Greater Sacramento Area Home Sales Bounce Back

During the month of October, 2,371 resale homes were placed under contract across the Greater Sacramento region. That figure reflected a 17 percent increase over an unusually soft September and only a 4 percent fall off from the red hot, October of 2017. “Buyer behavior suggests that they are not quite ready to take a break for the holiday season,” says Pat Shea, president of Lyon Real Estate. “Employment numbers are strong, consumer confidence is solid, interest rates are still very favorable and Greater Sacramento remains affordable.”

Closed sales for the month however, were down four percent compared to September and nearly 11 percent versus October of 2017. This was both logical and expected due to the low, new open escrow count posted in September. This market information was presented by Lyon Real Estate based upon data provided by Trendgraphix Inc., a Sacramento-based reporting company.

The number of active and available homes for sale dropped four percent since September but still ended the month 20 percent higher than October of last year. Shea believes this is a good thing as “persistent buyers will have more opportunities and choices.” He stated that “based upon the current rate of sales, the region has a mere 2.5 months of available supply. A balanced market is largely viewed to have 4 to 6 months of supply, thus more inventory is better.”

The $750,000 and above price point remained remarkably busy over the past 3 months, as 491 properties were posted as sold and closed transactions. This reflected nearly a 10 percent lift versus the same period last year.  New open escrows in upper-end were up 10 percent versus September but identical at 153 to October of 2017. Inventory remains below 6 months of supply which is considered quite low in Greater Sacramento for this price range.

The average closed sales price for October was $451,000 and the closed median price $400,000. Both reflected that prices are still relaxing and perhaps stabilizing after reaching highs of $466,000 and $420,000 respectively, in June.  “Why wait until prices and mortgage rates start rising again? Anyone considering buying, moving up, downsizing or changing locations should think about it right now,” says Shea. “One can never be certain of what changes the New Year may bring.”  

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.