Email Elizabethsacramento market trends
Sacramento Housing Market Report Reflects Seasonal Dip
Our Sacramento County housing report for October 2018 shows not only a seasonal dip but also a large gap between inventory and closed sales. About half of the homes for sale in Sacramento are selling, which is typical this time of year. However, it is also indicative of a market shifting to a buyer’s market.
The average square foot cost for our Sacramento County housing report for October 2018 shows stability. These numbers include all single family homes and attached houses in the county. However, what the numbers do not show is a 3% dip between original list price and final sales price.
Next, in our Sacramento County housing report for October 2018, let’s look at the average days on market in Sacramento. Or, not. You can see it shows an overall average of 35 days on market, which is an increase of 25% from a year ago. That is not bad at all, though. In normal real estate markets, homes can take 2 to 3 months to sell, so even 35 days is OK.
The median sales price reflected in our Sacramento County housing report for October 2018 shows a dip to $350,000. A bit of softening in prices is good news for buyers. More good news for Sacramento homebuyers is the fact the Feds left the rate unchanged this month. Although 4.875% is about average at the moment, it’s still a good time to buy a home. Call the Elizabeth Weintraub Team to gather more information or to become a valued client at 916.233.6759.
Listing Homes in Sacramento is All About Appraised Value Right Now
Listing homes in Sacramento is about appraising at the sales price.
Many sellers are holding back listing homes in Sacramento right now for a huge variety of reasons, some valid and some not. For at least one seller, the sales price is an issue. That seller bought in 2005, so while she is not underwater, she won’t recoup her investment and can’t sell at the price she bought. This is a tough concept for some sellers to understand. They see sales prices going up and buyers lining up at open houses, and wonder why they can’t get their sales price.
The problem is we have not recovered, our economy has not bounced back to 2005 levels. We just aren’t there. We are barely covering the sales prices from 2008, and are not near the high price levels of 2005. We probably won’t be at that price point for a long time. You remember those times, right? It wasn’t that long ago that people could buy a house, move into it, decide the place doesn’t fit right anymore, sell it, make a bundle of money and go buy something else, all in the course of a summer.
I don’t think we even WANT to go back to those times. But try explaining to a seller that her house is not worth what she paid for it. Those are fighting’ words to some sellers. Because obviously we real estate agents are all in cahoots with the devil and don’t want our sellers to make any money . . . NOT.
Believe me, it’s a sad tale to tell but tell it we must. It’s reality. It’s what is happening. At least if a person is not underwater and has equity, that person should count her lucky stars.
On the other side of the situation, when listing homes in Sacramento, it makes sense to figure out how much a buyer will pay. The amount a buyer will pay might not be the appraised value and, in many instances lately, it is certainly not the appraised value. The appraised value is less than the sales price. Of course, if the offer is cash, we don’t have no stinkin’ appraisal to deal with.
I tell my sellers we need to position ourselves attractively in the market place, make sure we have the best spot, and we can’t be priced too low. Multiple offers will push up the price. I like to list a bit on the high side, just so buyers won’t go all that crazy, but they still do. We just need that one buyer who will pay top dollar and love the home.
I just wish more sellers were open to listing homes in Sacramento right now and not waiting for April or May. We have the buyers. We have the low interest rates. We have the ability to sell at top of market. Setting the sales price is the least of our worries. Getting the appraisal to come in at the sales price is the real challenge.
If you’re looking for a top Sacramento Realtor who is up to the challenge, call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Put 40 years of experience to work for you. Listen to this, in all of Sacramento County, we have only 1,347 single family homes for sale, and 1,451 pending sales getting ready to close. In the hey day of 2005, we had more than 10,000.
Sacramento Real Estate and Yoda: Times They are a Changin’
Sacramento River in South Land Park Hills
As I look over my listings and escrows in Sacramento this morning, I see a pattern. I’m not talking about those free flashbacks we were promised and never received — what a rip. No swirls and dots nor peacock feather trails. Nope, the pattern I see is every single one of these listings and escrows has a challenge, for lack of a better term. All of the challenges are different, but they are challenges just the same. Not insurmountable, either, but it’s not the same for a Sacramento real estate agent in 2014 as in previous years. Selling real estate the last half of 2013 and early 2014 is harder. The times they are a changin’. You wonder where Yoda got his manner of speaking? I tell ya, he stole it from Dylan. But I digress.
For example, one Sacramento short sale presents a peculiar difficulty with Chase Bank. To provide you with further clarity, consider the fact that every short sale agent probably felt like that Meg Ryan scene in When Harry Met Sally when Chase Bank last year began using Equator. However, this year, its HELOC department is stuck in bureaucracy and over the course of two months can’t seem to open the file. I kick, I nudge, I push, I sweet-talk, I escalate; I set that Chase short sale underwriting department on fire and run out the back door, and they aren’t budging. Feet glued to the floor. It’s as though they are lobotomized. But eventually, Chase will get it together; it’s the Peter Principle in action.
Another escrow is stuck in limbo until the bankruptcy court releases the home or authorizes the sale. The court date has been pushed forward, just when I had hoped it would be resolved. Are you involved in bankruptcy proceedings is not usually a question I ask a seller when I accept an equity listing. I imagine in this economy the bankruptcy lawyers are doing a ton of business, though.
The ripples of the past are still present. We Sacramentans haven’t completely emerged from the sea like Bo Derek: all cornrows and smiles and tan. Nope, we’re more like Tank Girl coming home to discover the earth looks like steaming lava fields on Big Island and treasuring that baby tree sprout, straining toward the sun from a sidewalk crack.
I have another escrow that’s nearing 45 days and the buyer’s loan is still not approved. That’s because the buyer wasn’t actually approved by the bank at the inception — like most of the bogus crap passed off as meaning something, the pre-approval letters make better paper airplanes. The buyer also could not satisfy loan conditions for the longest time, and it seems like nobody really pushed the buyer to perform, except for my sellers. Hello? Clock ticking.
Experience has taught me that these issues will get worked out, and we will close. Moreover, eventually the overpriced listings will be reduced or we’ll find one of those tasty Bay area buyers. Sacramento real estate is a fairly tight market that often moves in circles, it can be like a roulette wheel. Make sure you have a good real estate agent at your side. Sellers today need a smart agent who can offer sensible advice on such matters like always double your odds on craps and let’s not overlook Kenny Rogers: know when to fold ’em and back off. This is a great time to sell if you know what you’re doing!
