Summer Home Sales Still Trending Up

June closed sales jump 9 percent versus May!

Year-over-year resale home market metrics remain very favorable throughout greater Sacramento at the halfway mark of 2021. This is largely due to the pandemic interruption suffered in the second quarter of last year. Specifically, closed escrows are 20 percent higher, new open escrows are 11 percent higher and new listings taken are 2 percent higher than those of 2020 at mid-year. The extraordinary rate of sales though, has left standing inventory 17 percent below that of June 30, 2020.

Current trends, however, suggest that the market remains very strong and most likely will continue that way for the near future. Closed escrows posted during the month of June across the region totaled 2,764 and finished 9 percent greater than those of May. New open escrows were up 5 percent and new listings up 3 percent month over month. A well needed lift in new listings over the past few months has lead to current standing inventory resting 16 percent above the number posted on May 31. Prospective buyers remain under duress though, with the amount of available housing supply still at a meager 15 days based upon the persistent rate of sales.

New open escrows in the upper-end, or $750,000-and above price point, are powering the market as 1,579 homes were placed under contract in April through June. That number was more than double the amount posted for the same period last year. The move-up, $400,000 to $750,000 range was 33 percent higher but the entry-level, or homes priced below $400,000, was 43 percent lower.

“The entry-level of old is rapidly disappearing due to a severe lack of inventory and the rapid ascent of the average sale price,” says Pat Shea, president of Lyon Real Estate. “It is probably time that we acknowledge that greater Sacramento home prices have dramatically and permanently closed the gap with those of the San Francisco East Bay region.”

The average sales price for the month of June registered $652,000, another 1.5 percent increase compared to May. The median price was $565,000. The running 3-month average sales price is currently 30 percent higher than last year for the same period and the median is 26 percent higher. Homes that closed escrow during the month of June were on the market a record low of 12 days on average. Due to multiple offers on most listings, sellers averaged 104 percent of their original list price for the entire second quarter.

“Fortunately, enough new listing inventory is arriving on the market each month to keep the market moving in a big way,” says Shea. “The local employment landscape continues to steadily improve and the Federal Reserve is keeping mortgage interest rates at rock bottom. That all indicates that the residential real estate party in greater Sacramento is far from over.”

This market information is presented by Lyon Real Estate based upon data 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 850 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 $865,000 to local nonprofits. For more information about Lyon Real Estate, click to GoLyon.com.

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.