A Different Look at May Real Estate Numbers

This week I had a chance to look at the DataQuick Real Estate reports. DQ includes resale of single family homes, condos and new homes. When looking at the local real estate market from this perspective it is clear the days of rapid appreciation is over and right now we are even seeing declines in the median sales price in some areas. For more details take a look at my column at Rocklin & Roseville Today.

We are also posting more photos of our Alaska journey on www.jalone.com.

Weddings and Inventory

It has been a busy weekend here in Anchorage but I did get a chance to check out the inventory of homes for sale at HousingTracker. My best friend, Dannelle’s wedding was beautiful and it was an honor and a pleasure to be part of her special day as she married a great guy, Mark Lynch.

It has been awhile since I checked inventory but was not surprised to see it has continued go grow in Sacramento as reported by HousingTracker. In the first three weeks of June ending on June 21 inventory is up over 800 to 10,895, which is a 47 percent increase from six months ago. The median asking price which had been holding steady through most of May has now come down to $390,000, a 1.3 percent decline from a month ago.

On the bright side, Dannelle scored a beautiful Alaska summer afternoon and we all enjoyed a beautiful outdoor wedding at O’Malley’s golf course. Mark and Dannelle are both avid golfers and the golf theme was carried out wonderfully throughout the day. We have our fingers crossed for an equally beautiful day for Kevyn and Dave!

I am posting photos at www.jalone.com/id59.html

More Than May Flowers

In addition to May flowers the local Sacramento real estate market saw an increase in the number of homes sold and at a higher price than the previous month. As expected homes coming on the market exceeded those sold or taken off and the level of inventory in the four county area has exceeded 13,000.

Sacramento, Place and El Dorado all had increases in the median sales price while Yolo County remained about even with the April numbers. For more information and some details of what happened in May see my real estate news page at jalone.com.

As much as we read about what is happening in the market it continues to amaze me how many homes are coming on the market with sales prices that are not close to being aggressive. After almost five years of rapidly rising prices it is difficult to imagine not selling your home for more than your neighbor did two months ago. Way to many sellers are taking what I call a “lets give it a try” approach rather than coming on the market with the price they know will get sellers attention. I firmly believe there is a about a 10 day period when you come on the market and generate some excitement. If the home is priced high the showing, if any, are minimal. You can’t sell your home if no one is looking at it.

Overall the good news is more homes are selling and the median sales price is up a bit in May. It has clearly become a buyers market but for sellers priced at appropriate levels there are interested buyers.

Alaska!

I apologize for not keeping up with the blog the past week. Not only have I been busy with real estate but trying to get ready to be away for a few weeks was more work than I imagined so the entries here did not get done.

Today, we woke up to a beautiful Alaska morning. As you may know, this time of year, it never gets very dark. After a grueling day of travel we finally made it here last night about 1 AM California time. We are staying with my Sister Lynn and her family so we had to have a few glasses of wine (Ken – Thanks for opening some of your collection bottles last night, they were spectacular, especially the 1978 Stags Leap Cask 23….wow!)

Over the next few weeks my normal real estate babble is going to be more travel log so I hope you will check in and see what we are up to. I will also be adding some photos.

By the way, if there was ever glamour in traveling it is long gone. Airport and airline workers throughout our journey yesterday were generally unprepared, did not know, and in some cases did not care. Oh well, we made it and will be here for summer solstice next week!

Catch-up

If you have been reading my blog I spent a good deal of time this past week talking about the growing inventory of homes for sale in our market. Well I am adding to the number with my third listing in the Diamond Wood community of West Roseville. My first listing should be closing soon but the other two on Greywood Circle and Barnwood Lane are both beautiful homes and I feel fortunate to have them on the market. If you are looking for a large house with a downstairs master bedroom the Barnwood home may be just right. Call or email me to arrange a showing.

I want to all your attention to my June Newsletter which was just mailed late last week. I think it is a fun edition and if you are on my mailing list, I hope you enjoy it. Make sure you enter the trivia contest for a chance to win a brand new iPod!

If you don't get my newsletter but would like to, click here and sign up. They are fun with no heavy emphasis on real estate. You can get all of that stuff here!

