This month’s market update for El Dorado County showed that we had fairly low inventory overall coupled with too much short sale inventory, making for further price reductions since 2009. But while prices were down in Sacramento County, to the east in El Dorado County remained steady, changing a mere .2% from last year’s sold price per square foot figure of $146.63 to $146.99 this year.  Total unit volume is identical in both years.  In fact, you could hardly ask for a better example of a stable market (or a flat market, if you want to be pessimistic about it).  As for me, after the last few years I’m encouraged any time prices aren’t falling like a rock.

It also comes as no surprise that the number of non-distressed sales in El Dorado County compares favorably to that of Sacramento County.  The largest category of sales in Sacramento county in September was foreclosures (36.4%), and running a close second were non-distressed sales, at 36.4%.  In El Dorado County, however, 47.2% of the homes that sold in September were non-distressed sales.  To be sure, the number of short sales and foreclosures is still huge by 2004 boom-year standards, but it’s encouraging to see that the higher inventory in El Dorado County hasn’t done much to impact prices, at least over the last year.

Unit Volume Data

Price Data

Inventory (Based on 12 months of prior sales)

Inventory (Based on 6 months of prior sales)

163 homes sold in the county of El Dorado this last month, an overall unit volume decrease of 12.8% year over year. The largest decrease was in the category of foreclosure sales where home sales dropped from 69 last july to just 42 this july. That was a decline of 39.1% year over year. Short sales increased by 7.7% while non-distressed sales dropped 1% for the same period.

Average sold price per square foot remained mostly unchanged year over year. It is currently $153.30 which is a 0.4% drop from $153.88 last July. We see the same trend here in El Dorado county that we are seeing all over Sacramento county – price stability and much lower sales volume. Average sales price also remained stable at $357,877. Median sales price dropped 5.3% from $337,750 to rest at $319,777.

Inventory in El Dorado county is at 8.9 months based on the last year of sales and 8.1 months based on the last six months of sales. Foreclosure inventory is at a little under three 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.

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.

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.

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.

Prices in El Dorado county continue to fall. However, unit volume is up. A total of 122 homes sold this month in the county of El Dorado. Of these, 49 were foreclosure sales, 29 were short sales and 44 were non-distressed sales. Now 2 out of 3 homes are distress sales although the ratio between foreclosure sales and short sales has changed somewhat, beginning to lean toward short sales.

Overall, foreclosure sales fell 10.9% year over year, short sales increased 107.1% and non-distressed sales also posted an increase of 29.4% for the same period. Overall unit volume was higher by 18.4% year over year.

Average price per square foot is now $144.25 which is a 12.7% decrease year over year from a high of $165.25. Homebuyers as a result afforded themselves homes on an average 5.7% larger this year than they did the last. Average sales price is now $322,707 down 7.7% from a high of $349,588 last February. Median sales price is $289,000.

Inventory in El Dorado county is at 8 months. Foreclosure inventory is at 2.4 months.

When prices fall, homebuyers in El Dorado county buy more and buy bigger. This trend we have seen for a while now has continued in January of this year as well. Overall unit volume was up by 30.3% year over year in the county of El Dorado, with short sales being the largest gainers – up by 92.9% year over year. Non-distressed sales also were up by 48.1%. REO sales remained the same or almost the same as last January with just a 2.1% increase. 116 homes sold in all in the county.

Average price per square foot is now $149.48 a 7% decline year over year from a high of $160.70 last January. As such, people afforded themselves homes on average 6.1% larger this January than the last. Average sales price seems to show a decline of just 1.3% but the more accurate figure is the average sold price per square foot. The current average sales price has now hit $352,668 from a high of $357,349 last year. Median sales price on the other hand has gained 6.8% and currently sits at $315,000.

El Dorado county has 7.7 months of inventory based on the last twelve months.

El Dorado county seems to trail behind Sacramento county trends by as much as six months to a year as we have seen in the past. As such, for this market update as well we are seeing the same things we saw in Sacramento county a few months ago.

There has been buyer interest in short sales, as evidenced by the increase in short sales by 77.8% year over year and even though foreclosure sales are up their increase is a much smaller 4.8% year over year. Non-distressed sales have also gained ground – 56.4% increase for the same period – leading to an overall unit volume increase of 38.4%.

