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Sacramento Real Estate and the Election
Sacramento real estate and the election are always are high on the list in people’s minds during the fall of an election year. Some people say they will hold out on making a buying or selling decision as they feel the market prices could fall dramatically, depending on who is chosen as the President.
There will always be a high demand for a place to live in the USA. In the greater Sacramento Valley of California, our current real estate environment has not had enough home inventory for years. New homes are the only way to add inventory, and they are slowed down due to covid.
Fires and Buyers
Manufacturing is down, and fires have destroyed a lumber mill in Oregon. Where do all the homeowners go who lost homes in the Bay area fires? Well, with Covid, many can now work from home, so they need no longer live in the bay. They can take the insurance money and buy in our northern California 6 county area of Sacramento, San Joaquin, Yolo, Placer, El Dorado, and Nevada counties.
Building Homes & Interest Rates
It is currently challenging to obtain building materials. Contractors are reporting a concrete shortage. Wood is behind on many orders. Experienced construction workers are high in demand and hard to find. The interest rates are at historically record lows. What does all this mean? This Realtor predicts an ongoing high demand for Realestate in the median and entry-level price points. Entry-level and median level home sales to $799k are flying off the shelves. Jumbo loans are now available but not as EZ to qualify, so talk with your lender. Our preferred lender Dan Tharp with Guild mortgage as many videos on loans and price points. Call him for advice in the previous link.
White Elephant Trophy Homes
The upper-end price points depending on the high demand areas and amenities are also selling. Those “White Elephant Trophy Homes” are not flying off the shelves in record-breaking numbers, but that’s another blog; stay tuned for it in the next few weeks. A seller’s market does not apply to every home; keep that in mind.
People still need a place to call home regardless of who sits in the Whitehouse. With over four decades of experience within our Real Estate team, we have observed very little change to overall real estate in the past elections. Yes, absolutely no matter what side of the fence you are on, get out there and vote and buy real estate. There are several essential items on the ballot, and interest rates have never been better. Call Weintraub and Wallace Realtors with RE/MAX Gold to navigate your home sale or purchase. We can be reached at 916-233-6759.
— JaCi Wallace
More About Getting the Edge When Buying Homes in Sacramento
A tip for getting the edge when buying homes in Sacramento. The italics below feature an excerpt from a blog Elizabeth wrote several years ago. It is the same thing happening today. Agents call and ask if we have offers. We say not yet, but expecting offers any moment. Offers are often sent in poorly written, missing information and without proof of funds. Why would an agent ever send in anything less than picture-perfect offers?
Sometimes the offers never even make it in to us. We follow up with every agent and help in any way we can. Make sure you have discussions about your offers before they are sent to the listing agent. This will help with some of the smaller issues. Enjoy.
In this Sacramento real estate market, it doesn’t matter how many offers the seller has received. Yet, agents continue to call and ask that question. Why doesn’t it matter? Because any well priced home will be sold within hours if not within days of hitting the market. If a listing agent doesn’t have an offer when the buyer’s agent calls, you can bet an offer is on its way. Maybe 10 or 20 offers are in the works. It just doesn’t matter.
What does matter is how strong is your purchase offer? How well written is your offer? Have you included any special conditions to make your offer stand out among other offers?
I have empathy for buyer’s agents in this market. It’s very tough. A buyer’s agent is but one of many pigeons in the park scrambling for tossed bread crumbs. Sacramento is a seller’s market. Limited inventory. — Elizabeth Weintraub
If you want to hire a professional real estate team that always looks for the edge, call Weintraub & Wallace Realtors, with RE/MAX Gold. We can be reached at 916-233-6759.
— JaCi Wallace
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.
Home Buyers Not Looking for Home Improvement Projects
Just because you and I may love tackling home improvement projects does not mean everybody shares our point of view. Especially not first-time home buyers in Sacramento or, for that matter, even move-up buyers. Today’s home buyers want move-in ready homes. They do not want to make repairs. Gone are the days of buying a resale home in average condition. There are two instances under which a buyer would purchase a home in average condition. Either the home is priced way below market value, making it an absolute steal, or wait . . . there is no second reason.
Trying to sell your home without making repairs is like inviting guests for dinner and expecting them to bring their own food and cook it, too.
