Well, the numbers for homes sold in May are in, so it’s time to take a look at our local real estate markets, beginning with Sacramento County. To look at unit volume first, it’s practically unchanged since last year, at 1761 units sold in May 2010 versus 1757 in May, 2011, a difference of only .2%. However, when we start to see what’s happening on the foreclosure front, a different picture emerges. Compared to the same time last year, foreclosures are up significantly, some 15.5%, from 644 last year to 744 this year. Short sales are down slightly, 2.4%, from 421 last year to 411 this year. Meantime, non-distressed sales are down substantially, from 696 homes in May of 2010 to 602 homes in May of 2011. The net result is that the number of distressed properties selling has risen from 60.5% to 65.7%, or just under two thirds of all sales.

Interestingly, the Sacramento numbers seem to be an exception to the trend in California. According to RealtyTrac, from May to April the number of foreclosures sold statewide has dropped from 22,488 in May, 2010 to 14,724 in April of 2011. Unfortunately RealtyTrac hasn’t yet published May numbers, so there’s a little bit of an apples and oranges thing going on here, but it does look like we’re an exception to the rule.

As you might expect from the breakdown of what’s selling, prices are down — a lot! The average sold price per square foot fell 13.6^from year to year, from $125.55 in May of 2010 to $108.48 in May of 2011. The median price has dropped from $180,000 to $160,000 during this time (remember that this number includes condos, so single family homes are no doubt higher). The average sale price of $207,162 in 2011 has fallen to $177,491 in May of 2011, a 14.3% drop.

In terms of inventory, once again short sales throw the numbers off at 9.5 months of inventory. Inventory for both foreclosures and non-distressed sales are low, at 1.1 months and 3.5 months, respectively. Overall inventory is at 3.8 months, with 1587 homes selling per month over the last six months, an 6,020 homes active as of this article.

Unit Volume Data

Units Sold	May, 2010		May, 2011	Change
Foreclosures Sold	644		744	15.5%
(% of total units)	36.6%		42.3%
Short Sales Sold	421		411	-2.4%
(% of total units)	23.9%		23.4%
Non-distressed Sold	696		602	-13.5%
(% of total units)	39.5%		34.3%
Total	1761		1757	-0.2%

Price Data

Prices	May, 2010		May, 2011	Change
Sold Price / Square Foot	$125.55		$108.48	-13.6%
Square Feet	1650		1636	-0.8%
Average List Price	$209,102		$180,676	-13.6%
Average Sale Price	$207,162		$177,491	-14.3%
Median Sale Price	$180000		$160000	-11.1%

Inventory (Based on 12 months of prior sales)

Sale Type	Average Sales Per Month	Active	Months of Inventory
All Sales	1564	6020	3.8
Foreclosures	671	825	1.2
Short Sales	371	3479	9.4
Nondistressed	525	1723	3.3

Inventory (Based on 6 months of prior sales)

Sale Type	Average Sales Per Month	Active	Months of Inventory
All Sales	1597	6020	3.8
Foreclosures	737	825	1.1
Short Sales	365	3479	9.5
Nondistressed	498	1723	3.5

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