Sacramento Association of REALTORS® Web Log

December posted increases month to month with sales volume increasing 15.5% from 1,302 to 1,504 units. Making up these sales were 655 REOs (43.6%), 340 short sales (22.6%) and 509 conventional sales (33.8%). These numbers have changes slightly month to month with REOs up by 3% and conventional sales down by 3.7%. The percentage of short sales remained unchanged month-to-month.

The median home sales price decreased .6% from $180,000 to $179,000. Compared with the same month last year ($187,500), the number is down 4.5%. The current year-end median sales price, however, posted a positive trend for the first time since 2005. The year-end median sales price for 2010 was $183,385, 1.9% above the $180,000 year-end median sales price of 2009. The $200,000 – $249,999 price range mode still accounts for a majority (17.8% or 267 units) of the 1,504 total sales this month, while homes under $100,000 totaled 196 (13%) units. Conventional financing continued as the primary source of all home and condo sales (584, 35.9%) with cash (454, 27.9%) and FHA financing (468, 28.7%) making up the two other large categories. Conventional and FHA financing both increased; 6.8% and 2.1%, respectively. Cash financing on units decreased 5.1% from November to December. VA loans (43, 2.6%) and other financing (80, 4.9%) rounded out the remainder. The other category includes CalVet, contract of sale, creative, farm home loan and owner financing. The median amount of days spent on the market (from list date to opening escrow) was 47 – up 11.9% from the 42 median DOM of sales in November.

From the table below, we can see that the median sales price has been bumping along in the past two years from the lowest price in 8 years (April 2009) up to $194,000 median price in June 2010 and back down to the current $179,000 median price. SAR President Elect Doug Covill commented on the current market, stating “the interest rates are incredible, the inventory is there; we are just waiting for confidence to return. Distressed properties are still dominating the market (43.6% of sales are REO).”

The Total Listing Inventory has recently been split up to more accurately display the current market. Active Listings numbered 5,156 properties and Active Short Sales Contingent showed 1,669. Active Short Sale Contingent properties are short sale properties on which initial offers have been made and are not entirely “active.” After breaking down Total Listing Inventory, we find that the Housing Market Supply figure is more accurately reflected. The Housing Market Supply figure for December was 3.4 Months – down 15% from the 4 Months Inventory of November. This figure represents the amount of time – in months – it would take to deplete the Active Listing Inventory (5,156) given the current number of closed escrows (1,669). According to MetroList® MLS data, the average home was 1,732 square feet. Of the 1,504 sales this month, 139 (9.2%) had 2 bedrooms or fewer, 799 (53.1%) had 3 bedrooms, 459 (30.5%) were 4 bedroom properties and 107 properties (7.1%) had 5+ bedrooms.

Continue reading: Year Ends With Less Total Sales, but Positive Trend in Median Sales Price

A seasonally accurate trend shows decreased market activity, with sales volume dropping 2.9% from 1,341 units to 1,302 units. Making up these sales were 551 REOs (42.3%), 294 short sales (22.6%) and 457 conventional sales (35.1%). These numbers have changes slightly month to month with REOs up 5.7% and short sales and conventional sales both down by 3.8%.

The median home sales price showed little movement, increasing .3% from $179,500 to $180,000. Compared with the same month last year ($187,000), the number is down 3.7%. The $200,000 – $249,999 price range mode still accounts for a majority (17.4% or 227 units) of the 1,302 total sales this month, while homes under $100,000 totaled 185 (14.2%) units. Conventional financing continued as the primary source of all home and condo sales (477, 33.6%) with cash (417, 29.4%) and FHA financing (399, 28.1%) making up the two other large categories. Conventional and FHA financing both decreased, dropping 5.3% and 6.9%, respectively. Cash financing, however, increased 12.6%, possibly accounting for the increase investors during the holiday season. VA loans (42, 3%) and other financing (83, 5.9%) rounded out the remainder. The other category includes CalVet, contract of sale, creative, farm home loan and owner financing. The median amount of days spent on the market (from list date to opening escrow) was 42 – up from the 41 median DOM of sales in November.

The Total Listing Inventory has recently been split up to more accurately display the current market. Active Listings numbered 5,225 properties and Active Short Sales Contingent showed 1,704. Active Short Sale Contingent properties are short sale properties on which initial offers have been made and are not entirely “active.” After breaking down Total Listing Inventory, we find that the Housing Market Supply figure is more accurately reflected. The Housing Market Supply figure for November was 4 Months – the same as October. This figure represents the amount of time – in months – it would take to deplete the Active Listing Inventory (5,225) given the current number of closed escrows (1,302). According to MetroList® MLS data, the average home was 1,755 square feet. Of the 1,341 sales this month, 114 (8.7%) had 2 bedrooms or fewer, 684 (52.5%) had 3 bedrooms, 404 (31%) were 4 bedroom properties and 103 properties (7.9%) had 5+ bedrooms.