I was thinking about this as I drove yesterday to Rosemont. The traffic on Highway 50 is always a bit rough on that stretch of freeway between downtown and Watt, but yesterday I spotted a hearse. When I saw it, the first thought in my head was not party-time! Nor did I wonder how many people we can stuff into it. Hearses were very popular as a vehicle for private citizens when I was a kid. We painted them psychedelic colors and drove them around like they were a limo. People lived in them, too, and held wild parties. But no, this hearse made me feel respectful of the cargo it may have carried. A different point of view than my initial instincts.
Also, the hearse was in the lane next to the fast lane. I guess there was no reason for it to be in the fast lane. Who is in such a rush in a hearse? Nobody, that’s who. In fact, I would feel rather uneasy watching a hearse exceed the speed limit in the fast lane. Wouldn’t you?
Sometimes sellers are in a big rush, too. They can’t wait to put their home on the market, even though it might need work. If it needs work or updates, then sellers should complete those tasks before putting their home on the market. You will not get top dollar for a home that needs work. I talked with sellers last night who said a bath might need work, but they want to let the buyers use their own vision for that job. I had to explain that buyers are not looking for home improvement projects. Buyers would rather pass on a property and will buy another home that doesn’t need any work.
The mindset today seems to be they just want the work done. They will pay a bit more for a remodeled house but they want it to be perfect. No major flaws or defects. No home improvement projects.
In fact, I visited with several sellers this past week. Two of them are not sellers. They think they are selling their homes, but they aren’t. I can tell just by chatting with people. I’ll be visiting new sets of sellers next week and helping them to fix up their homes prior to selling. If you’re thinking about it, give me a jingle at 916.233.6759. Put 40 years of experience to work for you.
Why You Cannot Sell Your House in This Hot Sacramento Market
You cannot sell your house in our hot Sacramento real estate market for any number of reasons. Let’s look at a few. First, it is not always price. You might own a unique home, unlike anything else on the market. Unique homes appeal to a unique buyer. They do not appeal to your normal run-of-the-mill buyers. Sometimes we get lucky and a unique buyer pops up right away. Sometimes it can take 6 months to a year to find that needle-in-a-haystack buyer.
Another reason you cannot sell your house in our seller’s market might be due to improvements. Your home might be over improved for the neighborhood or under improved. If it is over improved, a price adjustment or outright patience will move that listing. Buyers want fixed-up, turnkey properties. If it is under improved, it might not sell at all at the price a seller wants.
Unless, of course, if it is a major fixer. Major fixers always have plenty of buyers fighting for the right to turn their lives upside down by trying to become a flipper. I’ve noticed hard-money lenders sourcing get-rich-quick seminars, trying to educate would-be flippers on how to do an incredibly difficult job fairly poorly. These same lenders also pull in investors to fund hard-money loans to their flipper audience. What a racket.
Sometimes sellers try to be helpful; they want to share tips they just pulled out of thin air to their Sacramento Realtor. Agents need to show compassion. Sellers don’t see where they might be disrespectful. Once a seller asked if I could put up 3×5 cards at a laundromat. Because they are not in the business, they do not realize all effective marketing is online. It’s not in that magazine at the beauty salon. It’s on the internet.
Another seller asked why aren’t visitors to Zillow clicking on his listing. What was wrong? When your marketing verbiage is excellent and the photos superb, it is probably because buyers aren’t looking for homes on Zillow. Or, there is not a big market for your house. Maybe too much competition in a particular neighborhood. Not to mention, interest rates are increasing, thereby reducing buyers’ purchasing power.
One of the things I do when I take a listing is look at how long it took to sell that particular home the last few times. Doesn’t matter when. I’ve got 4 decades in the real estate business, and I remember all of our markets. If I see a home sold near its original price in a super hot market with really long days on market, it’s a problem property. Odds are it may sell over a similar time frame again.
But do not ever be afraid to talk to your Sacramento Realtor about why you cannot sell your house. If you have a competent listing agent, I can promise you this, it is not your agent. That is not the reason. Also, anything will sell if it is priced right.
Please be aware that I predict we are moving away from a seller’s market in Sacramento. Time-tested strategies that have worked for the past 6 years are no longer applicable to today’s real estate market. Is your agent aware of the shift? Buyers are saying enough is enough. Besides, markets change all the time. Get ready, Sacramento! Change is on the horizon. I can feel it.
