Archive for the ‘Market Updates’ Category

Elk Grove Real Estate Market Update: June 2010

The Elk Grove real estate market, following the trend of the larger Sacramento county real estate market as well as other local smaller markets, is mostly unchanged from last year about this time. 283 homes sold in Elk Grove in the month of June, over 280 in June of 2009. However, foreclosure sales fell 27.7% while short sales gained 25% in sales. Non-distressed home sales rose the highest in Elk Grove at 52.8% year over year.

Average price per square foot continued to stabilize and currently rests at $114.93 up 2.3% year over year from $112.38. Home buyers bought homes on average 2.7% larger this year than in last June. Average sales price reflects this slight increase in the size of homes bought and sold and is 5.1% higher than it was a year ago. Average sales price now is $248,063. Last June it was $236,078. Median sales price is currently $235,000 which is 2.2% higher than a year ago when it was $230,000.

Overall inventory in Elk Grove is at 3.5 months, foreclosure inventory is less than 1 month while short sale inventory hovers around 10 months.

Folsom Real Estate Market Update: June 2010

Home buyer interest in real estate in the city of Folsom continues to peak with 81 homes sold overall this month. That is a unit volume increase of 19% year over year from just 68 homes selling last June. Foreclosure sales fell 19% year over year while short sales increased 41.7% for the same period. Non-distressed property sales also increased – albeit at a lower pace – 27.5% year over year. Currently, 63% of all homes sold are non-distressed as compared with 58.8% last year at this time.

Average price per square foot is now $169.44 which is a 3.2% decline year over year from a high of $175.02. Interestingly, home buyers also bought homes exactly 3.2% larger this year than they had last year at this time, leaving average home prices almost the same at $357,318 in Folsom. Last June, the price for an average sized home in Folsom was $357,483. Median sales price however has fallen again to $341,500 – that’s a 7.1% decline year over year from $367,500.

Inventory in Folsom is at 4.3 months.

Sacramento County Real Estate Market Update: June 2010

The Sacramento county real estate market is exactly where it was a year ago! How’s that for stability? (I mean that a little tongue-in-cheek, of course.) 1853 homes sold this June – almost the same number as last June. However, foreclosure sales fell 33% while short sales increases 62.3% and non-distressed sales increased 26% year over year. 37.4% of all sales are now non-distressed homes, a better number than last June when 29.7% of all solds were non-distressed.

Average price per square foot has now risen by 2.9% year over year. It is currently $123.96 from $120.49 a year ago. Average sales price currently sits at $208,360 up 5.9% from $196,672 last June. Median sales price has also increased 5.7% to rest at $185,000 from $175,000 last June. Home buyers afforded themselves houses on average 3% larger this June than June 2009.

Overall inventory in Sacramento county is currently at 4.5 months, foreclosure inventory is at 1.3 months. Short sale inventory remains at pretty high levels at just under a year at 11.7 months.

East Sacramento Real Estate Market Update: May 2010

It’s been a while since we took a look at our favorite real estate market – East Sacramento. The last time we took a look in the month of February the market was busy on its road to some sort of stability and recovery. I’m happy to report that it seems fairly stable and recovering still.

46 homes sold in this last month, an overall unit volume decline of 11.5% year over year. Foreclosure sales alone fell 62% for the same period while short sales and non-distressed property received buyer interest to rise 60% and 15.4% respectively year over year. 65.2% of all sales are now non-distressed up from just 50% of all sales last May.

Average price per square foot has risen to $232.13 – up 6.8% year over year from a low of $217.45. Average sales price has also gone up from $288,529 to $303,203. That’s a rise of 8.1% since last May. Median sales price has jumped 19% in the same period from $250,000 to $297,450.

Real estate inventory in East Sacramento is now at 4.6 months based on the last year of sales and 5.1 months based on the last six months of sales.

Fair Oaks Real Estate Market Update: May 2010

The Fair Oaks real estate market continues in its painfully slow steadying. 31 homes sold this month, an overall decline of 24% in unit volume from a year ago when 41 homes had sold that May. Foreclosures alone declined 50% year over year and even non-distressed sales didn’t get as many homebuyers as they did a year ago. Non-distressed home sales declined 10% for the same period. Short sales remained the same at 6 total sales – the same as last May.