Is it just me or is this time of year almost too busy? I am looking for those “lazy days of summer!” Well we have a little guy at our house and we hosted an end of the year party for him and his school buddies. That turned out to be quite a party!

Take a look at my column at Rocklin & Roseville Today, Roseville – May and YTD. I have some early numbers for homes sold, inventory and days on the market during May for Roseville. I am starting to pick up some hints that June could be a busy real estate month.

If you get on our website, www.jalone.com, this week take a look at our Mark in Iraq page. It is easy to forget our Soldiers are working hard for us in some not so pleasant circumstances

More Inventory Talk

To continue our look at the May growth or homes available for sale we look at Sacramento and Yolo counties today.

If you were looking to buy a house in Sacramento during May there were 8,138 homes to choose from at the beginning of the month. By the end of the month that number had grown to 9,328 homes, an increase of 14.6 percent.

In Yolo County we saw a growth of 155 homes available to sale to a total of 892 houses on the market. For the month of May, for the four county region, Yolo County experienced the greatest rate of growth at 20.9 percent for the month.

As I said over the past few days the fact that inventory grew in May is not surprising but the level of inventory in the four county area is the significant issue because it has grown quickly and to date not shown any signs of slowing. At the same time there are buyers out there and people that want to sell so in the middle of all this change in the market there is a normal cycle of buying and selling.

For the overall report on May inventory growth in our real estate market see my column today, May Inventory Growth is Not a Surprise, at Rocklin & Roseville Today.

Placer and El Dorado Inventory of Homes for Sale

My theme for the next few days is the number of homes available for sale and the increasing numbers we experienced in May. Yesterday I talked about the four county area and today I will look at Placer and El Dorado counties. Tomorrow it will be Sacramento and Yolo counties.

During May the increase of homes on the market in Placer County increased by 470 to 2,979 available for sale. Having more homes listed for sale than sold, expired or taken off the market increased the number of homes for sale by 18 percent from the previous month and is the largest single growth month of the year. The year-to-date growth in inventory is 1,147 which is a 62 percent increase for the year end 2005 number.

In El Dorado County we also see May as the month with the largest increase in homes available for sale. The number increased 264 to a total of 1,593 homes for sale. This is almost 20 percent growth for the month and the total is up over 43 percent for the year.

It is not surprising that more homes are listed than sold during May as we enter the busy season in real estate. The overall level of inventory clearly indicates we have moved from a sellers market to a buyers market. Although I do not have the May 2005 inventory levels they were significantly lower than the current inventory levels. In April of 2005 there were 594 homes for sale in El Dorado compared to almost 1,600 today. In Placer, at the end of April 2005 there were 1,070 home for sale compared to almost 3,000 today. An important indicator of how our market is going to fare this year will be seen in the inventory levels over the next two months. Typically we would expect to see growth of inventory slow and start decline over that time period.

May Inventory Growth is Not a Surprise

The inventory of available homes continued to grow in May. As expected in the busy spring selling season, more homes came onto the market in May than any other month so far this year. This was the case in all four counties that make-up the greater Sacramento area. May is traditionally one of the busiest times of the year for the real estate market but the big question is will we begin to see this ease in the later parts of June and July?

The total number of homes coming on the market in El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, and Yolo counties during May was 2,077. This brought the total homes available for sale to 14,871 which is a year to date increase of 4,761 or 47 percent from year end 2005 numbers. May additions were almost 44 percent of the increase this year.

Check back tomorrow when I take a closer look at each of the four counties.

May Inventory Growth is Not a Surprise

The inventory of available homes continued to grow in May. As expected in the busy spring selling season, more homes came onto the market in May than any other month so far this year. This was the case in all four counties that make-up the greater Sacramento area. May is traditionally one of the busiest times of the year for the real estate market but the big question is will we begin to see this ease in the later parts of June and July?

The total number of homes coming on the market in El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, and Yolo counties during May was 2,077. This brought the total homes available for sale to 14,871 which is a year to date increase of 4,761 or 47 percent from year end 2005 numbers. May additions were almost 44 percent of the increase this year.

Check back tomorrow when I take a closer look at each of the four counties.