Home Sales Continue to Sizzle in Greater Sacramento

October new open escrows up 34 percent over last year.

During the month of October, 2,960 resale homes were placed under contract across the greater Sacramento region. That figure reflected a 6 percent increase over a solid September and an extraordinary 34 percent increase over a very productive October of 2019.

“Buyer behavior suggests that they remain very enthused with home values across the region and are not quite ready to take a break for the holiday season,” says Pat Shea, president of Lyon Real Estate. “Real estate is hyper local. Pandemic-fueled migration from the San Francisco Bay area, stable wages and consumer confidence as well as ridiculously low mortgage interest rates all signal that everything looks favorable for greater Sacramento.”

Closed sales for the month were down slightly compared to September yet up 13 percent versus October of 2019. This was both logical and expected due to the steady, new open escrow count posted over the past few months. This market information was presented by Lyon Real Estate based upon data provided by Trendgraphix Inc., a Sacramento-based reporting company.

The number of active and available homes for sale rose a welcome 5 percent since September, yet rested a concerning 48 percent lower than October of last year. Shea believes this could hamper momentum as “persistent buyers will have fewer opportunities and choices.” He stated that “based upon the current rate of sales, the region has less than one month of available housing supply. A more balanced market in this day and age would have at least two to three months of supply. Thus, more inventory at this time would surely be better.”

The $750,000 and above price point remained equally busy over the past three months, as 1,052 properties were posted as sold and closed transactions. This reflected a remarkable 82 percent jump versus the same period last year. New open escrows in the upper-end for the month of October were even with September and finished more than double those of October 2019. Inventory currently remains at approximately two months of supply, which is considered quite low in greater Sacramento for this price range.

The average closed sales price, considering all properties over the past three months, has remained steady at $537,000 and reflects a 14 percent increase compared to the same period last year. The three-month run suggests some level of price stability in spite of the high volume of sales.

New listings entering the market last month fell off 4 percent versus September in spite of all the news surrounding buyer persistence. Shea added that “this is counterintuitive as currently, greater Sacramento presents the absolute best market conditions for anyone thinking about selling their home in the near future. Why wait to see if inventory and mortgage rates start rising again? Anyone considering moving up, downsizing or changing locations should think about it right now. One can never be certain of what changes 2021 may bring.”

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.