Continue reading: November Closes with Decreased Sales, Increased Cash Buyers

On par with a normal Fall/Winter trends of decreased sales volume, October showed a 6.4% decrease in sales from 1,433 to 1,341 units. Making up these sales were 537 REOs (40%), 315 short sales (23.5%) and 489 conventional sales (36.5%). These numbers have changes slightly month to month with REOs up 4.7% and short sales and conventional sales down 7.1% and .2%, respectively.

The median homes sales price remained relatively flat, decreasing .3% from $180,000 to $179,500. Compared with the same month last year ($185,000), the number is down 3%. The $200,000 – $249,999 price range mode still accounts for a majority (17.2% or 231 units) of the 1,341 total sales this month, while homes under $100,000 totaled 186 (13.8%) units. Conventional financing continued as the primary source of all home and condo sales (515, 35.5%) with cash (378, 26.1%) and FHA financing (438, 30.2%) making up the two other large categories. Month to month, conventional financing increased by 6.2%, FHA financing increased by 3.4% and cash financing decreased 8%. VA loans (35, 2.4%) and other financing (84, 5.8%) rounded out the remainder. The other category includes CalVet, contract of sale, creative, farm home loan and owner financing. The median amount of days spent on the market (from list date to opening escrow) was 41 – up from the 39 median DOM of sales in September.

The Total Listing Inventory has recently been split up to more accurately display the current market. Active Listings numbered 5,319 properties and Active Short Sales Contingent showed 1,740. Active Short Sale Contingent properties are short sale properties on which initial offers have been made and are not entirely “active.” After breaking down Total Listing Inventory, we find that the Housing Market Supply figure is more accurately reflected. The Housing Market Supply figure for October was 4 Months – up from 3.6 Months in September. This figure represents the amount of time – in months – it would take to deplete the Active Listing Inventory (5,319) given the current number of closed escrows (1,341). According to MetroList® MLS data, the average home was 1,714 square feet. Of the 1,341 sales this month, 135 (10%) had 2 bedrooms or fewer, 698 (52%) had 3 bedrooms, 414 (30.8%) were 4 bedroom properties and 92 properties (6.8%) had 5+ bedrooms.

Continue reading: Fall Market Showing Characteristic Slowing, Median Price Remains Flat

September showed little signs of movement, keeping the Sacramento housing market relatively flat with sales volume decreasing 4.2% from 1,496 units to 1,433 units. Making up these sales were 547 REOs (38.2%), 362 short sales (25.3%) and 524 conventional sales (36.6%). These numbers have changes slightly month to month with REOs up 5.5% and short sales and conventional sales down 4.8% and 1.6%, respectively.

The median homes sales price rose decreased 3.2% from $186,000 to $180,000. Compared with the same month last year ($183,000), the number is down 1.6%. The $200,000 – $249,999 price range mode still accounts for a majority (18.4% or 263 units) of the 1,433 total sales this month, while homes under $100,000 totaled 205 (14.2%) units. Conventional financing continued as the primary source of all home and condo sales (520, 33.4%) with cash (443, 28.4%) and FHA financing (455, 29.2%) making up the two other large categories. VA loans (49, 3.1%) and other financing (91, 5.8%) rounded out the remainder. The other category includes CalVet, contract of sale, creative, farm home loan and owner financing. The median amount of days spent on the market (from list date to opening escrow) was 39 – up from the 35 median DOM of sales in August.

The Total Listing Inventory has recently been split up to more accurately display the current market. Active Listings numbered 5,139 properties and Active Short Sales Contingent showed 1,736. Active Short Sale Contingent properties are short sale properties on which initial offers have been made and are not entirely “active.” After breaking down Total Listing Inventory, we find that the Housing Market Supply figure is more accurately reflected. The Housing Market Supply figure for September was 3.6 Months – up from 3.4 Months in August. This figure represents the amount of time – in months – it would take to deplete the Active Listing Inventory (5,139) given the current number of closed escrows (1,433). According to MetroList® MLS data, the average home was 1,706 square feet. Of the 1,433 sales this month, 139 (9.6%) had 2 bedrooms or fewer, 756 (52.7%, up 50% from last month [34.6%]) had 3 bedrooms, 416 (29%) were 4 bedroom properties and 122 properties (8.5%) had 5+ bedrooms.