Average price per square foot remained almost unchanged at $146.44 – a decline of 0.3% year over year. Average sales price rose by 4.1% year over year from $278,519 to rest at $289,848. Median sales price in the meanwhile fell from $285,000 last May to $274,000. That’s a drop of 3.9% for the same period.

Inventory in Fair Oaks is at 6.5 months based on the last year of sales and 6.8 months based on the last six months of sales. Foreclosure inventory is at 1.7 months no matter how you look at it and short sale inventory is at a year and a half.

Arden-Arcade Real Estate Market Update: May 2010

Real estate sales in the Arden-Arcade area have picked up since we last took in a look in February of this year but we have yet to see if this is because of the summer/spring bounce in sales or it is sustainable over the year. 88 homes sold in the month of May, an overall increase in sales by 22.2% year over year. Foreclosure sales on the other hand fell by 25%. Short sales jumped 260% (they went from 5 to 18) and non-distressed home sales increased 31.4% year over year. 1 out of 2 homes sold are now non-distressed.

Average price per square foot fell slightly by 6.1% year over year. It currently rests at $164.12 down from a high of $174.73. Average sales price followed the same trajectory to settle at $251,671 from a high of $268,815 last May. That’s a decline of 6.4% year over year. Meanwhile, median sales price gained a miniscule 1% from $179,000 to $180,750.

Overall inventory hovers around 6 to 7 months in the Arden-Arcade area, foreclosure inventory around 2 to 3 months.

Land Park Real Estate Market Update: May 2010

Some interesting changes year over year in the real estate landscape of Land Park – I’m glad I took a peek! 16 homes sold in the neighborhood liked by quite a few homebuyers. This number was 15.8% lower than it was a year ago in May. 3 of these sold homes were foreclosure sales, 2 were short sales and the rest 11 were non-distressed properties.

When dealing with such small numbers of sales, statistics can sometimes seem to jump very high and very low as we see with prices. Average price per square foot is now $274.63 up a whopping 29.8% year over year from a low of $211.64. Homebuyers for some reason also picked up homes 26.3% smaller than a year ago, a glaring difference that makes the average sales price (not based on price per square foot) a little inaccurate. It is now $378,125 down 4.3% year over year from $395,126. Median sales price is now $349,750 down 9.2% for the same period.

Land Park has an overall inventory of 6.2 months based on the last year of sales and 7 months based on the last six months of sales. Foreclosure inventory still hovers around 3 months, one of the largest in Sacramento county.

El Dorado Hills Real Estate Market Update: May 2010

Since we last looked at the El Dorado Hills real estate market in March, prices have dipped a little again. The price dip probably accounts for the increased unit volume of sales. 60 homes sold in the area, an overall year over year increase in real estate sales of 7.1%. Foreclosure sales dipped 31.6% for the same period whereas short sales increased by 33.3%. Non-distressed sales also gained ground by 25% for the same period. 58.3% of all homes sold are now non-distressed as compared with 50% last May.

Average sold price per square foot has risen 1.9% year over year from $158.65 to rest at $161.60 currently. On average however, homebuyers bought smaller houses – 6.2% smaller than last May, to be precise. Average sales price is currently at $506,593 which is a small-ish drop of 4.5% year over year from a high of $530,385. Median sales price now rests at $438,875, also a decline of 5.6% year over year.

Inventory in El Dorado Hills has remained steadily at 6.9 months.

Elk Grove Real Estate Market Update: May 2010

As Elk Grove limps slowly – very slowly back to recovery – interest in bank owned homes gives way to short sales and owner occupied houses. 251 homes sold in Elk Grove in the month of May 2010. Of these, 108 were foreclosure sales, 75 were short sales and the rest 68 were non-distressed properties. Year over year, foreclosures fell 38% while short sales increased 38%. Non-distressed home sales also gained a decent 33.3% for the same period. 1 out of every 4 home sales is now non-distressed.

Average price per square foot is now $114.52 which is 2% higher than it was a year ago when it was at $112.32. Average sales price is almost the same this May as it was last May when it was $237,249. Today it is $236,753. Even the median sales price is hovering around the same mark as a year ago. It is is currently $230,000 down 2% from a year ago when it was $235,000.

