March 2018 Sacramento County Real Estate Market Update

If you don’t find our March 2018 Sacramento County real estate market update a bit disturbing, you might not be paying close enough attention to what’s going on. And really who does when we’re all busy? My closed sales for March finished out the month at #2 at Lyon Real Estate, unlike January when I placed #1. The difference for me is I closed 5 listings in January, 3 listings and 3 buyers in February, and 5 listings in March, plus 2 buyer sales. Those numbers are nothing, though. Our market is just starting to pick up steam. So I’ve been incredibly focused on Sacramento real estate.

Unlike an agent who shall remain anonymous and seemed agitated that we expected a response to an offer prior to expiration. When queried, he snorted: “You know some people have lives they live and don’t just sit around all day with nothing to do.” Meaning he has other things that are more important than real estate, I guess. I’ve noticed that the agents in this business who are successful top producers are committed and passionate about their jobs.

Most of the time, I can tell you what’s happening in real estate without looking at the March 2018 Sacramento County real estate market update stats. Buyers are active but they no longer seem frenzied. They are more particular about what they want to buy and if they can’t find it, they don’t want to accept less than their ideal choice. It’s not easy to find that perfect home, and it’s only becoming more difficult.

That’s not to say we don’t have a good selection of homes available but there are not a lot choices. It’s like shopping for shoes. I don’t care how cute that Nordstrom shoe looks, if it’s a size 5 and I wear a size 6, I’m not cramming my toes into a size 5. If I want red and the shoe is only available in orange, I’m not buying that either. Everybody’s tastes are unique, what one person loves another does not.

Inventory rose only 7.4% in March over February. We still don’t have enough listings. The solds jumped by 18.5% over that time period. But the real story in the March 2018 Sacramento County real estate market update is the pending sales. Homes under contract and not closed soared by 34.5%. Will they all close? Maybe not. Maybe we’ll see a big fall out rate. Buyers do not seem as committed.

It’s a sad tale for Sacramento, though, when homes are pending and closing escrow faster than we can list new homes for sale. Look at this chart above of our remaining inventory in Sacramento County. Inventory is down 17.7% over last month. If it continues to fall, we will experience a more difficult market. Will inventory level out and stay flat like last year? Perhaps not.

Most of my clients are not selling and buying a new home in Sacramento. They are selling and getting the hell outta Dodge. We need that healthy circle of sales, that cycle of life, and the momentum is not really there.

Having said all of that, sellers undoubtedly want to know is this a good time to sell? What do you think? I am a Sacramento Realtor whose business consists of taking listings, marketing the crap out of them, and closing sales. Of course it’s a good time to sell. Because next year, who knows where we’ll be, especially with interest rates on the rise.

My advice to home buyers, if you find a home you love, buy it. Right now. Today. Do not dillydally or somebody else will buy it and you might indeed find nothing to suit your tastes. Make no mistake, this is a seller’s market. If you wait for a buyer’s market, you might not be able to afford the prices by then.