I remember back when the market was still booming, in those innocently happy 2004 days when prices were going up and the country was still in love enough with Peter Print-money (aka George Bush) to elect him to a second term.  (Don’t blame me; I voted for Kerry).

Around that time, I remember one agent telling me that Natomas was a booming area where she saw a lot of opportunity.

Remember 2004?  CNN Money ran this article, with this little by-line, which is rather funny in retrospect:

“Don’t look now, but $2 a gallon gas is here.”

Yeah, don’t look now.

Anyway, Natomas Real Estate

Like many of the areas that were so hot in 2004 (Elk Grove comes to mind), a large number of foreclosures has turned 2008 into yet another buyer gold rush for Natomas.  Sales have more than doubled since 2007 in Natomas (which consists of the zip codes 95833,95834,95835,95836, and 95837).  78 units sold in August of 2007, versus 179 in August of 2008, a 129.5% increase. 

The average sale price in August was $252,522, down 30% from last August’s average of $360,698.  Sold price per square foot fell roughly the same amount (29.6%), averaging $133.57 per square foot in August in Natomas.

About a fifth of the homes that sold in Natomas in August were non-distressed sales.  Bank foreclosures accounted for 71.5% of all sales in August in Natomas.

Inventory in Natomas is falling. There are 5.8 months of inventory in Natomas, or 4.4 months if you use the absorption rate of the last six months.

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