Continue reading: Median Sales Price Sees Slight Dip, Sales Volume Remains Flat

August home sales breathed some life into the Sacramento housing market; increasing 9.8% from 1,363 to 1,496. This, however, is still 11.1% below the 1,683 home sales of August 2009. Of the sales this month, 541 units (or 36%) were REO properties, 398 units (27%) were short sales and 557 (37%) were conventional sales. There has been a change in the Sacramento market over the last year, shifting towards conventional and short sales. The charts below represent the type of sale (REO, short sale and conventional) in both August 2009 and August 2010. REO properties have dropped 24% from last year when they made up nearly 48% of all sales. Conventional sales have been on the rebound, slowly rising to make up a majority of all sales. Short sales have also been on the rise, signaling that lenders have been more enthusiastic about working with REALTORS® and getting buyers into homes.

August 2010 Statistics Pie Chart

The Sacramento median homes sales price rose slightly month-to-month, increasing .5% from $185,000 to $186,000. Compared with the same month last year ($190,000), the median home price has decreased 2.1%. The $200,000 – $249,999 price range mode still accounts for a majority (18.5% or 277 units) of the 1,496 total sales this month, while homes under $100,000 totaled 200 (13.3%) units. Financing options continue to change as record low mortgage rates become available for buyers. This month conventional financing made up a majority of all home and condo sales (578 or 35.6%) with cash (28.6%) and FHA financing (26.8%) making up the two other large categories. VA loans (47 or 2.9%) and other financing (100 or 6.2%) rounded out the remainder. The other category includes CalVet, contract of sale, creative, farm home loan and owner financing. The average length of time a home spent on the market before opening escrow was 65 days. Nearly half of all properties (45%) sold in 30 days or less. 116 properties (7.1%) had been on the market for more than 181 days and 17 of those properties had been on the market for more than a year before finally being sold in August. The median amount of days spent on the market was 35 – up from the 31 DOM in July.

The Total Listing Inventory has recently been split up to more accurately display the current market. Active Listings numbered 5,045 properties and Active Short Sales Contingent showed 2,021. Active Short Sale Contingent properties are short sale properties on which initial offers have been made and are not entirely “active.” After breaking down Total Listing Inventory, we find that the Housing Market Supply figure is more accurately reflected. Month to month the Housing Market Supply figure for August was 3.4 Months. This figure represents the amount of time – in months – it would take to deplete the Active Listing Inventory (5,045) given the current number of closed escrows (1,496). According to MetroList® MLS data, the average home was 1,708 square feet. Of the 1,496 sales this month, 148 (9.8%) had 2 bedrooms or fewer, 819 (34.6%) had 3 bedrooms, 427 (28.5%) were 4 bedroom properties and 99 properties (6.6%) had 5+ bedrooms.

Continue reading: Sales Pick Up After Slow July, REO Sales Decreasing

Home sales in July decreased 23.3% from 1,777 in June to 1,363. Year to year, the current figure is 26.2% lower than the 1,848 units reported in July 2009. Conventional sales and REO sales combined made up more than 76% of all sales (REOs 38.5%, Conventional 38.2%), while short sales rounded out the remainder of sales (23.3%). Compared with last month, REO sales increased 8% while short sales decreased 11.7%. After a five-month increasing trend, the median sales price dropped 4.6% from $194,000 to $185,000. Compared with last year, the median sales price is 2.8% higher than the $180,000 of July 2009. The $200,000 – $249,999 price range mode accounts for a majority (17.5% or 239 units) of the 1,363 total sales this month, while homes under $100,000 totaled 144 (10.4%) units.

The Total Listing Inventory has recently been split up to more accurately display the current market. Active Listings numbered 4,748 properties and Active Short Sales Contingent showed 2,097. Active Short Sale Contingent properties are short sale properties on which initial offers have been made and are not entirely “active.” After breaking down Total Listing Inventory, we find that the Housing Market Supply figure is more accurately reflected. Month to month the Housing Market Supply figure increased 40% from 2.5 Months to 3.5 Months. This figure represents the amount of time – in months – it would take to deplete the Active Listing Inventory (4,748) given the current number of closed escrows (1,363). According to MetroList® MLS data, the average home spent 60 days on market (from the time it was listed to the time escrow was opened) and was 1,736 square feet. Of the 1,363 sales this month, 120 (8.8%) had 2 bedrooms or fewer, 706 (51.7%) had 3 bedrooms, 432 (31.6%) were 4 bedroom properties and 105 properties (7.7%) had 5+ bedrooms.

Continue reading: A Decrease in Sales Show Slow July Activity