Winter 2024 Sacramento Market Snapshot

In the last few weeks the market has achieved a relative stasis point in terms of sales to inventory. The market has been cooling over time and prices plateaued for a while. However, inventory is sufficiently low to keep us in the Seller’s Market zone. If the market heats up, prices are likely to resume an upward climb.

As always, Ryan Lundquist of the Sacramento Appraisal Blog has the best insights on the local market. There’s been a lot of doomsaying about the prospect of prices dropping, some even say by as much as 40%. However, Ryan states, “there is nothing wrong with prices going down, and that would be healthy to create more affordability, but we don’t have enough supply right now to see a massive drop like that. With that said, the positive news for buyers this year is we’ve seen a wider gap emerge between the number of listings and sales, and that has definitely softened the market.” Distressed sales are barely even a thing right now, so there’s not much indication of a massive glut and price plunge.

That said, one of the more notable dynamics in the market is that condos are struggling. There are a number of factors at play here, including rising insurance costs (if you can even get insured at all!), increasing HOA fees, trouble obtaining financing from lenders, and maybe even some issues with California’s new balcony law (though that deadline has been extended to January 2026). Condo sales volume is the lowest it’s been in decades, while inventory has spiked, putting downward pressure on pricing. However, as with all market data, there is no one-size-fits-all. After all, we recently had a client who sold his Willow Creek condo at asking price and with only a handful of days on market. It goes to show that well prepared and sensibly priced properties can move even when there are economic headwinds.

Winter 2024 Sacramento Market Snapshot

December 2024 Market Report

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