Why One Home in Land Park Sells and Another Home Does Not

A good way to start my blog today could be with a comparison reminiscent of that old TV show The Naked City, to talk about there being 10,000 stories about real estate sales in Land Park, Sacramento, but we don’t have enough inventory anywhere in town to make a statement like that. In fact, probably the last time the entire Sacramento County region saw 10,000 homes for sale on the market was 10 years ago. Are you ready for the astonishing news today?

Today, this very moment, in the entire county of Sacramento, we have only 2,280 single family homes for sale in our multiple listing service. But wait, there is more. Guess how many single family homes are in some sort of pending status? You know I have the answer. It’s 2,791 homes. We have more homes in pending status than we have homes for sale, which means we can’t repeat this scenario next month because there is not enough inventory at the moment to satisfy demand! The pending sale line has risen above the number of homes for sale. We have a real estate drought in Sacramento real estate. It’s not just the water shortage we’re worried about, although granted we could die without water. Real estate, not so much.

SACRAMENTO COUNTY REAL ESTATE MARKET SNAPSHOT

To put it into technical terms, we probably have about 3 weeks of inventory for sale. We could sell everything in the next 3 weeks. And this fact is driving the market completely insane. If your home is not in the best condition, or if it is located in a less than desirable location, it could take longer to sell, but a well located home in move-in condition should attract several offers. This is not a time to sit idly, tapping your fingers on the desk, wondering if it’s a good time to put your home on the market. You don’t have weeks or months to think about it because summer is coming. Summer sales slip and slide. It’s kinda like Jon Snow’s real estate slogan: Winter is coming, except there is no snow, blood or gore. Just heat and not much action.

Which brings me to the point in this week’s Game of Thrones season opener when Varys charged Tyrion Lannister with the character of compassion. Tyrion responded quixically: “Compassion? I strangled my lover with my bare hands; I shot my own father with a crossbow.” I vote this best scene in Season 5, Episode 1, Game of Thrones. Made me laugh out loud and scared the cat off my husband’s lap. I enjoy this type of entertainment sometimes to keep my mind off the wild world of Sacramento real estate or I’d be consumed by it all night.

I closed another home sale in Land Park last week that sold so fast and for more than list price which, a year ago, might have taken up to six months to sell. Of course, it helped that the sellers listened to my advice and made improvements to make the home ready for market. We priced it on the high end, yet sold with a 3% price bump and no hassles. In fact, we negotiated a few days rent-back for the sellers who were relocating out of state. I’d like to believe my marketing techniques, vast internet exposure and excellent photography helped make buyers fight like wild animals over it . . . but it might also be that I work as one of the top 3 Lyon Realtors, at the largest independently owned real estate brokerage in Sacramento that sells many listings in-house through our huge network.

There is another home in Land Park I drive by daily that sits forlorn with a small sign in the yard and no traffic, no buyers. It’s been on the market for months. The sellers changed agents twice. The photography is decent, but it’s not being marketed the way I would do it. I’d like to get my hands on that listing and put it into escrow, but I can’t solicit another agent’s listing, nor would I want to be that kind of agent. If you’re thinking about selling your home, give Elizabeth Weintraub a jingle at 916.233.6759. I answer my phone.