The Greater Sacramento Region’s Housing Market Heats Back Up

Potential home sellers and buyers alike throughout the entire Greater Sacramento face a golden opportunity to make their moves in 2018. Buyers continue to snap up homes at a rapid pace while available inventory has improved in all price points compared to this time last year. This market information was presented by Lyon Real Estate based upon data provided by Trendgraphix Inc., a Sacramento-based reporting company.

Market-wide, inventory at the end of February reflected 2,895 homes active and available for sale. This number was 13 percent higher than one year ago and left inventory at its highest level since November. There is currently 1.3 months of inventory below $400,000 across the entire region based upon the current rate of closed sales. The move up market — homes priced between $400,000 and $750,000 — isn’t much better, with only 1.8 months of inventory. Homes priced above $750,000 have rested at just over 6 months of stock over the past few months.

The number of properties available for sale however, is only one metric in the equation. The current rate of new pending sales is the other and currently, this is significant. Below $400,000, February enjoyed 1,206 new pending sales, a 19 percent increase in sales compared to January. This also marked an 8 percent increase compared to February of 2017. The move-up market placed 908 homes into escrow last month which represented a 15 percent increase compared to January and a notable 32 percent increase versus February, 2017.

Properties above $750,000 across the region joined the race last month in a big way as 172 new pending sales were posted. This activity represented an extraordinary 41 percent increase compared to January and a 65 percent leap over February of last year. It was also the highest count for any month since August.

The average sales price across the region for the month of February was $425,000. Regardless of   the recent activity, the average price has maintained relative stability as it has consistently fluctuated between $418,000 and $437,000 over the past 10 months. Over the past few months, homes have sold for approximately 98 percent of original list price in just over 40 days on the market.

“Upward pressure on mortgage interest rates and residual uncertainty regarding the impact of recent tax law changes have done nothing to diminish buyer enthusiasm for home ownership in our region,” says Pat Shea, president of Lyon Real Estate. “Right now is absolutely the best time for sellers to place their homes on the market. Consumer confidence remains exceptionally strong and Greater Sacramento offers the absolute best values in all of Northern California.”

About TrendGraphix, Inc.

TrendGraphix, Inc. is a real estate reporting company based in Sacramento that uses local Multiple Listing Service (MLS) data to provide highly-visual market statistical graphs to real estate brokers, agents, and MLS/Realtor associations across the country. TrendGraphix’s programs are currently used by tens of thousands of agents in more than 250 brokerages in 48 states. For more information about TrendGraphix, visit www.trendgraphix.com.