Resale Housing Market Down But Not Out

Only two months of supply based upon current listings and sales.

Greater Sacramento closed out 2022 with 2,612 homes posted as active and available for sale in the four-county area on December 31. This level of supply reflected a hefty 65 percent increase compared to the inventory-starved and red-hot market flourishing last year at this time. Total active inventory, however, rested 18 percent below that of the pre-pandemic period of December of 2019.

New listings entering the market during the fourth quarter were a notable 30 percent fewer than those of last year and certainly kept a lid on standing inventory. More importantly, December’s new listings fell 35 percent short of November’s, implying that prospective sellers are definitely holding off until the new year. There was slightly more than 2 months of resale housing supply available on January 1 based upon the current rate of sales. A balanced market for both buyers and sellers would typically be closer to four months.

“Inventory typically declines at year end due to holiday and weather-related seasonality,” says Pat Shea, CEO of Lyon Real Estate. “The magnitude of this retraction though, is predominantly influenced by our less attractive mortgage interest rate landscape. Rates will surely start sliding in a more favorable direction sometime in the New Year. The slowly moving yet still balanced market will make a swift and considerable resurgence quite likely.”

New open escrows, the other key metric for market momentum, further emphasized the current market malaise. New opens posted for the month of December were noted at a modest 1,005. This was the lowest number in any given month for many years and yet was only 30 percent lower than pre-pandemic December of 2019.

The median sold price of $530,000 in December retreated from $557,000 year over year. The average sold price was $584,000, down from $621,000 last year. The average price and median price in December though, were both approximately 25 percent higher than those of 2019.

Homes that closed escrow in December were on the market an average of 49 days, and sellers averaged 93 percent of their original list price. The December 2019 metrics were 46 days and 97 percent of original list price.

“It’s always darkest before the dawn,” says Shea. “Rains will subside, spring will arrive and interest rates are sure to slide. The Greater Sacramento region remains in high demand and is still very affordable compared to other major population centers in California. Federal, state and local employment numbers remain very strong and in the big picture, there is a shortage of both resale and new construction supply. Forbes Advisor just named Greater Sacramento as the best place to live in California. Stay tuned, the local housing market future is bright for both buyers and sellers.”

This market information was 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). We are 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 4,236 transactions and $2.55 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 $1,209,365 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.