to investors. Let’s keep an eye on that and of course keep hoping the economy and wage growth can drive values more than low interest rates and freakishly low housing inventory. Check out specific stats and graphs below for Sacramento County, the Sacramento Region, & Placer County.

Sacramento County:

The median price was $317,000 in September. It dipped 2% from the previous month, but is 9% higher than last year.
The average price per sq ft was $201 last month (down 2% from the previous month, but still 7% higher than last year).
There were only 25 short sales in the county last month.
Sales volume was 3% higher this September compared to September 2015.
It took 4 days longer to sell a house last month compared to the previous month (though one year ago it was taking 6 days longer to sell).
Sales volume is up 7% this year compared to last year.
FHA sales volume is down 7% this year compared to 2015 (keep in mind nearly 26% of all sales were FHA this past quarter).
Cash sales are down 7.6% this year (they were only 13.6% of all sales this past quarter).
Housing inventory is 5% lower than the same time last year.
The average sales price at $346,000 softened by 2% last month (but is 10% higher than last year).

Some of my Favorite Graphs this Month:

median-price-since-2013-in-sacramento-county

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

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

distressed-sales-since-2009-in-sacramento-county

inventory-september-2016-by-home-appraiser-blog

fha-and-cash-sales-by-quarter-in-sacramento-county

cdom-in-sacramento-county-by-sacramento-regional-appraisal-blog

sales-volume-in-sacramento-county-since-2012

seasonal-market-in-sacramento-county-4

seasonal-market-in-sacramento-county-sales-volume-6

SACRAMENTO REGIONAL MARKET:

The median price was $355,000 in September. It’s down less than 1% from the previous month, but is 9% higher than last year.
The average price per sq ft was $207 last month. It went down 1.5% from the previous month, but is 7% higher than last year.
It took 4 days longer to sell compared to the previous month (but 6 less days compared to September 2015).
Sales volume was 3% higher this September compared to September 2015.
FHA sales volume is down 7.5% this year compared to last year.
Cash sales were 16% of all sales last month (FHA sales were 22%).
Cash sales are down 6% this year compared to last year.
Housing inventory is 9% lower than the same time last year.
REOs were 2.5% and short sales were 1.3% of all sales last month.
The average sales price was $393,000 in September. It softened by 1% last month but is 9% higher than 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

median-price-sacramento-placer-yolo-el-dorado-county

regional-inventory-by-sacramento-regional-appraisal-blog

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

regional-market-median-price-by-home-appraiser-blog

median-price-and-inventory-in-sacramento-regional-market-2013

PLACER COUNTY:

The median price was $432,000 last month, which is up 11% from last year.
The average price per sq ft was $212 last month. It softened by 1.5% from the past couple months, but is 4.7% higher than last year.
It took 1 day longer to sell compared to the previous month (but 5 less days compared to September 2015).
Sales volume was similar this September compared to September 2015.
FHA sales volume is down 15% this year compared to last year.
Cash sales were nearly 16% of all sales last month (FHA sales were nearly 16% also).
Cash sales are down 1.7% this year compared to last year.
Housing inventory is 16% lower than the same time last year.
REOs were 1.3% and short sales were 1.1% of all sales last month.
The average sales price was $483,000 and is 8.5% higher than last year.

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-median-price-since-2014-part-2-by-home-appraiser-blog placer-county-sales-volume-by-sacramento-appraisal-blog

Classes I’m teaching in Lake Tahoe: On October 21st I’ll be teaching two classes in Lake Tahoe for an Appraisal Institute Conference. This is an enormous honor and I look forward to mingling with appraisers and sharing ideas. Click here for details.

Question: Did I miss anything? Any other market insight you’d like to add? What are you seeing out there? I’d love to hear your take.

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Real Estate Market in Sacramento

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