Overall inventory in Elk Grove is around 4 months. Foreclosure inventory is around 1 month and short sale inventory is around 11 months.

Folsom Real Estate Market Update: May 2010

We have been relatively hopeful about Folsom throughout this real estate market decline and we continue to be even now. Folsom seemed to escape the worst of this decline and seems to be recovering better and faster than other places in Sacramento county.

May was a good month for the city of Folsom. 88 homes sold in the month of May in the area, as compared with 61 homes a year ago, an overall unit volume increase of 44.3% year over year. Perhaps the most significant difference was the increased short sale inventory of 144.4% year over year. Foreclosure sales remained almost the same and non-distressed property sales increased by 36.1% year over year. Good news overall.

Average price per square foot is now $171.21 down 3.5% year over year from a high of $177.33. Average sales price fell 7.7% for the same period from $373,817 to $344,866 currently. Median sales price remained almost the same as last May at $352,500.

Folsom’s inventory is at a very steady 5 months.

El Dorado Real Estate Market Update: May 2010

204 homes sold in the county of El Dorado last month, an overall unit volume increase of 37.8% year over year. Unlike Sacramento county where foreclosure sales have fallen in large numbers, El Dorado county seems to be on its own trajectory with foreclosure sales up by 8.3% and short sales up by a whopping 115% year over year. Non-distressed sales also increased 41.2% for the same period. Almost half of all sales are now non-distressed sales.

Average price per square foot is now $151.47 down 2.4% year over year from $155.12. Average sales price for a home in El Dorado county is now $346,881 which is also lower than it was a year ago when it was $380,004. Median sales price is now under the $300,000 mark, currently resting at $299,500 down 14.4% from $350,000 last May.

Real estate inventory for El Dorado county is now at 8.3 months based on the last year of sales and 8.5 months based on the last six months of sales. Foreclosure inventory is around 2 months and short sale inventory is around one year.

Sacramento County Real Estate Market Update: May 2010

1761 homes sold this month in Sacramento county and unit volume is very close to last year’s sales in the month of May – in fact we’re down only by 5.5%. So if it wasn’t for the short sale inventory still lagging by about a year, I would be feeling pretty about the Sacramento real estate market.

In the various categories, 644 foreclosures sold this month, which is a drop of 43.7% year over year and 421 short sales also closed escrow which is a 56.5% increase for the same period. 696 non-distressed homes sold this month for an increase of 54.3% year over year. Almost 40% of all homes sold are now non-distressed sales over 25% last year at this time.

Average price per square foot is now $125.55, which is a 7.4% increase year over year from $116.86 last May. Average sale price rose to $207,162 from $191,938 last May. That is a 7.9% increase in prices year over year. Median price also increased year over year by 5.9% from $170,000 to rest at $180,000 this May.

Inventory in Sacramento county is at 4.5 months based on the last year of sales and 4.8 months based on the last six month of sales. Foreclosure inventory is at 1.5 months and short sale inventory is still relatively high at right around a year.

Orangevale Real Estate Market Update: April 2010

Real estate sales in the city of Orangevale have almost doubled year over year, largely due to the non-distressed sales in the area. Foreclosure sales fell 10% from 20 REOs sold last April to 18 this April, which constitutes not much of a difference. Short sales increased 25% while non-distressed home sales were up 300% year over year. 20 non-distressed homes sold in the city of Orangevale in April. Overall, 43 homes sold in the area, an increase of 48.3% year over year.

Average price per square foot is now $141.42 – a 5% increase year over year from $134.70 last April. Home buyers also afforded themselves houses on average 11.6% bigger year over year. The more accurate figure then of price increase year over year is the average dollar per square foot and not average sales price which has jumped 17.2% from $182,032 to $213,353 currently. Median sales price is now $201,000 a 9.6% increase year over year from $183,370 last April.

Inventory in Orangevale is now 5.3 months based on the last year of sales and 5.8 months based on the last six months. Foreclosure inventory is around 1.5 months.

Fair Oaks Real Estate Market Update: April 2010

31 homes sold in the Fair Oaks area this month, and as elsewhere in Sacramento county, non-distressed sales have increased by leaps and bounds. Overall inventory itself increased by 24% year over year. Foreclosures fell by 41.7% as compared with foreclosure sales in April of last year. Foreclosures now make up just 22.6% of all sales in the area. Short sales increased by 66.7% while non-distressed sales increased 90% year over year. 61.3% of all homes sold in Fair Oaks are now non-distressed sales.