Average price per square foot fell by 9.1% year over year from a high of $167.17 to $151.95. Average sales price also fell by 8.7% for the same period from $368,912 to $336,868. Median sales price is now $282,000.

In spite of the interest in short sales, inventory for short sales remains high – right around 18 months. Overall inventory is at 7.5 months based on the last year of sales and 6.9 months based on the last six months of sales. Foreclosure inventory is at 1.9 months.

We are still seeing an upswing in the year over year unit volume even though foreclosure sales have fallen 11.5% for the same period. Short sales have remained the same year over year, so it should go without saying that it is the non-distressed property sales that are driving the numbers. Homebuyers have shown a renewed interest in these, perhaps because prices are still low. Non-distressed sales saw an increase of 56.4% year over year. More than half of all real estate sold in El Dorado county is now non-distressed.

Average price per square foot is now $151.28 which is 11.7% lower than it was a year ago when it was $171.42. In keeping with the general temper of the El Dorado market, homebuyers pounced on the opportunity to buy homes on average 3% bigger than last November. Average sales price is currently $339,565 which is 9.2% less than it was a year ago when it was $373,892. Median sales price is now $317,000.

Inventory in El Dorado county is now at 8.7 months based on the last year of sales and 7.3 months based on the last six months of sales.

The same trend that encouraged homebuyers to look outside of Sacramento county and buy a home in El Dorado county is being seen today. Although prices might be a factor, they are not the only reason. The reason might well be that El Dorado county sometimes trails behind Sacramento county in trends.

As an example, this month, while we have seen declines in foreclosure sales in almost every real estate market in Sacramento county, here in El Dorado county we see an increase in foreclosure sales – by 26.8% nonetheless. No measly number! Short sales also correspondingly have risen by 77.8% while non-distressed property sales continue to fall by 17.4% year over year. Overall unit volume sales increased by 8.7% for the same period.

Average price per square foot in El Dorado county is now $145.57, not very different from last month but a decline of 19.2% year over year. Interestingly enough, homebuyers did not use the opportunity this month to buy bigger homes as they do in these parts and average home size sold also declined 7.5% year over year. Average sales price this reflects this and is 25.2% lower year over year to rest at $313,461. Median sales price is now $281,750.

Inventory in El Dorado county based on the last year of sales is at 9.2 months and based on the last six months of sales is at 7.7 months. Foreclosure inventory is just under 2 months.

If sales were mostly unchanged last month, they are even more so this month. El Dorado county seems to be the perfect example of the phrase “the more things change, the more they remain the same.” 163 homes sold this month as compared with 162 homes last September. Yes, things don’t change very quickly in El Dorado county as I’ve mentioned before. Even within the REO and short sale and non-distressed categories, the numbers have remained pretty much in keeping with last September: 68 REOs this September as compared with 65 year over year, 22 short sales as compared with 19 and 73 non-distressed homes as compared with 78 for the same period.

Average sold price per square foot is now at $146.63 compared with $175.58 from a year ago. That’s a drop of 16.5% overall while the average sales price now hovers at $323,720 with a 15.5% fall for the same period. Median price has fallen 20.6% from a year ago to rest at $286,000.

Inventory in El Dorado county is not at 9.4 months based on the last year of sales. We have seen a small increase in sales over the last six months though as evidenced by inventory based on the last six months at 8.1 months. Foreclosure inventory is at 1.7 months and 1.6 months respectively.

The El Dorado county real estate market has remained mostly unchanged from last August to this August. A total of 141 homes sold with a unit volume drop of just 9.6% year over year. When compared to Sacramento county, that seems like quite a small change. Foreclosure sales fell 3.5% year over year, short sales gained 60% and non-distressed sales fell 21.3% for the same period.

Average sold price per square foot now rests at $153.47, down 16.3% year over year from a high of $183.45. Average sales price has correspondingly fallen 16.6% from $399,290 last August to $332,096. Median sales price is not at $285,000, a drop of 19.7% year over year.

Inventory in El Dorado county is at 10.1 months based on the last year of sales and 9.2 months based on the last six months of sales. Foreclosure inventory still hovers around 2 months, so we might see more homebuyers from Sacramento move to El Dorado county in search of foreclosure gold!

