Real Estate

Check out this article from the Sacramento Association of Realtors. Many are taking advantage of this great opportunity!

Single family home sales increased in the month of March while the median sales price showed a change of less than 1%. This data, compiled by the Sacramento Association of REALTORS®, is collected from the MetroList® multiple listing services and covers Sacramento County and the City of West Sacramento. The 1,725 sales in March is a 9.5% increase over the 1,575 sales in the month prior. Year-over-year, this marks a 61.4% increase over the 1,069 sales of March 2008. A high level of distressed properties – 70.5% of all sales – greatly contributes to the favorable rate of sales, and also keeps the median sales price low.

The median sales price moved slightly month-to-month from $167,000 to $167,500, a .3% increase. New listings increased from 1,811 to 2,143, an 18.3% change. The Total Listing Inventory increased to 6,266, up 10.1% from 5,692. Compared year-to-year, the current listing inventory is 29.3% below the 8,861 total listings recorded last March. The Housing Market Supply figure is identical to February, at 3.6 months, but is 56.6% above the 8.3 Months figure of March last year. This figure represents the amount of time – in months – it would take to deplete the total listing inventory given the current rate of sales.

The lowered median sales price of Sacramento homes has increased the area’s Housing Affordability Index for First-Time Buyers (HAI-FTB). The Q4 2008 calculations rate Sacramento County with an HAI of 74 – meaning 74% of Sacramento County households are able to purchase an entry-level home in the area.

Condominium Resale Market

Sacramento condo sales increased 16% from 94 sales in February to 109 sales this month. The current data also shows an 18% increase over the 92 sales reported last year. The median sales price increased to $120,000, a 49.2% jump from the $80,450 median price last month. This up-and-down median price is attributed to a slew of sub-$100,000 sales in February compared to a recent bout of $100,000+ sales in March, some selling for over $600K. Year-to-year, the current median sales price is down 13% from the $138,500 median sales price of February 2008. REO property sales in March – 67 total – accounted for 61.5% of all condo sales.

—Adapted from SacRealtor.org

Be sure to subscribe to my blog so you can keep up to date with what is happening in the Sacramento market. I am here for all questions.

Although the news may make the market out to be poor, statistics show that sales were up again in February in Sacramento county and the city of West Sacramento. There were 1,575 sales in February 2009, which is a 2.1% increase over last months sales and an 81% increase over the 870 homes sold in February 2008. Distressed and bank-owned properties continue to make up the majority of the Sacramento market.  Prices are down as the median home price fell from $169,000 in January to $167,000 in February (statistics from Sacramento Association of Realtors) . This is the lowest price since April 2001. Who is this good news for? BUYERS!! Now is definitely the time. We are fortunate to live in an area where people can actually purchase homes and pay about what they are paying for rent. Investors are also plentiful in the market, buying many bank owned properties at a discount and renting them out for a positive cash flow every month. Another incentive fueling the market are the tax credits offered to first-time buyers as well as new home purchasers. There is a total of $18,000 in tax credits available! If that is not enough, I am not sure what is. Take advantage of this time, help your child purchase a home and have them rent out the rooms to friends during college, buy a second home to reap the benefits of the interest deduction. We all know prices may never get to where they were during the “boom”, but history shows that prices will rise again. It’s time to take advantage while real estate is “on sale”. Although times are tough, there is opportunity out there.

A recent testimonial from a client about my service representing buyers in this market:

- Carl Nordman, CFO InnoVenture Group, Inc.

If there is anyone you know who I can provide this same level of service to, please feel free to email or call me.

,