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Sacramento County real estate market

Is the market so “hot” that we won’t have a slow fall this year?

August 16, 2017 By Ryan Lundquist 5 Comments

Values are going to keep going up. The market is so “hot” we’re not going to have a fall slowdown this year. I’ve heard this sentiment quite a bit lately and I’ve even thought it myself. Yet today let’s remember five things about the fall season. Then for those interested we’ll dive deeply into the latest Sacramento trends.

5 things to remember about the fall market:

1) A general truth: Unless we have reason to believe there won’t be a slower fall season, let’s believe there will be one because it’s normal for real estate to have seasons.

2) The typical signs are happening: When the market starts to slow we usually see certain symptoms, and we’re seeing those right now. Inventory has increased slightly, sales volume is starting to slough, and prices in the region dipped a bit last month. Yet Sacramento County stats are nothing but glowing, which makes it hard to believe a slowing could happen.

3) Slow vs. slowing: The market is NOT slow, but we’re seeing slowing. That’s a big distinction for many markets in the country right now. In reality it almost sounds offensive to say the market is slowing when we have multiple offers and bidding wars, but things right now don’t feel quite as aggressive as they did in April and May. We’re seeing slightly more price reductions, slightly less offers, and buyers more frequently not accepting counter offers like they did a few months ago. I know, this isn’t true in every transaction. All I’m saying is we are generally seeing more symptoms of a slowing market (but it’s NOT slow).

4) Not always dull: Sometimes the fall months can be really dull, but other times not so much. Thus even though the stats sag at the end of the year, it doesn’t always feel like the market is dragging. My guess is the fall softening this year will not feel as dull because of how low inventory is right now.

5) Rare: It’s rare to not have a seasonal market. The only time I can think of us not having a fall slowdown in recent years was in 2012 when investment funds and flippers were gutting the market. Values simply kept going up, and investors basically trumped the seasonal market that year.

I hope that was helpful or interesting. Any thoughts?

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

Glowing and slowing. That’s a good way to sum up the market. The stats are generally glowing, but we’re starting to see subtle signs of a seasonal slowing. Price stats in Sacramento County increased by about 1% last month and they’re up 8-10% from last year (that doesn’t mean actual values are up that much in every neighborhood and price range). Though if we look closely, especially in the region as a whole, prices dipped by 1% last month, inventory is up slightly, and sales volume sloughed off last month (which isn’t a surprise). Properties have been selling very quickly still in only 9 median days in Sacramento County and 11 in the region. For perspective, on average it was taking about a week longer to sell a home last year. The market actually tends to normally show a slowness in days on market between June and July, but we didn’t see that this year, which is a reminder the market feels a bit more aggressive right now compared to last year. Overall housing inventory increased last month, but the bigger story is it’s down about 14% in the region from last year. Despite all the glorious stats, the market is still price sensitive, which means buyers aren’t willing to pull the trigger at any price (did you hear that sellers?). Oh, and by the way, the median price in Sacramento County is now 10% from the peak in 2005. I could go on and on with words, but let me share some graphs to show the market visually.

DOWNLOAD 65 graphs HERE: Please download all graphs in this post and more here as a zip file (includes a stat sheet too). See my sharing policy for 5 ways to share (please don’t copy verbatim).

Sacramento County graphs this month (more graphs & stats here):

Sacramento Regional graphs this month (more graphs & stats here):

Placer County graphs this month (more graphs & stats here):

DOWNLOAD 65 graphs (and stats) HERE: Please download all graphs in this post and more here as a zip file (includes a stat sheet too). See my sharing policy for 5 ways to share (please don’t copy verbatim).

Questions: What signs of glowing or slowing are you seeing? Do you think we’ll have a fall market? Did I miss anything? I’d love to hear your take.

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Filed Under: Market Trends Tagged With: appraisals, appraisers, Home Appraiser, House Appraiser, housing inventory, Median Price, Placer County Real Estate Market, real estate stats, Sacramento County real estate market, sacramento regional housing market, seasonal market, softening market, trend graphs

Stepping on the real estate scale (at the right time of day)

August 15, 2016 By Ryan Lundquist 6 Comments

Values are starting to decline. The market is sliding. Price reductions are increasing. This is exactly what we start to hear around August as the market has transitioned from spring to summer. But is the market really crashing? It could be, but sometimes the issue is simple in that we’re not weighing the market in the right context. Today let’s look at a helpful scale analogy and then unpack the Sacramento market in depth (for those interested). Any thoughts?

42512389 - white scale on a wooden table top view, fitness and weight loss concept

A Scale Analogy: Imagine being on a diet and stepping on a scale in the morning before breakfast and then again at night after eating all day. What would happen? Well, it’s going to look like you gained some weight during the day because the body is light and empty in the morning and naturally heavier at night after a day of eating. Unless you want to punish yourself with thoughts of weight gain, the key for using a scale would be to weigh yourself every day around the same time so you are comparing the same context each day. Otherwise when comparing one context (morning) with a different context (night), it might look like you gained weight when you might have actually lost some.

