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When Will Home Prices Double in Sacramento?
“When my home is worth a gazillion dollars, call me.” That’s what a former client expressed this morning. It put a smile on my face, and it was a good thing to wake up to find in my email. It makes me realize that as a Sacramento real estate agent, I need to keep in the back of my mind that we are all a sum of our total experiences. Most sellers do not really know anything about real estate or how it works — even though they might think they do — because they are not in the real estate business and / or they didn’t focus on economics much less real estate in college.
We can’t forget our roots, from whence we came. At one point in my life, I knew very little about real estate. Back when I was crawling around on all fours. After I gained an upright position and could jump rope and tie my shoes, I began an early fascination with real estate. I built houses out of sandboxes. Later, of course, I learned much from college courses, mentors, books, and the very best learning ground: first-hand experience. That means I probably made mistakes from which I learned. That was about 40 years ago, but I still try to keep those moments in time in check and myself grounded in reality.
A former client called yesterday in a panic because she thought for certain that I had sent her the wrong document to sign. For some reason, she did not read the lone sentence on the document, which gave her exactly what she wanted. No, she insisted that I send her a different form that we do not use. Then, she dove into further panic mode because she had signed the document in DocuSign and that was not her signature on the document. How could that be legal, she asked?
We are all a sum of our total experiences.
However, that does not explain how Kevin Spacey acquired that upper-crust Southern accent when his character’s father was a peach farmer. I’m talking about that great Netflix show: House of Cards. I suppose it comes from hanging around with other aristocrats. You don’t have to grow up with it.
I am also excited about Game of Thrones. First, let me say I am no Scarlett O’Hara. I am not clutching a handful of dirt thrust into the air and crying as God is my witness, but I do remember my roots. And I try to stay true to who I am. I grew up in the Midwest, in Minnesota. I relate to that pull-herself-up-by-her-bootstraps character, the Khaleesi. Something I read described her as the balls of a man and the heart of a woman. I appreciate strong women, and it makes the show interesting to me because it wouldn’t be interesting if it was just about men fighting. I get enough of that excitement from third-party mortgage brokers who can’t fund. Only thing is I don’t have any dragons. I have cats, but almost the same thing. Except they can’t breathe fire or explain to clients that I will be dead and gone by the time their $300,000 home is worth again $600,000 in Sacramento.
Rising Home Prices in Sacramento Knock Out Short Sales
Short sales are soooo 2012. When a reporter called to interview me a few weeks back, she asked if I am seeing appreciation in Sacramento and, if so, how much. How much are homes appreciating? Trying to put a finger on the exact amount is difficult without reviewing the variable stats, but my gut said double digit. I wanted to say in the 20% range but I didn’t reach out that far; although, in hindsight, it would have been accurate.
There are so many ways to show and predict the real estate market in Sacramento. You can look at month-over-month numbers and year-over-year, and compare square-foot costs to closed sales, you can manipulate the crap out of numbers to make them say just about anything you want them to reflect. You can say sales prices are going up because homes sold for more this month than they did last month, but that doesn’t take into account the fact that we have fewer homes for sale or more homes or that sellers are moving up and those are not first-time home buyer numbers, and so forth.
What I am seeing all over the board is the fact that rising prices in Sacramento are putting sellers into positions of equity. These are sellers who would have been a short sale candidate last year but this year they are sellers with equity. While they might have been kicked under the table by buyers in March of 2012, this month buyers are handing them real silverware, placing linen napkins in their lap and popping the cork. Sellers with equity are back.
When I get a call from a seller asking if I will handle a short sale for them, the first thing I do now is establish whether they have to do a short sale. Because you know what? They might not have to do a short sale. Many of these sellers are finding that they qualify for a regular sale. Even sellers who are behind in their payments are finding investors who are willing to make up the back payments, bring them whole and even put some money into their pockets — after all is said and done and closing costs are paid.
Is it obvious to everybody? I wouldn’t be writing this if it were. I see it. I see it even if the comparable sales don’t support it because I have special glasses, the kind that see through walls. Not really, but I do spot certain instances that others can’t seem to see. I know which way the wind is blowing. I sold over $32 million last year, and that’s a lot of homes — I see a lot of action. If you are wondering whether you need to do a short sale or if you can sell with equity, you should call this Sacramento real estate agent, yes, me, at 916 233 6759. I might be able to sell your home without it being a short sale.
And wouldn’t that be a fabulous thing for you? Relief might be right around the corner. Get a jump on it. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916 233 6759. I love my job, and I’m happy to talk with you.
