It’s been a few months since we looked at the real estate landscape of the North Highlands area and since then a few changes have occurred, although none can be considered earth shattering. Foreclosure sales have fallen, as elsewhere in Sacramento county and at a 63.3% decline year over year the change is significant. Just 22 REOs sold this October over 60 last October. Needless to say, the ratio of distressed property sales to non-distressed is now at 3:2 as compared with over 9:1 last year at this time! Overall unit volume in sales has dropped 37.1% overall.

Average sold price per square foot is now at $94.08 higher than when we last checked but still on average 6.8% lower than it was a year ago when it was $100.99 – barely over the $100 mark. Average sales price is now $103,264 also a decline of 8.3% year over year from $112,580. Median sales price is now $103,000.

Overall inventory is at 2.5 months based on the last year of sales and 3.1 months based on the last six months of sales.

Where can you buy real estate in Sacramento county for the amazing price of under $100 per square foot? The answer has to be North Highlands. But the more amazing part is that prices have recently fallen even further. Average sold price per square foot here is currently $87.62 which is a 9% price drop year over year from $96.32 last July. Average sales price is currently $96,376, which is a 10.2% drop from last July’s $107,267. Median sales price rests at $95,000.

In spite of the low prices, just 59 homes sold in the area, a unit volume drop of 11.9% year over year. Foreclosure sales fell by 52.5% while short sales gained by 1000% (which is to say that for 1 foreclosure last July, 11 sold this July.) Non-distressed sales gained by 186% for the same period. A third of the sales are now non-distressed sales.

Inventory is at 2.5 months based on the last year of sales and 2.9 months based on the last six months of sales.

Real estate is always such a fascinating study and lately it’s been interesting to see some of the theory in action: mainly, when foreclosures dry up, prices start to go up. Homebuyers also start to see value in the better priced non-distressed homes in more affordable neighborhoods. That’s exactly what we are beginning to see in North Highlands. Foreclosure sales fell 65% year over year in this area and short sales also lost ground by 82%. Meanwhile, non-distressed sales gained a whopping 533% year over year! Overall unit sales were still down however by 42.3% for the same period.

Average sold price per square foot while still 11% under last June is inching slowly toward the $100 per square foot mark. It is currently $94.68 down from $106.15 a year ago. Average sales price is $108,666, down 9.7% year over year from a high of $120,380. Median sales price is $108,000.

Inventory in North Highlands is at 2.2 months based on the last year of sales and 2.6 months based on the last six months of sales.

Nothing much has changed in terms of inventory or prices in the real estate market in North Highlands and yet it seems like someone put the brakes on the sales. This might be a result of more short sales entering the market as compared with foreclosures. Whatever the reason, overall unit volume is down 40.4% year over year, foreclosure sales are down 47.5%, short sales are also down 40% and there has been no change in the non-distressed property sales. Just 31 homes sold in the area.

As mentioned before, if you’re looking toward prices to tell you the story of why sales have slowed, it’s the wrong place to look. Prices are still March 2009 levels, perhaps a few a cents cheaper. Current price per square foot is $78.88 which is 29% lower year over year and average sales price continues to however around the $90,000 mark at $89,100 which is still 32% less than someone would have paid a year ago. Median sales price is at $90,080.

Inventory is at 2.5 months based on the last year of sales and 2.8 months based on the last six months of sales. Foreclosure inventory is still at 0.3 months no matter how you look at it.

Lots of sales and lower (and lower!) prices have fueled the real estate market in North Highlands. 64 homes sold this month in the area as compared with just 49 a year ago – that’s a unit volume increase of 31%. Of the homes sold, 43 were foreclosure sales, 8 were short sales and the rest 13 were non-distressed. So distress sales continue to dominate the real estate sales market, even though the non-distressed sales almost doubled year over year.

Where is the bottom for the prices? No one knows. Currently average sold price per square foot is $79.92, that’s 29% under last April’s $112.88. Average sales price in the area rests at $93,641 down 27.5% from last April’s $129,220. The median sales price is currently $87,925, down 29.7% year over year from a high of $125,000.

Inventory is at 2.1 months. Foreclosure inventory is at 0.3 months, so unless we see more REOs soon, it’s slim pickings for foreclosure sales and homebuyers might be forced to take a look at some of the short sales. Short sale inventory is at 20.8 months.

With foreclosures and short sales galore, the real estate sales aren’t slowing down any time soon in the North Highlands area of Sacramento county. A total of 47 homes sold in March of this year as compared with 34 last March – that’s a unit volume increase of 38.2% year over year.

35 foreclosures sold this month along with 4 short sales and only 8 non-distressed homes. You can tell where the bargain hunters are! Thus 83% of all sales are now distress sales. But year over year, we see an increase in sales in all the above. Foreclosure sales have seen an increase of 25% year over year, short sales an increase of 300% and non-distressed homes an increase of 60% for the same period.

The average price per square foot has dropped 31.4% year over year. The price has plummeted from $118.59 to $81.41. Average sales price has fallen 31% from $137,719 to $94,989 currently. The median sales price is currently $85,000, down 39.7% from $141,000 year over year.

Inventory at North Highlands is at 2.2 months.