There was little fluctuation in the median sales price and volume in April but there was a 17% increase over last year’s 1450 sales. Foreclosures continue to be a huge percentage of sales, counting for 65% of all sales in April. This percentage has come down each month since January, where distressed properties were over 75% of sales. The median home price decreased from $167,500 to $167,100 in April. The biggest change is that listing inventory is down. It is showing a 14.2% decrease from 6,266 homes for sale to 5,377. The housing market supply has decreased to 3.1 months. This figure represents the amount of time, in months, that it would take to deplete the total listing inventory given the current rate of sales. (Stats from Sacrealtor.org) Anything under 3 months of inventory is typically considered a “seller’s market” and if you talk with many buyers out there, I am sure they are feeling like this is now the case. Most bank owned properties (REO’s) are priced very competitively and so buyers are having to come up over asking price to get the property they want. Not only that but with reduced inventory, buyers do not have as many choices as they used to. Also, many first time buyers are starting to feel the pressure of getting into a home by December 1st so they can take advantage of the tax credit from the federal government. Check out the graph below to see the changes in the Sacramento real estate market over the last four years.

sales_median_price_rates0

Some people may also be curious as to what I am seeing in the market on a day to day basis. I can tell you there are a lot more short sales than there used to be. If you or anyone you know is behind ,or is soon to be behind on your mortgage, please call me as banks are more willing to accept short sales than they ever have been. With these sales buyers have to be patient as they can take 30-100 days. Unlike an REO property, you will not get a response within 7-10 days. What I am also seeing is that buyers are having to come over and above the asking price but, on some occasions, are not always having to pay the original price they came up to during the initial “bidding war”. I have had two clients over the last month that have come up in price on a property in hopes of having the winning bid. The good news is that both clients came up high enough and got their offers accepted, the better news is that the appraisals didn’t come in at the original purchase price and so both sellers came down in price about 10,000 each! You can bet my clients were more than happy about this.

If I can answer any questions about real estate for you or anyone you know, please feel free to call or email me.

Thanks!

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Are you upside down?

Do you know of someone behind on their mortgage? If so, I can help. There are options. Short sales are starting to become more prevalent and the best news is that they are selling, which is great news for everyone as well as the economy. At the end of March, there were 3459 active short sales and 610 pending short sales in Sacramento county. Pending meaning the bank accepted the offer, not just the seller of the home. Also, there have been 1223 short sales that have closed in the last 6 months in Sacramento county. What does this mean to you? Well if you are behind on your mortgage, it means there is hope. I work with a short sale negotiator who knows who to talk to at the banks and who negotiates on your behalf to persuade the bank to accept a short sale rather than lose more money by letting the property foreclose. If you or anyone you know is in need of an agent who can help them sell their property, I am here. Feel free to call me with questions too. I have also included some common questions I get asked about short sales. Feel free to browse it over here.

Investors are definitely out there picking up bank owned properties. It makes sense since these properties can actually provide a positive cash flow for people. The Sac Bee comments sac bee article

I work with many investors and would love to help you or someone you may know check out this fantastic opportunity!