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March 2020 Housing Statistics for Sacramento County
March 2020 housing statistics for Sacramento County is certainly welcome news, per Josh Amolsch, who wrote this blog. Josh is an exclusive buyer’s agent on our team. He really brings to light the numbers and how you can apply them to your situation if you are buying or selling. Enjoy, it’s a great read. — JaCi Wallace
The first thing I noticed about the new March 2020 Housing Statistics for Sacramento County was that the median sales price for single-family homes reached $400,000. This is a 9.6% increase over March 2019. Going back to 2004 shows that this is an all-time record. The last time we were this high, besides last month, was August 2005 when the median reached $395,000. But, $400,000 may seem like a bargain when you consider the median sales price for the four-county region in March 2020 reached $440,000. Wow.
Average Days on Market, Original List Price VS Sales Price
COVID-19 has changed the world over the last month. We Realtors have been working harder than ever. We are fielding many calls from clients, writing offers and finding ways to help our clients during these crazy times. The orange chart above shows that buyers are still buying and at a higher rate of speed than in the same month, last year. Homes are selling 31.8% faster than one year ago and sellers are getting closer to their asking price in March 2020 vs March 2019. Real estate ain’t crashing folks. March 2020 housing statistics for Sacramento County show pending sales are still strong.
The effect of this Covid19 Virus on the real estate market is bearing no similarity to that of the 2008 crash, according to the March 2020 housing statistics for Sacramento County. The “Great Recession” was launched largely in part because people were allowed to buy homes they couldn’t afford. Lender regulations are pretty stiff these days to avoid a repeat. Always learn from past mistakes, right? Have you gone through a pre-approval recently? If so, you know that you have to show proof of everything, including your ability to afford your mortgage. Interest rates are continuing at record lows.
For Sale, Pended and Sold
Where we can see possible evidence of COVID-19 having an effect on Sacramento real estate is in the Pending’s metric. New escrows for March 2020 fell 1.3% from February probably because of a knee jerk reaction to how to tour homes now. Also, add on that little episode with the banks raising rates because of the run on refinancing and purchase loan applications. But, that is still 88% of the entire inventory available in March! New listings are up 11.3% over February 2020.
I predict a continuation of a similar market to what we have been experiencing in the last several months. Low inventory, lots of buyers and agents duking it out for listings is considered normal. Technology, smiles and firm handshakes aside, your home will sell when it is priced right. Always makes a difference if you have great curb appeal as you only have one shot at a first impression.
Always make sure your property is marketed by a top tier real estate team. If you would like to chat with agents who have weathered almost every type of storm the real estate market has experienced in several decades, then give Weintraub & Wallace with RE/MAX Gold, a jingle at 916.233.6759.
How to Know if Your Sacramento Home is Priced Right
If your Sacramento home is priced right, you will receive an offer.
Sellers sometimes wonder if their Sacramento home is priced right. Even though a Sacramento Realtor may explain how comparable sales work, how we arrive at pricing, it’s not unusual for sellers to be confused or to disregard the comparable sales. After all, if a buyer pays cash, the comparable sales are not always that important since there will be no appraisal. Believe it or not, not every buyer is concerned as long as the price pencils out or otherwise makes sense to them, especially if the buyers are from the Bay Area, like many of my buyers seem to be. They think our prices in Sacramento are remarkably affordable compared to the Bay Area, and they are.
You might wonder how a person could shrug off the comparable sales and proclaim they don’t matter, but then you are probably not in Sacramento real estate and you don’t deal with those sellers from another planet. I’ve had sellers scream that they did not care what the numbers showed, they wanted a certain price and if they could not get that price, then they weren’t interested in selling. Fine, I’ll go to the next amusement park ride and stand in line.
As a standard of practice, I always try to pass on all showing activity results during my listing period to the sellers. This can result in sellers getting very excited when they hear that a lot of buyers have showed up on a doorstep. They need a perspective. Following is how I explain the situation when a seller asks if all the action we’ve been receiving on showing a home means we should raise the price, because the seller now wonders if the Sacramento home is priced right. Normal reaction.
- If we receive 5 offers all over list price, then your home is priced too low.
- If we receive one offer less than list price and one offer at list price, then your Sacramento home is priced right.
- If we receive no offers after 3 weeks of showings, your home is priced too high (or something else is wrong)
In other words, it’s pretty much impossible in a seller’s market to price a home too low because the market itself will dictate the price. It’s finding that sweet spot, that place in pricing strategy that will generate a purchase offer. If it’s working, don’t mess with it. If you want assurance that your Sacramento home is priced right, call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. I’ll be happy to list your home and sell it at top dollar for you. It’s what I do.
