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.

Sales fell in Natomas recently – after the big push after foreclosures dominated the market. This month, just 161 homes closed escrow as compared with 199 last September. That’s a unit volume drop in sales of 19.1% year over year. Interestingly enough, both foreclosure sales show a decline year over year at 27% and non-distressed property as well shows a fall of 28% for the same period. Short sales gained 43.5% for the same period. I guess that’s where the bargains are, at least homebuyers seem to think so.

Average price per square foot may be a while recovering in Natomas. It is currently $108.75 which is a 15.7% decline year over year from a high (if you can call it that!) from last September’s price per square foot of $128.99. Average sales price has declined 12.6% from $230,891 last September to $201,887 currently. Median sales price is now under the $200,000 mark at $195,000.

Inventory in Natomas is at 3.7 months.

Natomas had been posting some impressive numbers for sales recently and perhaps that was because of all the new homes or relatively new homes that were in foreclosure. Home buyers were impressed with the size and the lack of repairs they had to make and those homes were bought rather quickly. In July, that pace has slowed. Foreclosure sales fell by 40% this month year over year going from 157 homes sold to just 94 this July. Short sales gained ground however with 150% increase in sales. Non-distressed sales remained in keeping with last July at 35 sales. Overall unit volume fell by 20.8% year over year.

Average price per square foot is now at $107.93 – that’s an 18.8% drop year over year from a high of $132.93. Average sales price also suffered a decline of 21% year over year to rest at $192,117. Median sales price is currently at $190,000.

Inventory in Natomas is at 3.6 months based on the last year of sales and 3.7 months based on the last six months of sales. Foreclosure inventory is at 0.5 months.

With a renewed interest in short sales in Natomas, sales are beginning to slow in the foreclosure and non-distressed sectors of real estate sales. A total of 161 homes sold in the area this month of which 105 were foreclosure sales, 24 were short sales and 32 were non-distressed sales. Which means foreclosures have tumbled 28% and non-distressed 22% while short sales have gained 50% in sales year over year.

Average sold price per square foot currently rests at $112.14 down 17% year over year from $134.97. Average sales price has followed the same curve and is now at $204,195 down 18.7% year over year. Median sales price rests at $200,000.

Inventory in Natomas is at 3.3 months based on the last 12 months of sales and 3.5 months based on the last 6 months of sales. Foreclosure inventory has dipped significantly and is currently at 0.5 months and 0.6 months respectively.

Even though foreclosures are continuing to sell in the Natomas area, we are beginning to see a new interest in short sales, which might be a good thing and something many homeowners are waiting for to see a real estate recovery. With just a half month of foreclosure inventory left, we’ll have to see where the Natomas market goes.

203 homes sold in the area in May: 137 foreclosure sales (67.5% of all sales), 38 short sales (18.7% of all sales) and 28 non-distressed properties (13.8% of all sales). And while foreclosure sales have gained a mere 2.2% year over year and non-distressed sales have fallen 39% short sales have gained in sales by 322% for the same period.

Average sold price per square foot is now $108.06, down 22.2% year over year from a high of $138.82. Average sale price is now $192,091 also down 26.9% from $262,943 from last May. Median sales price is $195,000.

Inventory in Natomas is at 3.4 months based on the last 12 months of sales and 3.7 months based on the last six months of sales.

As soon as foreclosures hit the market in Natomas, they seem to get picked up by home buyers. On average 128 foreclosures sell in the area every month. That’s more than 40 a day! Not surprisingly then, foreclosure sales make up 70.5% of the total real estate sales. Short sales – although gaining momentum – made up only 11.6% of the total market share with the rest 17.9% going to non-distressed sales.

A total of 173 homes sold in Natomas this March: 122 foreclosure sales, 20 short sales and 31 non-distressed sales. Overall unit volume is up year over year by 41.8%. Foreclosure sales are up 58.4% short sales up by 150% and non-distressed sales are down 16.2%.

The average sold price per square foot currently rests at $110.31 down 23.7% from $144.48 a year ago. Average sale price is at $198,368 down 24.4% from $262,287 a year ago and median sales price is at $192,000 down from $255,000.

Inventory is at 3.8 months based on the last year of sales and 3.9 months based on the last six months of sales.

The focus of home buyers in Natomas has definitely been on the non-distressed homes for sale and the short sales. Surprising as it may be, the numbers last month seem to bear that out. Maybe the good foreclosures are gone? Only time will tell. For now, suffice it to say that the short sale inventory has shrunk about five months in the last few weeks with foreclosure inventory remaining the same. However, with 20.8 months of short sale inventory, the pain in the Natomas real estate market is not over.

Unit volume is up 56% year over year. 134 homes sold in the month of February 88% of which were distress sales: 102 foreclosures and 16 short sales closed escrow along with 16 non-distressed homes. And although home buyers might be beginning to lose interest in the foreclosures, they haven’t done so just yet. Foreclosure sales are up 64.5% year over year and short sales up a whopping 129% for the same period. Non-distressed sales are down 6%.

Average sold price per square foot is down 23% year over year. It is currently at $113.40 down from $146.56. The average sales price is down 31% for the same period, currently $199,161. Median price is at $200,000, down 25.3% year over year. The average home sold is also 10% smaller, so here the average price per square foot is the more accurate measure.

Inventory is at 3.9 months.

