Don’t Worry About Low Standing Housing Inventory

New listings are up two percent year-to-date vs. 2020.

Last year, greater Sacramento home sales were hampered in historical fashion during the months of March and April. By mid-May however, sales were well on path for an epic rebound. Consequently, year-to-date closed re-sale homes currently reflect a 21 percent increase at April 30th compared to 2020. That likely will even out later in the year when typical seasonality takes form.

Market analysts remained very concerned as standing inventory dropped to an all-time low this January with a mere 1,065 homes available in standing inventory. Buyer demand remained relentless while prospective sellers were reluctant and waiting for pandemic news to get better and for restrictions to relax. As more good news surfaced, new listings surged in March and April. Fast forward to the present, where new listings taken year-to-date at April 30 were 2 percent higher than those of last year.

“Sellers have re-entered the market in a very big way over the past few months and are now keeping pace with a hyper-active home buying community,” says Pat Shea, president of Lyon Real Estate. “This left standing inventory 31 percent higher at month-end versus the low point posted early in the year.”

Continued momentum in the market is clearly evident in all price points as new pending sales are 34 percent higher year-to-date versus those at April 30, 2020.  The upper-end homes listed at $750,000 and above have logged more than double the number of new pending sales year-to-date versus last year at this time.

The persistent buyer activity over this extended market run pushed the year-to-date average sales price for the four-county area to $592,000 over the past three months. That number reflects a 23 percent increase compared to the same period last year. Homes that closed escrow during the month of April were on the market a record low of 14 days on average. Due to the new normal of multiple offers on most listings, sellers received 104 percent of original list price on average.

“Greater Sacramento was forecasted by a number of national economists to be one of the first major market areas to get back on track after the national health crisis began to wane,” says Shea. “This year they predicted our market to be one of the hottest in the country. Well so far, that is precisely the case. Sellers that have waited for the clouds to clear are moving forward with their life plans. Bridge solutions are helping them find their next home prior to listing their properties on the market. Property tax relief has also arrived via Prop 19 to alleviate another potential obstacle. Consequently, enough properties are coming on the market to maintain momentum even though standing inventory remains a little low.”

This market information is presented by Lyon Real Estate through information provided by Trendgraphix Inc., a Sacramento based reporting company. 

About Lyon Real Estate

Lyon Real Estate is the leading independent real estate brokerage company in Greater Sacramento (Sacramento Business Journal), and is proud to be homegrown, privately owned, and internationally known. Lyon has served the area for over 75 years. Last year, the company closed a total of 5,851 transactions and $2.86 billion in sales volume. Lyon Real Estate has over 800 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. Since 2015, the Lyon Cares Foundation has contributed more than $780,000 to local nonprofits.

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.