Luxury Home Sales Take Flight in Greater Sacramento

Luxury Market Update

Pending sales posted for the quarter are highest since 2007

During the first quarter of 2015, 118 new open escrows, or pending sales, were posted for luxury homes priced $900,000 and above throughout the Greater Sacramento region.  This number marked the strongest showing by a large margin, for any 3- month period dating back to September of 2007, according to information provided by Trendgraphix Inc., a Sacramento based reporting company, and reported by Lyon Real Estate.

“All four counties are very busy in the luxury space,” says Pat Shea, president of Lyon Real Estate. He noted that “44 percent of the new escrows were opened in Placer County while Sacramento accounted for 25 percent and El Dorado for 18 percent of the pending sales. Yolo County enjoyed 15 transactions in the price range which represented 13 percent of the quarterly sales for the region, while owning merely 8 percent of the inventory.”

Sold and closed sales during the first quarter averaged only 20 per month and were 13 percent less than the same period just one year ago. Average days on the market for the closed escrows averaged just over 100 days and sellers received approximately 94 percent of their original list price.

Shea notes that: “90 percent of the luxury home transactions throughout the region typically occur in the $900,000 to $1,500,000 segment. Currently that range represents approximately 67 percent of the active inventory, making the odds of a successful sale very positive.”

“Look for very strong closed sale numbers to follow in the second quarter with pending sales sustaining solid momentum,” says Shea. “There is nothing but good news and enthusiasm for the local economy, new development and job market surrounding Greater Sacramento. Inventory will rise but exceptional property values, cash buyers and relentlessly low interest rates in the jumbo mortgage market are presently powering luxury sales to record levels.”