62 homes sold in the area of Rosemont this past month, an overall unit volume increase of 19.2% year over year. Unlike elsewhere in Sacramento county where foreclosure sales have been falling, Rosemont shows an increase in foreclosure sales year over year – an increase of 38.1% to be exact. Short sales remained largely unchanged year over year as well as non-distressed sales. Roughly 1 out of every 3 homes sold is a non-distressed sale.
Average price per square foot increased by 1% year over year, another indicator that the real estate market might finally be leveling off. Average price per square foot is currently $120.42 up from $119.19 last June. Average sales price rose 3% for the same period from $164,227 last June to rest at $169,101. Median sales price dropped a little – 3.5% from $171,050 to $165,000.
Inventory in Rosemont is currently at 5.5 months (based on the last year of sales). Foreclosure inventory is currently at 3.1 months while short sale inventory remains high at 14.3 months. Nondistressed inventory is at 3.3 months.
Well, well, well… it’s been a while since we looked at the real estate market in the Greenhaven or Pocket Area as it is sometimes referred to around here. This is the 95831 area code and during the happy real estate times, it was hard to find a house here that stayed on the market longer than a few days without multiple offers. Today the scenario looks quite a bit different but not hopeless.
Volume has not changed much year over year. 32 homes sold this June – almost the same as 31 last June. Foreclosure sales have fallen 33.3% while short sales have increased somewhat. Non-distressed home sales also remained almost the same – a 10.5% increase year over year. 65.6% of all homes sold in the pocket area are now non-distressed sales.
Average price per square foot rose slightly from $165.88 last June to rest at $167.71 this June. Homebuyers however bought homes markedly larger than they did last year. The average square footage of homes sold was 12.6% more year over year. Average sales price rose accordingly from $289,644 to $329,747 – a 13.8% increase. However, the more accurate number in terms of prices is the average sold price per square foot. Median sales price has also risen 11.2% from $272,000 to $302,500.
Inventory in Greenhaven is at 6.3 months.
Having just met a friend who went through the maddening scenario of an appraisal coming in too low, the feeling is still fresh in my mind. But on the heels of consumers complaining of artificially increased appraisals of homes now comes the opposite – house valuations are coming in too low. The typical scenario goes like this: a home is in escrow, agreements signed and then during the transaction, an appraisal is conducted and it comes back about $50,000 lower than the agreed-upon price. Now, keep in mind that the asking price is usually not arbitrary. Gone are the days when home sellers inflated their home because “it simply must be $10,000 higher than their neighbor’s house!” Today, asking prices are decided by bank-owned homes selling as comparables in the same neighborhood. So when an appraisal comes in that low, everyone is distraught. Sometimes the transaction falls apart.
However, this industry practice may soon change. In guidelines issued on June 30, 2010 Fannie Mae said lenders must contact appraisers to resolve discrepancies between the valuations, rather than simply reducing the appraisal. If it is not possible to contact the appraiser, the lender should order a second appraisal. Borrowers and/or sellers who believe a home valuation is too low may appeal the valuation or request a second option. It’s important to note that the second valuation must be more than five percent higher than the first—anything less is considered an acceptable difference.
Also, effective Sept. 1, Fannie Mae is prohibiting the purchase of loans from lenders who change appraisers’ numbers.
Homebuyers didn’t seem as interested in buying houses in East Sacramento this month as they usually are. Just 28 homes sold in the entire month of June in the area as compared with 41 a year ago. That’s a unit volume decrease of 31.7% year over year. Foreclosures alone fell 66.7% year over year in sales followed by non-distressed sales which fell 22.2% for the same period. Short sales remained mostly unchanged in number as last June – 3 this June as compared with 2 the last.
Average price per square foot is now $230.61, which is now up 7.1% year over year from $215.40. Homebuyers still preferred houses on average 2.5%. However, average sales price remained above the $300,000 mark at $301,693. That was an overall increase year over year of 4.4% from $289,099. Median sales price is currently $291,000 down 6.1% for the same period from the high of $310,000.
Inventory in East Sacramento is at 5 and a half months. Foreclosure inventory still hovers around 2 months.