The Big Point: In real estate we have to consider what it looks like to weigh the market. Often at this time of year we start hearing things like, “Values are starting to tank”, when in reality the market may simply be softening for the season. The problem is we don’t see the softening though because we’re stepping on the scale at the wrong time of day so to speak. For example, if we compare stats from June to July, it looks like the market is declining in value since stats have sagged. Yet if we step back and weigh the market in context by comparing June/July 2016 data vs June/July 2015 data, we see stats also sagged last year. Bingo! This helps us see it’s normal for the market to soften up at this time of year (of course it could be declining, but that’s a different post). In short, if we want to get better at seeing the market it’s critical to compare the latest month of data with the same month last year. Otherwise it’s very easy to start making market claims when the truth is we just might be misreading the trend. If you want to use bigger chunks of data like quarters, that’s fine too. Just compare the past quarter today with the same time period last year. You can also look at many years of data to get an even better sense of seasonal trends.

—-—–—– And here’s my big monthly 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 62 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.

Slowing Market (Quick Summary): The hot spring season is definitely transitioning to a slower market. What do I mean? It’s taking slightly longer to sell today compared to last month, the median price and average sales price declined from the previous month, inventory saw a 20% increase from June (it’s still really low though), and price reductions have been more common. Yet at the same time the market is actually stronger this year as it was taking 4 days longer to sell last year and price metrics are a good 7-10% higher this year too. Overall the market feels fairly “hot” under $300,000, but there has been notable price resistance at higher price levels. These days well-priced properties are going quickly, but otherwise buyers can smell a high price from a mile away – and they’re not biting. It’s easy to think the market is starting to turn or tank, but it’s normal for the market to soften at this time of year. Unless we begin to see otherwise, right now it looks like we are seeing what seems like the start of a typical seasonal downtrend.

Presidential Election & the Market: We’re hearing lots of talk about how the market is strong because it’s a presidential year, but let’s remember the market is doing what it is doing as a result of years of unfolding trends. The presidential election doesn’t all of a sudden trump (no pun intended) the factors that have been driving the market for years and have caused the market to be where it is today. For context, values in Sacramento were increasing rapidly in 2004, utterly tanking in despair in 2008, recovering in 2012 (due to cash investors and 4% rates), and now the market is figuring out how to be normal after modest value increases this spring. Sure, there could be some impact because it’s a presidential year, but let’s defuse the hype and not overstate it. Take a look at the stats and graphs below and see if you can discern any real difference because this year is a presidential year.

Sacramento County:

  1. The median price is 100% higher than it was in early 2012.
  2. There were only 4 sales under $100K last month (single family detached).
  3. Sales volume has been about the same this year compared to last year.
  4. FHA volume is down about 8% this year compared to 2015.
  5. FHA sales were 26% of all sales last month.
  6. Cash sales were only 12% of all sales last month.
  7. It took an average of 27 days to sell a home last month, which is 2 days more than the previous month (and 4 less days compared to last year).
  8. REOs were only 2% of all sales last month and short sales were 2.7%.
  9. There is only 1.69 months of housing supply in Sacramento County, which is 11% lower than it was last year at the same time.
  10. The median price declined by 2.7% last month and the average sales price also declined, though both are 10% higher than they were last year at the same time.

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 - July 2016 - by home appraiser blog

CDOM in Sacramento County - by Sacramento Regional Appraisal Blog

Bottom of the Market in Sacramento

inventory in sacramento county Since 2011 - by sacramento appraisal blog

seasonal market in sacramento county sales volume 6

Interest Rates Since 2001 layers of the market in sacramento county - by sacramento appraisal blog

SACRAMENTO REGIONAL MARKET:

  1. The median price is 97% higher than it was in early 2012.
  2. It took 1 day longer to sell last month compared to June (but 4 less days compared to July 2015).
  3. Sales volume is about the same as it was last year at the same time.
  4. Cash sales were 14% of all sales last month.
  5. Cash sales volume is 6% lower this year than last year.
  6. FHA sales were 22% of all sales last month.
  7. FHA sales volume is down nearly 8% this year so far.
  8. There is 1.96 months of housing supply in the region right now, which is just about the same as last year during this time.
  9. The median price, average sales price, and avg price per sq ft all declined last month from June, though they’re all up 7-8% from last year.
  10. REOs were only 2% of all sales last month and short sales were the same.