Average price per square foot is now $154.76 which is 5.2% higher than it was a year ago. Last April, average sold price per square foot was $147.15. Average sales price is now $288,940 which is 5.3% higher than it was a year ago when it was $274,472. Median sales price has also jumped 16.4% year over year to rest at $270,000 from $232,000 last April.

Inventory in Fair Oaks is now at 6.4 months based on the last year of sales and 7.1 months based on the last six months of sales. Foreclosure inventory is right around 2 months while short sale inventory is at a year and a half.

Homebuyers: Protect Your Closing!

The old rules remain important: if you’re buying a home and have been credit approved, please, please don’t put anything on credit between the loan approval and the closing of the escrow. I remember telling this to home buyers six years ago and it’s still true today, a nice reminder that the old rules still hold true.

Effective June 1st as part of Fannie Mae’s new loan quality initiative to control underwriting and prevent fraud by borrowers, your lender will probably order a second full screening immediately before closing. This means that if you have obtained or even shopped around for a largish purchase on credit like a car or even a new credit card between the original application for a home mortgage and closing, there is a chance the lender could put the closing on hold pending additional research.

With escrow times getting longer, it’s imperative that potential homebuyers understand how to handle credit wisely and not plan on getting additional credit to buy things for the house just because they were approved for a home mortgage. The logic is this: If you’ve taken out new loans that are sizable enough to affect the debt-to-income ratio calculations used in your original mortgage approval, the deal could fall through. The added debt load could render you ineligible for the mortgage because you suddenly appear unable to handle the payments without a strain on your household budget.

So follow the old rule: if you’re buying a home, don’t even think about buying anything else!

Carmichael Real Estate Market Update: April 2010

It seems like the Carmichael real estate market still has to hit bottom, although the price dips are becoming less sharp in the last few months. 39 homes sold in the 95608 zip code – the city of Carmichael – an overall unit volume decline of 13.3% year over year.

Foreclosure sales dropped 52.4% for the same period while just 5 short sales closed escrow. In an area where short sales don’t seem to capture the attention of homebuyers anyway, short sales declined 28.6% year over year. Non-distressed sales increased 41.2% year over year. Approximately 2 out of 3 homes sold are now non-distressed, a good sign if you ignore the short sale inventory, which unfortunately we cannot.

Average sold price per square foot is now at $152.05 which is 9.4% lower than it was a year ago when it was at $167.80. Interestingly enough, home buyers also bought houses on average 13.4% smaller than they did a year ago. This meant that average sales price seemed to decline further than usual at 21.6%. Average sales price in Carmichael is now $260,258, down from $331,856 a year ago. Median sales price fell 3% to rest at $245,000 from $252,500.

Inventory in Carmichael is now at 6.5 months based on the last year of sales and 7 months based on the last six months of sales. Foreclosure inventory is just over 2 months and the scary, scary short sale inventory is just under 2 years.

Antelope Real Estate Market Update: April 2010

66 homes closed escrow in the month of April in Antelope, an overall unit volume increase of 10% year over year. Foreclosure sales fell 45.5% while short sales increased 86.7% for the same period. Non-distressed sales also increased year over year 66.7%. In fact, 1 out of every 3 homes are now non-distressed sales as compared with 1 out of 5 last April, a bit of an improvement in the overall health of the Antelope real estate market.

Average price per square foot is now $112.49, which is a 1.8% decline year over year from a high of $114.57. Average sales price now rests at $179,596 which is a 2.3% decline for the same period. Last April, the average sales price for a home in the 95843 zip code was $183,855. Median sales price is now $185,000.

Inventory in Antelope is now at 5.1 months based on the last year of sales and 5.7 months based on the last six months of sales. Foreclosure inventory is around 1 month.

El Dorado County Real Estate Market Update: April 2010

Even with its relatively relaxed real estate sales, El Dorado county managed to get 189 homes sold in the month of April. That was a 44.3% increase year over year. In fact, every category of real estate experienced a renewed interest and foreclosures gained 24.2%, short sales increased 95.2% and even non-distressed homes jumped 47.9% year over year, promising a better spring real estate season than we have had in a while.