39 homes sold in all in the city of Fair Oaks in June 2010. That number was an overall unit volume increase of 18.2% year over year. Of the 39 homes, 11 were foreclosure sales, 9 were short sales and 19 were non-distressed homes. Overall, it seems as if the market is relatively unchanged from last June. Roughly 1 out of 2 sold homes is not distressed. The increase in unit volume was evenly dispersed over all three categories we track.
Average price per square foot is currently $155.92 which is on overall drop of 4.8% year over year. Average sales price fell 6.9% from a high of $288,042 last June to rest at $268,253. Median sales price also fell but not very far from $241,000 to currently $237,000. That is a drop of 1.7% year over year. Home buyers also preferred houses on average 2.2% smaller this June over last June.
Inventory in Fair Oaks is at 5.8 months based on the last year of sales and 6.1 months based on the last six months of sales. Foreclosure inventory is at 1.2 months no matter how you look at it.
Homebuyers seem to be uninterested in buying homes lately or so says the Mortgage Bankers Association. Of course, we all know people personally buying or looking for a house to buy but mortgage applications have fallen to a thirteen year low. The Association claims that the last time volume was so low was back in July of 1996.
Most of the homebuyers seem to be taking a break after the deadline for the tax credit passed so it may be that anyone who was considering buying a home this year definitely pushed for the tax credit which ended April 31st., 2010. The deadline for closing on a home purchase transaction which is already in escrow by April 31, 2010 has now been pushed to September 2010.
Mortgage rates for a 30 year fixed hover around 4.5% this week.
This month we saw an increase in unit volume sales in the city of Carmichael. 52 homes sold in the month of June – an increase year over year in real estate sales by 18.2%. Foreclosure sales remained at almost the same number, which is an oddity in a county where elsewhere foreclosure sales are falling at a rapid rate. Short sales more than doubled year over year while non-distressed sales fell 21% for the same period. Overall, home buyers seem to be gravitating towards short sales more than non-distressed homes or foreclosure sales. 1 out of 3 homes sold today is non-distressed.
Average price per square foot is now $152.92 which is 1.2% lower than it was a year ago when it was $154.82. Home buyers also seemed drawn to smaller homes – the average sold home in Carmichael this month was 7.5% smaller than it was a year ago. Average sales price is currently $257,227 which is 8.7% lower year over year from a high of $281,637. However, keep in mind that the more accurate figure here is the average price per square foot. Median sales price fell 10.9% year over year from $248,450 to $221,250.
Real estate inventory in Carmichael is currently at 5 and a half months.
196 homes closed escrow in the month of June in El Dorado county. While parts of Sacramento county are beginning to level off and even have some price gains, El Dorado county is lagging behind in this area.
196 homes selling was an overall unit volume increase year over year from 176 home sales last June in the area of 11.4%. Foreclosure sales increased slightly t 8.2% and short sales gained a whopping 114.3% year over year. Non-distressed sales continued to fall by 9.6%. In fact, non-distressed sales now make up 43.4% of all sales while last year they made up 53.4% of all real estate sales.
Average price per square foot is now $151.80 which is a 4% decline year over year from a high of $158.16. Average sales price in El Dorado county for a house is $365,469 down 3.4% from a high of $378,291 last June. Median sales price is now $335,000 down slightly (1.5%) from $340,000 last June.
Inventory in El Dorado county is now at 8.7 months based on the last 12 months of sales and 8.4 months based on the last six months of sales. Foreclosure inventory is at 2.6 months.
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.
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.
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.
If one of your financial goals this summer is to buy a home (and you’re tired of me talking all the time here) you should make it a priority to go to the official Fannie Mae website. If you are a first time homebuyer, this is especially helpful to you, full of information beginning at the basics of home purchasing. If you’re a current homeowner and considering a home refinance, you might want to head over there anyway to protect yourself from loan modification scams.
Whatever your goal, make sure you do your research and homework regarding a purchase. If you have started searching online and have a general idea of what you would like to buy but don’t know what payments you might be comfortable with, we can put you in touch with mortgage professionals. Give us a call!