Whereas Sacramento county has (almost) exhausted its supply of foreclosure inventory, El Dorado county on the other hand seems to be just beginning to turn into a foreclosure market. It has taken a while for homebuyers to turn their attention to the REOs but it seems like they may finally be taking notice.

A total of 187 homes sold in the El Dorado county area this month of which 69 were foreclosures. Foreclosure sales have gained 64.3% year over year! Short sales gained also at 188.9% and non-distressed sales gained 18% for the same period. Overall, unit volume has gone up 45% in this part of California.

Sold price per square foot however has fallen again as always happens when there is a big surge in foreclosure purchases. Average sold price per square foot currently rests at $153.88 – that’s a 19.4% drop year over year. Average sale price is currently $358,725, which implies a 16.7% fall for the same period. Median sales price in El Dorado county is $337,750 for the month of July, a fall from last July of 10.6%.

Inventory, even with all the homebuyer interest, is at 10.1 months based on the last year of sales and 9.7 months based on the last 6 months of sales. Foreclosure inventory is at 2.1 months and 2 months respectively.

Nothing much has changed in the real estate landscape of El Dorado county from month to month; change is always slow in this part of California. A total of 176 homes sold in El Dorado county, a 5% overall unit volume increase year over year. 61 of these homes were foreclosure sales, 21 short sales and 94 non-distressed property sales. While foreclosure sales and non-distressed home sales have remained the same year over year, we see a 75% jump in short sales.

Sold price per square foot is faring slightly better than it was last month at $158.16. It is still however a decline year over year of about 19%. Average sales price tells the same story at $378,291. Median sales price is at $340,000 in El Dorado county.

Inventory is at 10.4 months based on the last year of sales and 10.8 months based on the last six months of sales. Foreclosure inventory is at 2.3 and 2.2 months respectively.

El Dorado county real estate prices have reacted much the same way as prices in Sacramento county this May. We are seeing small jumps in month to month increases in price even though the year over year prices show declines. Along with the increased prices is also a general slowing in the frantic pace of sales, perhaps pointing to a more stable (or stabilizing) market.

A total of 148 homes sold in May – that’s 2% lower unit volume year over year. However, foreclosure sales gained 43% and short sales gained 67% for the same period at the expense of non-distressed sales which dropped 30% year over year.

Average sold price per square foot is currently at $155.12 which is $19% lower than last May’s $190.94 but higher than last month’s $148.57. We see the same case in average sales price which is currently $380,004 down 11% year over year from $425,969 but higher than last month’s $337,140. Median sales price is rests at $350,000 also higher than last month’s median of $320,000.

Inventory is at 10.4 months based on the last year of sales and 11.9 months based on the last six months of sales.

Nothing much has changed in the real estate landscape of El Dorado county since last month. A total of 128 homes sold in the month of April this year – that’s almost the same number as last April. Of these, 60 were foreclosure sales, 21 were short sales and 47 were non-distressed homes. So, the real estate sales pie in El Dorado county shows 47% of all sales to be foreclosures, 16.4% to be short sales (still a pretty large number if you compare it year over year to 5%) and 37% to be non-distressed homes.

The average sold price per square foot has fallen again from last month’s $161.83. It is currently a$148.57, 25% under last April’s $198.08. This has probably encouraged home buyers to acquire homes on average 5% bigger year over year. With this in mind, remember that the average sales price number is not as accurate when comparing year over year averages as the price per square foot. The average sales price in El Dorado county is currently $337,140, down 21% year over year from a high of $427,540. Median price has also fallen 16% for the same period from $380,000 to currently rest at $320,000.

Inventory is at 9.9 months based on the last year of sales and 11.7 months based on the last six months of sales pointing to the recent sluggishness in the El Dorado county market.

The sluggish real estate market in El Dorado county continues. A total of 115 homes sold in the months of March, of which 55 were foreclosures (47.8% of the total sales) 16 were short sales (13.9% of the total sales) and 44 were non-distressed (38.3% of overall sales). Unit volume is just barely higher than last March’s total sales of 104: about 10.6% higher.

