Homes Stay on Top of Holiday Shopping Lists

November new pending sales up 31 percent versus last year.

The number of active and available homes for sale throughout Greater Sacramento declined an aggressive 22 percent since October and currently remain a staggering 52 percent below last year at this time. Relentless market demand, measured by the rate of new pending sales, left the region with less than one month of remaining home supply on Dec. 1. This market information was presented by Lyon Real Estate based upon data provided by Trendgraphix Inc., a Sacramento-based reporting company.

A total of 2,427 resale homes went under contract as pending sales, while 2,411 were posted as sold and closed across the entire region for the month of November. Both sales categories reflected significant but typical decreases when compared to October. New pending sales, however, continued to flow in and consequently were up 31 percent versus last year at this time. More homes available for sale on the market surely would have led to even more new open sales in November.

According to Pat Shea, president of Lyon Real Estate, “Re-sale buyer activity is clearly behaving much differently than we are accustomed to when considering recent year-end histories. Fortunately, new listings entering the market were up 10 percent compared to last November. Buyer demand remains red hot, thus the overall lack of homes for sale will likely hamper sales over the next few months.”

The average home sales price of $545,000 and median sales price of $480,000 for the region in November both reflect an approximate 15 percent increase compared to this time last year. A steady and consistent pattern of appreciation since January implies that prices have clearly established a sustainable “new normal” with an extended stay very likely at these levels. The region has experienced a steady rebound in home prices since the pre-recession peak in June of 2006 at $472,000 followed by the dramatic market correction that eventually ended in 2012.

All price points experienced the same result of lower inventory with steady new open escrow and closed sale figures. Homes in the move-up range of $400,000 to $750,000 enjoyed a 60 percent increase in new pending sales versus November of 2019 with the upper-end seeing an extraordinary 130 percent leap. The entry-level suffered the greatest inventory fall-off year over year, ending the month 68 percent lower than last November.

“The Greater Sacramento economy remains on its very best run ever,” says Shea. “It certainly seems cliché by now but let’s face it: San Francisco Bay Area migration, reasonable employment numbers, historically low mortgage interest rates, the stock market run, and expansive growth in local development are all screaming at buyers to keep at it. Anyone thinking about selling in 2021 should be listening as well and get on the market now. Why would anyone delay moving to their dream home or destination? Perhaps until inventory and mortgage rates start rising again? You tell me.”

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.