37.6% of all homes sold are now non-distressed while 40.7% are foreclosed homes and 21.7% are short sales. So in that regard, the ratio of distressed property to non-distressed does not look very different from last April.

Average price per square foot now rests at $153.41 – almost the same as last April, but higher by 3.4% if we really wanted to nit-pick. Average sales price has risen 5.9% from $335,233 to $354,982 year over year. Median sales price has fallen 6.3% from $320,000 to rest at $299,900. All in all, a fairly stable (or stabilizing) spring real estate market in El Dorado county.

Inventory remains high at 8.2 months based on the last year of sales and 8.6 months based on the last six months of sales. Foreclosure inventory hovers around 2 months.

Elk Grove Real Estate Market Update: April 2010

222 homes sold in the city of Elk Grove in the last month, an overall unit volume decrease of 10.5% year over year. Foreclosure sales, as elsewhere in Sacramento county, are down year over year while short sales have increased by 66%. What this does not change however is the ratio of distressed to non-distressed home sales, which remain at about a 3:1 ratio since this time last year.

Average price per square foot also remained the same or thereabout at $115.43. Last April, average price per square foot for real estate in Elk Grove was $113.04. The average sales price fell very slightly by 2.4% to hit $242,962 in April. Last April, it was $248,841. Median sales price is now at $228,00, a 5% decrease year over year.

Inventory in Elk Grove is at 4.1 months based on the last year of sales and 4.6 months based on the last six months of sales. Foreclosure inventory remains around 1 month and short sale inventory remains the largest at slightly under a year.

Folsom Real Estate Market Update: April 2010

51 homes sold in the city of Folsom this month. As compared with 66 homes last April, that was a decline of 22.7% year over year. Foreclosures fell 33.3% and short sales 38.5% while non-distressed homes fell 9.4% making Folsom one of those rare areas where there were year over year declining real estate sales in all categories. (In most other areas of Sacramento, foreclosure sales are falling while short sales and non-distressed property sales are increasing.)

Average price per square foot remained almost the same year over year in Folsom at $177.16. Last April, it was $178.32. Interestingly though, homebuyers purchased homes on average 12.4% smaller this April than they did the last, which led to the average sales price to drop by 12.9%. Average sales price currently rests at $331,343 from a high of $380,617. Median sales price is now $325,00 down 9.7% from $360,000 last April.

Real estate inventory in Folsom hovers around 5.5 months. Foreclosure inventory remains higher in Folsom than most other places in Sacramento county at right around 2 months.

Sacramento County Real Estate Market Update: April 2010

Another month with lower unit volume and higher prices. A total of 1562 homes sold in Sacramento county today – a unit volume decline of 18.2% year over year. That was compared with 1910 homes a year ago. The largest change in sales has been in the category of foreclosure sales, which recorded a 50.3% drop year over year. In fact, only 40% of all property sales are now REOs, down from 65.1% just a year ago. Short sales gained ground by 46% year over year while non-distressed properties also increased in sales by 39.2%.

April was another month of year over year price gains. Average sold price per square foot is now $123.14 – up 8.8% year over year and also higher than last month’s average price per square foot at $120.00. The average sized home in Sacramento county sold for 7.5% higher this April than it did last April setting the average sales price of real estate at $196,232. Median sales price is now $175,000 – up 13% year over year.

Inventory in Sacramento county is at 4.4 months based on the last twelve months of sales and 4.8 months based on the last six months of sales. Short sale inventory is – unfortunately for this budding real estate recovery – still over a year.

Antelope Real Estate Market Update: March 2010

71 homes closed escrow in Antelope in the month of March, an overall unit volume increase of 12.7% year over year. In other good news for the area of Antelope, foreclosure sales are down 17.1% year over year. Short sales seem to be gaining ground (22 sales this March over 13 last March) and so are non-distressed sales (15 sales this March over 9 sales last March), both overall increases of close to 70% year over year.

Average sold price per square foot remained almost the same at a 5% decrease for the same period from $112.40 last year to $118.06 this March. Average sales price fell from $203,240 to rest at $186,627; that’s a decline of 8.2%. Median sales price however fell roughly 7% from $204,000 to $190,000.

