Luxury Home Sales Stood Tall in 2022

Annual closed sales fell just 2 percent shy of last year’s record.

Thanks to a very hot start and exceptional sales pace throughout the first half of the year, Greater Sacramento area luxury home sales posted impressive annual totals once again in 2022. Luxury sales fell just 2 percent shy of the record setting 2,068 posted in our white-hot market of 2021.

The luxury space eventually cooled as real estate as a whole grappled with persistent mortgage rate hikes geared to fight inflation. During the fourth quarter alone, 289 closed luxury home sales were recorded throughout the region. That number by historical standards would be very respectable yet marked a precipitous 40 percent fall from the same period last year.

Luxury Portfolio International recognizes home sales above $1,000,000 throughout the Greater Sacramento region as properties that map most accurately toward consumer expectations regarding luxury real estate. Slightly more than 9 percent of the homes sold in 2022 throughout Greater Sacramento fell into that luxury price range.

The current rate of new pending sales in the luxury price range indicates that 2023 will kick off in a much more modest fashion than what the market experienced over the past few years. New pending sales for the entire fourth quarter finished a notable 43 percent lower than last year and December alone saw a 39 percent drop year over year. Standing luxury inventory remains in a good place, however, with approximately six months available based upon the current rate of sales. This level of supply is viewed as quite balanced, especially in the upper-end market.

Luxury homes that closed during the fourth quarter were on the market for an average of 49 days from their original list date, up from just 33 last year. They also received an average of 93 percent of their original list price, 5 percent lower than last year at this time. The average sales price for the fourth quarter was $1,380,000, an increase of less than one percent over last year. The average price per square foot came in at $402.46, a two percent increase over the same period.

Pat Shea, CEO of Lyon Real Estate states, “we have to put the market in perspective and remember the pandemic economics context that caused frenetic ups and downs over the past few years. Luxury sales in 2022 nearly tripled those of pre-pandemic 2019. Luxury pending sales in the fourth quarter fell well short of last year’s record-setting pace, yet were 61 percent higher than those of the same period in 2019. Solid employment, modest inventory levels, continued migration and the ever-evolving work from your luxury home movement, are all just waiting for a little softening in mortgage rates. People may just come to realize that our current rates are actually not all that bad. Forbes Advisor just named Greater Sacramento as the best place to live in California. Greater Sacramento luxury home sales will continue to thrive in the coming years and the market will jump again soon.”

This market information was presented by Lyon Real Estate based upon data provided by Trendgraphix Inc., a Sacramento-based reporting company.

About Lyon Real Estate

Lyon Real Estate is the leading independent real estate brokerage company in Greater Sacramento (Sacramento Business Journal). We are proud to be homegrown, privately owned, and internationally known. Lyon has served the area for over 75 years. Last year, the company closed a total of 4,236 transactions and $2.55 billion in sales volume. Lyon Real Estate has over 800 agents in 17 offices located throughout the region. The company is a member of the Leading Real Estate Companies of the World®, the largest network of premier locally branded firms, as well as LeadingRE’s Luxury Portfolio International® program. In addition to its real estate services, Lyon Real Estate offers RELO Direct, a global relocation program. Since 2015, the Lyon Cares Foundation has contributed more than $1,209,365 to local nonprofits.

About TrendGraphix, Inc.

TrendGraphix, Inc. is a real estate data analytics company based in Sacramento that uses local Multiple Listing Service (MLS) data. Trendgraphix provides highly-visual performance and 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 brokers and agents in more than 300 brokerages across the nation. For more information about TrendGraphix, visit www.trendgraphix.com.