Average price per square foot slipped again this month after posting an increase last month. From $165.25 last month, it is currently at $161.83. That is a drop of 16% year over year from a high of $192.32. El Doradians took the opportunity to buy a home 7.2% bigger than last year however. The average sale price suffered a decline of 9.8% year over year from last March’s $414,951 to this month’s $374,330. Median price was not immune to the drop either: it fell 8.1% from $359,000 to $330,000.

Inventory is at 9.7 months based on the last year of sales and 11.2 months based on the last six months of sales. This is significantly higher than last month’s inventory numbers of 7.4 and 8 months. Foreclosure inventory is at 2.7 months.

If El Dorado county is considered lackadaisical by most people who live in Sacramento county, real estate sales in it are following the same pattern. Still unit volume in sales continues to remain higher by 17% than it was last year at this time, although it is lower than last month’s volume of sales. Last month, 99 homes sold in the county of El Dorado. 89 homes sold this month: 48 foreclosure sales (53.9% of the total), 14 short sales (15.7% of the total) and 27 non-distressed homes (30.3% of total).

The greatest increase is in short sales: year over year, we see that short sales have gained 180% in sales. Foreclosures are a close second with a gain of 100% year over year. Non-distressed sales, not surprisingly have suffered a decline of 42.6% year over year.

All this, of course, means that prices have fallen yet again. Sold price per square foot is 20.1% lower this January than it was last January – a drop from $201.22 to $160.70. This is also lower than last month’s $167.17. Average sales price is also lower year over year by 23.4% – a decline from $466,770 to $357,349 currently. This is also lower than last month’s $368,912. Median sales price is down $426,000 to $295,000 – a fall of 31%. This is also lower, unfortunately, than last month’s $340,000.

Inventory remains almost unchanged from last month”s 9.8 and 9.3 months. Currently, we are at 9.7 months of inventory based on the last 12 months of sales and 9.8 months based on the last 6 months of sales. Last month’s 250 short sales have now increased to 267 active short sales. The active foreclosures remain almost the same in number at 174.

El Dorado county saw its first year over year drop in unit volume sales in months. 99 homes sold in December of 2008, 10.8% lower than the 111 which sold in December 2007. 42 foreclosures sold (up year over year by 16%) 18 short sales sold (up 125%) and 39 non-distressed homes also sold (down 41.8%). Distress sales now make up the major chunk of home sales – 60% of all sales.

Sold price per square foot is down once again. It is currently at $167.17, down 17.9% over last year’s high of $203.63. That is also lower than last month’s aerage price per square foot number of $171.42. The average sales price is also down 21% year over year; it has fallen from $466,714 to rest at $368,912, also slightly lower than $373,892 in November 2008. Median sales price is down 18.5% from $417,000 to $340,000, lower also than last month’s $350,000.

Inventory is at 9.8 months (based on the last year of sales) and 9.3 months (based on the last six months of sales). El Dorado county might see some pain yet if the short sale inventory doesn’t get sold quickly. There are 250 short sales currently on the market and while that number is only slightly larger than the 193 active foreclosures, the difference in inventory is striking. Foreclosures only make up 3.7 months of inventory. Short sales? 17 long months!

Change comes slow to El Dorado county and it usually isn’t as severe as Sacramento county. Let’s hope it remains that way for the El Dorado county real estate market as well. While we saw non-distressed sales making up the majority of homes sold in the area, things seem to have changed this November. For the first time in a long time distress sales overtook non-distressed with 52 foreclosures (that’s 42.6% of the market) and 15 short sales (that’s 12.3% of the total market) exchanging hands. Only 55 non-distressed properties sold, a decline of 37.5% over last November.

Unit volume is up, but not by much. 10.9% more homes sold this November as compared with last November.

Non-distressed sales taking over has of course affected price. Foreclosures put downward pressure on prices and El Dorado is no exception. Average sold price per square foot fell 17.9% year over year – from $208.83 to $171.42 this month. Average sale price is also down 18.2% for the same period. We are currently at $373,892 from last November’s high of $457,326. Median sale price has fallen 8.8% from $383,750 to $350,000.