Inventory in Antelope is at 4.8 months based on the last year of sales and 5.3 months based on the last six months of sales. Foreclosure inventory is around 1.5 months and short sale inventory remains at right around a year.

Land Park Real Estate Market Update: March 2010

Most sales in the Land Park area continue to be focused in the non-distressed category of homes, a good sign in this time of turmoil in the real estate market. A total of 18 homes sold this month, an overall unit volume increase of 38.5% year over year. Of these 18, 15 were non-distressed sales and just 1 was a foreclosure while 2 were short sales. This means all the increase in the sales was from the non-distressed sales category, although with the 2 short sales, the statistics show that they doubled from year over year!

Average price per square foot is now $258.99 in Land Park, a 7.9% decline year over year from a high of $281.09 last March. Average sales price fell 3.7% for the same period from $393,931 to rest at $379,400. Median sales price at the same time however increased by almost 10% from $335,000 to $367,500 for the same period.

Inventory in Land Park is at 4.9 months based on the last year of sales and 5.5 months based on the last six months of sales. Foreclosure inventory continues to remain at between 2 and 3.5 months while the same short sale inventory remains steady at 12 homes on the market.

Carmichael Real Estate Market Update: March 2010

51 homes sold in the city of Carmichael this month – an overall unit volume increase of 70% year over year. A look at the specific categories indicate that home buyer interest has moved into the non-distressed area of homes on the market. There was a 72% increase in the non-distressed category from last March when just 18 homes sold. This March, the number was 31. Short sales also increased dramatically – from just 1 last March to 7 this month. Foreclosure sales remained almost the same at 13.

Average price per square foot is now $154.96 down 6.3% year over year from $165.40. Homebuyers afforded themselves homes on average 15% larger than they did over last March. Average sales price thus rose 7.4% year over year to rest at $284,332 from $264,667 last March. Median sales price jumped 23% to hit $270,000.

Inventory in Carmichael is at 6.5 months. Foreclosure inventory is a little under 2 months while short sale inventory is still just a tad under 2 years – an indication that this real estate recovery might take a while unless short sales begin to move faster – either into sales or into outright foreclosures.

Fair Oaks Real Estate Market Update: March 2010

A mixed bag of news for Fair Oaks, especially as it relates to home sales in the area. This 95628 zip code has had 32 homes sold this last month. Why mixed bag? Because overall sales are up, which is a good thing. As compared to a year ago at the same time the 32 sold homes are a 33.3% increase over a year ago when just 24 homes had closed escrow.

The sales however are primarily in the category of non-distressed properties as well as foreclosures. Short sales have suffered a decline. In fact, just 1 short sale closed escrow this month and with short sale inventory in this area hovering around a year and a half, that is definitely not something to celebrate.

Average price per square foot is now $146.76 – a 4.4% increase year over year from $140.60 last March. Homebuyers also bought homes on average 11% bigger this March than they did last March. Affordability and tax credits may have something to do with that. Average sales price is now 16.1% higher than it was a year ago when it was $226,573. Median sales price now rests at $232,000 which is 5.7% higher than a year ago.

Inventory in Fair Oaks is at 6.2 months based on the last year of sales and 6.4 months based on the last six months of sales. Short sale inventory has grown to 21 months based on the last six months of sales and is now inching towards 2 years.

Folsom Real Estate Market Update: March 2010

79 homes sold in the city of Folsom this month, an overall unit volume increase of 43.6% year over year. Foreclosure inventory seems to be relatively higher in Folsom than it is elsewhere in Sacramento county. Whereas elsewhere in the county, foreclosure inventory hovers around a month, here in Folsom it is almost double that.

It is no wonder then that sold REOs continue to make up about 20% of all sold homes. Short sales currently make up 25% of all sales and the rest are attributed to non-distressed homes. The good news is that we are slowly beginning to see an increase in non-distressed sales as buyers long for less paperwork and easier home purchases without the lender being involved for approvals, as is the case in both short sales and foreclosure sales.