Some of my Favorite Regional Graphs:

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 sacramento region volume - FHA and conventional - by appraiser blog

PLACER COUNTY:

  1. Today’s median price is 72% higher than it was in early 2012.
  2. It took 3 more days to sell a house last month than the previous month (but 4 less days than last year at the same time).
  3. Sales volume was down about 11% in July 2016 compared to last July and is down slightly for the year about 3%.
  4. Both FHA sales and cash sales were each 15% of all sales last month.
  5. There is 2.25 months of housing supply in Placer County right now, which is up very slightly from last year at the same time (but up 30% from last month).
  6. The median price increased about 1% from the previous month, but for a better context it’s up 10% from last year at the same time.
  7. The average price per sq ft was $216 last month (was $202 last year at the same time).
  8. The average sales price was $480K last month (up about 11% from last year).
  9. Bank owned sales were only 1% of all sales last month.
  10. Short sales were 0.07% of sales last month.

Some of my Favorite Placer County Graphs:

days on market in placer county by sacramento appraisal blog interest rates inventory median price 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 62 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: Did I miss anything? 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.

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Filed Under: Market Trends Tagged With: 2016 real estate trends, appaisal, Appraiser, bank-owned sales, cash investors, Home Appraisal, House Appraisal, interest rates, inventory increasing, market getting soft, Placer County Real Estate Market, Sacramento County real estate market, Sacramento real estate trends, sacramento regional market, sales volume, Short Sales

Things that make value move in Sacramento

October 31, 2013 By Ryan Lundquist 2 Comments

I’ve been talking quite a bit lately about “layers of value” or things that impact the real estate market. Values increase or decrease based on many factors. Let’s look at the image below to see some of the bigger influences for the Sacramento market. I shared a similar photo recently, but expanded it to include monthly mortgage interest rates and unemployment. What do you think?

Sacramento real estate market trends - interest rates median price and inventory - by sacramento real estate appraiser blog

Sacramento real estate market trends - interest rates median price and inventory - by sacramento real estate appraiser blog - largeSeeing the Trends: We all know an increase in interest rates and inventory tends to cool down values. That’s Real Estate 101. Yet at the same time, it’s still good to see visuals like this to reinforce what we know and also anticipate what the future of the market will look like as current trends unfold. As you can see in the image above too, there is definitely a stabilization of values that occurs toward the end of each year as the colder months ensue. Click the thumbnail to view a larger image to see this more clearly. By the way, feel free to use this graphic (unaltered) on your blog, social media or in a presentation. The only thing I ask is you link back if online.

Question: Any thoughts, questions or insight to share? Comment below.

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Filed Under: Market Trends Tagged With: Home Appraiser, House Appraiser, housing supply, interest rates graph, layers of value, median sales price graph, monthly mortgage interest rates, months of inventory, Sacramento County real estate market, Sacramento real estate trends, The multi-layered real estate cake analogy, things that impact value, unemployment graph in sacramento

A Sacramento market slowdown and the shutdown

October 8, 2013 By Ryan Lundquist 3 Comments

Let’s talk about the Sacramento market briefly and then touch on the government shutdown. I know any topic involving Congress right now can be nauseating, but let’s hone in to consider the relevance to real estate.

sacramento county median sales price levels - by sacramento real estate appraisal blog

The local market is definitely slowing down as you can see with average price per square foot trends above and the median sales price below. When considering all the factors involved though, it makes sense. The formula is simple: More houses for sale + less investors + higher interest rates + onset of Fall = Values cooling off. I don’t know about you, but I am seeing many properties being priced more consistently with July and August instead of priced higher than the most recent sales. This is a tell-tale sign of the slowdown. At the same time, there are still properties that are getting multiple offers (when priced right) and I would still say the market favors sellers despite buyers gaining more power lately.

sacramento county median sales price levels - by sacramento real estate appraisal blog 2

cake-from-Joy-Yip

The Government Shutdown and Real Estate: It’s important to remember there are many different factors that help create or impact value in a real estate market. I talked about this recently with the Multi-Layered Real Estate Cake Analogy. The gist of this analogy is that any of a number of “layers” in the market can end up impacting the direction of values or how buyers perceive real estate. Things like the relationship between supply and demand, interest rates, the economy, cash investors, foreclosures, financing, affordability, loan programs, lending guidelines, jobs, consumer confidence and so many other “layers” end up playing a part in influencing the market. When it comes to the government shutdown, here’s my take. This is a bad situation and Congress really needs to bring their A-game to solve the problem. If the economy suffers and people’s perception of the economy changes, that can and will negatively impact the housing market. I don’t know about you, but I find it ironic that real estate saw exponential growth in large part due to The Fed’s manipulation of the market through historically low interest rates, yet here we see government potentially getting in the way of that “recovery” if they cannot get their act together.

Question: Any further thoughts? I’d love to hear your take.

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Filed Under: Market Trends Tagged With: government impact on real estate market, government shutdown, Home Appraiser, House Appraiser, housing inventory, increasing inventory in Sacramento, market is leveling off, multi-layered real estate cake analogy, Sacramento County real estate market, sacramento real estate appraisers, Sacramento real estate market trends, slowing down real estate market, The Fed, the layers of value in real estate, things that impact the housing market

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