While last year at this time foreclosures were just about beginning to catch up with non-distressed sales in Natomas and home sellers were beginning to panic just a little bit, we were just seeing the tip of the iceberg. Today, 85% of all sales are distress sales and a mere 15% are non-distressed and those home sellers must definitely feel the pinch. Consider this: 118 foreclosures sold in the area of Natomas this month. Couple that with 15 short sales and the 24 non distressed sales are clearly in the minority.

Meanwhile, unit volume continues to be high. 55.4% more homes sold in Natomas this December than they did last December. Meanwhile, non-distressed home sales have suffered a decline of 56.4% year over year.

And the prices have continued to fall, as will always be the case when there are so many foreclosures the market has to absorb. Sold price per square foot has suffered a decline of 30% year over year. Natomas has gone from $172.04 to $120.09. Average sales price has fallen 33% from $318,053 to $213,786. Median sales price has declined 24% from $283,250 to $214,900 for the same period.

Inventory is at 4.4 months based on the last year of sales and 3.9 months based on the last six months. Foreclosure inventory is at 1.6 months.

The way homes are selling in Natomas, one would imagine that the neighborhoods are undergoing a sea-change. Property is exchanging hands so quickly, the area is in a constant state of flux. Consider this: There are currently 766 homes on the market. But they only make up 4.8 months of inventory. Even more surprising are the 216 active foreclosures that make up 2 months of inventory. It’s really the 374 short sales that will make up the fate of Natomas.

119 foreclosures sold in November, 23 short sales and 25 non-distressed homes also sold. Thus 85% of all sales now are distress sales. Total unit volume for November was up 114%. That includes an increase of 358% for foreclosure sales, 475% for short sales and a drop of 48% for non-distressed sales!

Average price per square foot fell 27.4% over last November – from a high of $168.39 to $122.26. The average sale price also fell 27.7% from $313,023 to $226,207. The median sales price has dropped 23.8% year over year from $301,750 to rest at $230,000.

Inventory is at 4.8 months (based on the last year of sales) and 3.9 months (based on the last 6 months of sales).

In a recent market update for real estate sales in Natomas, we had mentioned that sales were up 130% with heavy competition. Well, here we are – 4 months after that post and the headline could still read that. Sales are 127% higher than they were a year ago and inventory in Natomas just keeps coming.

179 foreclosures sold this October in Natomas – the combined zip codes of 95833, 95834, 95835, 95836 and 95837. 25 short sales also sold, thus making distress sales the majority of all home sales – 88% in fact. Only 28 non-distressed homes sold and at huge discounts. Not surprisingly, non-distressed sales are down by 61.1%.

Price per square foot in Natomas has fallen 30.4% since last October, thus affording buyers in the area big bargains. The average home which sold last year for $316,339 is now worth $225,150 – a discount of 28.8%. Is it any surprise sales are up? Median sale price has also dropped for the same period from $309,000 to $215,000 – a fall of 30.4%.

Inventory is at 5.2 months (based on the last year of sales) and 3.9 months (based on the last six months.)

The Natomas area of Sacramento includes the following zip codes:  95833, 95834, 95835, 95836 and 95837.  Like many areas, Natomas has been experiencing falling prices and increasing demand compared to last year, with the result that inventory is now fairly low by recent standards at about six months worth.  (6.8 months if you use the last 12 months absorption rate, or — because sales have picked up so much this year — 5.2 months if you use the past six months to get the absorption rate).

Last July, only 21.5% of all sales were either short sales or foreclosures in Natomas.  This July, that number has risen to 82.6% of all sales.   Approval and closing of short sales continue to be sluggish in Natomas, with only 6.8% of all sales closing in July being short sales — even though they currently make up 51% of active listings.  In contrast, REOs (bank owned foreclosures) accounted for 75.8% of all sales in July, yet make up only 25% of active listings.

In July, the average Natomas home sold for $132.93 per square foot, down 31.4% from last year’s average of $193.63.  The average sale price was down 28.8% from the July 2007 figure of $340,676, with the average home in selling for $242,496 in July of 2008.

The number of buyers for homes in Natomas has increased dramatically, almost tripling from the 73 homes sold in July of 2007 to a figure of 207 homes sold in July of 2008.

Related Links:

Homes Available Now in Natomas

Last Month’s (June’s) Market Report for Natomas

Property Listing Email Updates

Sacramento’s Natomas area — which consists of the areas 95833, 95844, 95835, 95836, and 95837 — is one area that’s experienced a large number of foreclosures, and where as a result, prices have fallen hard and buyer interest is now very high.  “On paper”, from June of 2007 to June of 2008, prices in the Natomas area fell only slightly more than in Sacramento County as a whole, losing 34.% on a sold price per square foot basis, versus a county-wide 33.4%.  However, as we’ve written about before, county-wide price drops tend to be somewhat inflated because lower priced areas are over-represented.  So when you discuss a smaller area like Natomas, these large double digit price drops are more meaningful than they are over the whole county.

Therefore it’s not surprising that even though the paper difference in price drop is small, the unit volume boost in Natomas has been great even by Sacramento County standards.  Eighty-eight homes sold in Natomas in June of 2007, whereas 203 homes sold in June of 2008, an increase of 130.7%!

The average home sold in Natomas in June for $251,122, down 35.4% from last year’s average of $386,666.   With the bargains to be had, there is some degree of competition taking place.  Buyers paid an average of 99.26% of the list price for their Natomas home in June, and almost half the homes that sold (42.9%), sold for a selling price that was higher than the list price.

Some more statistics for Natomas are below.

Natomas Real Estate Unit Volume Data

Natomas Price Data

Residential Inventory (Based on 12 months of prior sales)

Residential Inventory (Based on 6 months of prior sales)