Sacramento: Inventory Down Prices Up

Buyer demand in the Sacramento real estate market is increasing while inventory of homes for sale is declining.  You don’t need to be an economist to understand this is putting upward pressure on home prices throughout the Sacramento region. 

From a national perspective the number of homes for sale is near record lows for single family homes.  The level of homes for sale is approximately 19 percent below where it was a year ago.  California cities have seen some of the steepest drops in inventory levels in the past year and some of the largest price increases.

Nationally, the Sacramento metro area ranks 10th with an inventory drop of 36.4 percent.  Oakland has experienced a drop of almost 60 percent which is the largest change of all metro areas.

Other cities experiencing large drops of inventory include Fresno (47.81%), Bakersfield (44.71%), Stockton – Lodi (40.24%) and Atlanta at number 9 with a 38.27 percent decline.

A report from Dataquick shows what is happening to prices in our Sacramento housing market as result of declining inventory.  The median price of a single family home in Sacramento County increased 5.6 percent from the same month last year to $170,000.  In Placer County the increase was 9.6 percent and El Dorado County saw a 7.6 percent year-over-year price gain. The median price in all three counties increased in July from the previous month.

Some of this price increase can be attributed to increasing demand; especially from investors have returned to the market.  Almost 37 percent of all July home sales were to investors.

Buyers are having an increasingly difficult time finding the “perfect house” and when they do they are often in stiff competition to buy it.  This is particularly true in the under $200,000 price range where many investors have cash to buy.

Julie Jalone

If you or someone you know is considering buying, please feel free to contact me MagnumOne Realty office in Roseville at (916) 276-6883 and email at [email protected].

We specialize serving the needs of buyers and sellers of homes in the Roseville and Sacramento area including Sacramento, Placer, El Dorado, Sutter and Yuba counties.

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