Home Sales, Inventory and Prices Continue Spring Climb

The region’s average sales price reaches $467,000 for April

The Greater Sacramento Region continued a familiar pattern of rising inventory and increased sales after an unusually slow start to the new year. Active and available homes for sale increased 14 percent in the month of April versus March and now stand 10 percent higher than last year at this time. Entry-level homes below $400,000, did not fare quite as well with current inventory 12 percent below that of April 30, 2018. This market information is presented by Lyon Real Estate through information provided by Trendgraphix Inc., a Sacramento based reporting company.

Buyer demand through new pending sales did maintain significant pressure on the market as 2,924 open escrows were reported in April. This number was 10 percent greater than April of last year and marked the most for any one month since May of 2017. The increased pending sales data also followed a noteworthy, 2,438 open escrow count for March. These metrics helped influence the third consecutive month of upward price pressure on closed sales culminating with a $467,000 average sales price for April. Average sales prices over the past few months are currently tracking approximately 3 percent higher than last year at this time and have now reached a level last seen in September of 2007.

Entry-level housing remains exceptionally scarce as there were merely 1,057 properties available throughout the region below $400,000 by month end. The rapid rate of new sales once again made a significant impact as 1,241 homes were placed under contract in April. These figures left the price range with less than 1 month of supply as buyer demand continues to meet or beat the number of new listings entering the market.

The move-up market, or $400,000 to $750,000 price range, enjoys a little more breathing room with 11 percent more homes presently available compared to April of 2018. New open escrows reported for the month however, were 25 percent higher than March and 16 percent greater than last April. There remains 1.3 months of supply based upon inventory and the rate of new sales.

Inventory in the upper-end, specifically $750,000 and above, showed 861 properties on the market at month end. Homes available in this price range are already nearing peak periods reached during the summer of last year. There is a silver lining though, as a remarkable 261 new open escrows were posted in the price range last month. This marks a 31 percent jump versus March, a 24 percent increase compared to April of 2018 and also the highest number reached since July of 2005.

“Regional and national media outlets regularly report that San Francisco Bay area residents and others throughout the state continue to seek the affordability and excellent home values found throughout the Greater Sacramento market,” says Pat Shea, president of Lyon Real Estate. “Positive consumer confidence, solid employment numbers and very favorable mortgage interest rates are keeping locals in the game as well. It certainly remains a fabulous time to buy or move up in 2019.”

ABOUT LYON REAL ESTATE

Lyon Real Estate is the leading independent real estate brokerage company in Greater Sacramento (Sacramento Business Journal). We are proud to be home grown, locally owned and internationally known. Lyon has served the area for over 70 years. In 2018, the company closed 6,411 transactions worth a total of $2.9 billion in sales volume. Lyon Real Estate has over 900 agents in 17 offices located throughout the region. The company is a member of the Leading Real Estate Companies of the World ® , the largest network of premier locally-branded firms, as well as LeadingRE’s Luxury Portfolio International ®  program. In addition to its real estate services, Lyon Real Estate offers RELO Direct, a global relocation program. For more information about Lyon Real Estate, click to  GoLyon.com  and follow us on  Facebook.com/Lyon RealEstate.

ABOUT TRENDGRAPHIX, INC.

TrendGraphix, Inc. is a real estate reporting company based in Sacramento that uses local Multiple Listing Service (MLS) data to provide highly-visual market statistical graphs to real estate brokers, agents, and MLS/Realtor associations across the country. TrendGraphix’s programs are currently used by tens of thousands of agents in more than 250 brokerages in 48 states. For more information about TrendGraphix, visit www.trendgraphix.com.