Average price per square foot is not $169.57 which is 7% lower than it was a year ago. Last March average price per square foot was resting at $182.25. Homebuyers this month also bought homes on average 9% bigger than they did last March. Average sales price as a result has climbed 1.4% over last year to rest at $378,232 from $373,185. However, the more accurate figure is price per square foot. Median sales price has also risen correspondingly to $375,000.

Inventory in Folsom is now at 4.9 months. Foreclosure inventory is at 1.9 months and short sale inventory is at 12.7 months based on the last year of sales and 10.7 months based on the last six months of sales.

Elk Grove Real Estate Market Update: March 2010

After a decent month of price increase in February, March has seen some interesting changes in the real estate market of Elk Grove. The more things change, they say, the more they remain the same and it’s been certainly true this month in Elk Grove. A total of 254 homes sold in the area in the month of March, an increase of 7.6% year over year. A full third of all homes that sell are now non-distressed, a good change from last year where only 1 out of 10 homes sold was non-distressed.

Of the 254 sold homes, just 104 were foreclosures, a large number by any other area in Sacramento county but a 41% decline in foreclosure sales year over year for Elk Grove. Short sales were up by 117.6% which is always a good thing to see and non-distressed home sales have risen by a whopping 192.3%. Overall unit volume was up 7.6% year over year.

Average price per square foot seems to have leveled off at $115.48. Last March it was $115.69. Average sales price is also almost the same as last March at $241,939 – a 2.8% decline over $248,872 last March. Median sales price also remains almost the same year over year at $231,500.

Inventory is at 4.1 months based on the last year of sales and 4.6 months based on the last six months of sales. Short sale inventory that is worrying everyone lately is still is just under a year.

El Dorado County Real Estate Market Update: March 2010

March was a better month for real estate in El Dorado in general with 168 homes selling this month over 115 last March. Real estate sales were also better this month than they had been in the previous with February selling only 122 homes. Overall unit volume sales were 46.1% year over year with short sales noting the most increase percentage-wise: 131.2% for the same period. Foreclosure sales remained at almost the same levels and non-distressed sales gained 46.1% year over year. 2 out of every 3 sold homes is now a non-distressed home.

Average sold price per square foot is now $150.84 down 6.8% year over year. Average homes sold were also 6% smaller than they were a year ago and so the average sales price in El Dorado county is 12.4% lower than it was a year ago. It is currently $327,988 down from $374,330 last March. Median sales price is currently $294,950.

El Dorado county has 8.3 months of inventory based on the last year of sales. Looking at the last 6 months of sales, that inventory goes up to 8.7 months.

Sacramento County Real Estate Market Update: March 2010

Another month of leveling off here for Sacramento county home sales and home prices. A total of 1715 homes sold in the county, an overall unit volume drop of 6.6% year over year. Perhaps the best reason for better spirits in home sellers should be this: foreclosure sales were down 46.5% while short sales were up by 86.4% and non-distressed homes by 91.3% year over year. More than 1 out of 3 homes sold now is non-distressed!

While the market still has a long way to go in terms of clearing its short sale inventory before we see any real price gains, it’s good to note that for now at least prices are leveling off. Average price per square foot is currently $120.00 which is 6.5% higher than it was a year ago when it was $112.70. Average sales price of a home is now $196,299 – about 8% higher than it was a year go when it was $181,685 and median sales price currently rests at $172,900.

Real estate inventory is at 4.3 months based on the last year of sales and 4.8 months based on the last six months of sales.

Natomas Real Estate Market Update: February 2010

The number of homes sold in Natomas continues to be high compared to other parts of Sacramento in spite of the slowdown in foreclosure sales. 114 homes sold in the area this month as compared with 134 last February, an overall unit volume decline of about 15% year over year. Foreclosure sales fell 43.1% while short sales doubled and non-distressed sales increased 50% for the same period. About 1 out of every 5 homes now is a non-distressed sale.

Average price per square foot is now $108.01 which is 4.8% lower than it was a year ago when it was $113.40. Homebuyers afforded themselves on average homes 6.3% larger this year than the last. The average price per square foot then is the more accurate number while average sales price shows a small increase in price year over year of 1.3% from a low of $199,161. It currently rests at $201,731. Median sales price is now $183,750.

Inventory in Natomas is currently at 4.5 months based on the last year of sales and 5 months based on the last six months of sales. Foreclosure inventory is right around 1 month.