This is so depressing, I think I’ll have an extra cup of coffee to get through this. The only good news is that inventory is lower than last month. We’ll see if this trend continues into the next year. Currently, El Dorado county is at 10.7 months based on the last year of sales and 9.4 months based on the last six months of real estate sales.

Homes – and people, I assume – in El Dorado county are in no hurry. I get the sense, owning real estate myself in this part of California that things are a little more laid back here. The same goes for the real estate in El Dorado. After last month’s slow drop in prices and increase in sales, nothing much has really changed. But there are always more statistics to report, aren’t there? So here we go!

September was just such a strong month for sales that October would have had to be on wheels to beat it. Well, it wasn’t. Only 109 homes sold in October in El Dorado county, lower than the 161 sold in the month of September. While the majority were still non-distressed sales (67 – or 61.5%), foreclosure sales (34 or 31.2%) seem to gain momentum. 8 short sales also sold, which took up the remainder of the sales pie.

Price per square foot fell 16% over last October for the same period to $183.65. The average sale price fell 6.9% (Don’t we just love single digit falls?) from $473,560 from last October to $440,754. Median sales price actually ROSE by 3.9% from last October! It went from $390,000 to $405,000. Of course, you should keep in mind that the price per square foot tells the real story because hidden in the average and the median numbers is the fact that homes that sold this October were larger by 10.9% over last October. The average square feet of a home this October were 2399 over last October’s 2164 square feet.

Based on the last 12 months of sales, inventory is at 12.2 months and based on the last 6 months of sales, inventory sits at 10.6 months.

For the first time in several months, El Dorado County enjoyed a year on year unit volume increase in September.  As I write this in October, taking the best figure for inventory we have, El Dorado County has 10.4 months of unsold inventory, down from the 11.4 months I reported in September.  September’s unit volume was 36.4% higher than last year’s so it does appear that some of the prices in El Dorado County have gotten to the point where buyers are getting more interested.

About three fourths (74.5%) of the homes in inventory are non-distressed sales, with another 15.7% short sales and 9.8% bank owned homes.  Like everywhere else, however, foreclosures are priced lower than other homes, so when you look at sales figures, the number of non-distressed homes drops to 48.4% of all the units sold.  With 161 units selling in September, that means 78 were non-distressed.  Another 19 were short sales (11.8%), while 64 (39.8%) were bank owned foreclosures.

Sold price per square foot fell 21.7% from year to year, from $224.49 in September of 2007 to $175.75 in September of 2008.   The average selling price fell 21.3% during the same period, from $485,485 to $382,319, while the median selling price fell 15.2%, from $424,500 to $360,000.

You would think I would write more about El Dorado County real estate than I do.  I live here, after all, and the homes here are (on average) more expensive than they are in Sacramento County — well, if you can sell them, they are, anyway. 

Right now in El Dorado County there are thirteen months of inventory that we have to get through, though the good news is that we’ve been selling more homes recently, so you can call it 11.4 months if you want the optimistic estimate.  That’s still a lot of inventory.  Six months of inventory is the traditional demarcation that distinguishes a buyer’s market from a seller’s market.  Six months is about what we’re seeing in East Sac and Fair Oaks.  Less expensive areas in Sac County are down around four to five months. 

152 homes sold in all of El Dorado County in August, down 9% from last year’s volume of 167 units.  Average sold price per square foot fell 18.6% from year to year, from $226.19 last August to $184.21 in August of 2008.  Together with a slight size drop from year to year, the average sale price fell 24.1% from year to year, from $524,693 in August of 2007 to $398,320 in August of 2008.  The median price county-wide fell from $430,000 to $354,950, a 17.5% drop.

One thing I’ve noticed about El Dorado County as we’ve gone along is that because El Dorado County started out more pricey to begin with, and because Sacramento County’s prices fell off more sharply, the difference in price between the two areas has intensified.  In 2007, the average difference in price per square foot was $18.53.  So far this year, that average difference has risen to $44.91.  Combine this with higher gas prices making commuting less affordable and the higher number of foreclosures that buyers have to choose from in Sacramento County and I think it becomes fairly easy to account for the sluggishness of sales here.  Add in unrealistic seller expectations and the idea that there’s always tomorrow for dreams to come true and you have a the makings of a perfect storm of market sluggishness in El Dorado County.