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Sacramento Housing Report for February 2019
The most obvious aspect of the Sacramento housing report for February of 2019 is the pending sales. However, before you get all excited over that rising line, consider the fact that pending sales had exploded in January as well but where are the closed sales? I’ll tell you where they are. In the imagination of those buyers because pending sale numbers are not always indicative of a rising market.
Buyer behavior lately has been a bit more non-committal. They seem quick to write an offer and quick to cancel.
Throw into this mix, the Sacramento housing report for February of 2019 shows closed sales are down 12.1% from a year ago and inventory is up by 10.8% over last year. But those pendings are up 21% this month, and that is a significant number. Will it result in more closed sales for March? I’m thinking not by the margin it should suggest.
All of this leads us to is this a good time to buy or sell a house in Sacramento? It’s slightly better to buy than to sell; however, our median sales price rose a bit over January to $403,000, which is still down from last summer at $420,000.
Check out those average days on market creeping up on us at 55. Highest it’s ever been over the past 15 months. Further, of interesting note, there is a bit of wiggle room on those original sales prices. Buyers can negotiate now, and they don’t have to fight through multiple offers to buy a house. That is surely a welcome relief. Buyers can take their time to find just the right home without feeling pressured.
This Sacramento housing report for February of 2019 gives me a lot of hope for March and April sales this year. It won’t be as strong as last year, prices are a tad softer, but it is still a good time to sell or buy a house in Sacramento.
Why the Time to Buy or Sell a Sacramento Home is Now
Clients have been asking lately if the end of summer of 2014 is a good time to buy or sell a home in Sacramento, because they are wondering whether prices will continue to rise. If we have collectively learned nothing from the market crash years of 2006 to 2011, it’s that prices will not always continue to go up. I’ve been advising clients all year to sell now or buy now and to not wait until 2015, and that’s not just because I’m a Sacramento real estate agent who stands to make a buck or two.
It’s because I watch and analyze the market. I sell a lot more homes than your average Sacramento agent, and I see first-hand a lot more activity than your average agent. It doesn’t matter all that much to me whether home prices go up or home prices go down, like that Eddie Murphy movie, I will still be in business. People are yakking that Sacramento home prices have risen only 8% and lamenting that figure instead of rejoicing. I am very happy with the market prices lately because they’ve made huge gains over the past 2 years. Enough so that many homeowners are pulled out from being underwater — no more short sales, thank goodness — and scores of Sacramento homeowners are able to sell and move up.
All of a sudden, like an overnight magical fairy-wand tap on our chimneys, many sellers have an additional $100,000 of equity that they didn’t have a few years ago. Even sellers who bought a home in 2010 and 2011 are able to sell now. All of those foreclosure buyers and short sale buyers are morphing into equity sellers in this new Sacramento real estate market. Interest rates are incredibly low, and I can tell you this, they won’t stay there forever. You can get a loan around 4% right now, and that gives you heart-pounding savings. Don’t be crying a few years from now when interest rates are up to 5% or 7% or worse.
Once rates begin to edge up — and interest rates absolutely will rise — watch out, because Sacramento home prices will feel the affect. The impact of interest rates on the rise is huge, for example, each 1/2 percent interest rate increase can lose a buyer roughly $25,000 of purchasing power. What do you think that kind of rate increase will do to home prices in Sacramento? It will suppress prices a bit, sure, but you’ll lose more disposable income through the interest rate increase. Overall, your payment will be higher than it will be today.
You’ve got a window of opportunity right now to sell a home in Sacramento and capture the momentum of our upcoming fall market in Sacramento — which is the second hottest real estate market in Sacramento. It’s also an excellent time, due to low interest rates, to buy a home. Are you in or you are you out? Call me, Elizabeth Weintraub, at 916.233.6759.
