Homebuyers are increasingly willing to spend more on houses -- if only they can find one to buy.
Sacramento housing prices continued their march upward in February, but scarcity of homes for sale defined the market in many neighborhoods. The median price of a house in Sacramento County jumped 22.6 percent in February from the same month of 2012 -- from $155,000 to $190,000, according to San Diego-based DataQuick, a real estate tracking firm.
Sales went in the opposite direction. The number of homes sold in Sacramento in February 2013 totaled 1,566, an 11.3 percent drop from the 1,766 that changed hands in the earlier period.
"I think the major reason sales are down is lack of inventory," said Andrew LePage, a DataQuick analyst. Investors have snatched up large numbers of foreclosed homes, drastically pruning inventory at the lower end of the market, he said. And homeowners are not yet convinced the time is right to sell.
"So many people are still underwater," LePage said. "And some people are not underwater, but they're holding out for a price they like."
The drop in sales was most pronounced for homes priced at $200,000 or less, at 29.8 percent. Sales actually jumped 48.3 percent for move-up houses, those priced between $300,000 and $800,000, LePage noted.
• Read more articles by Mary Lynne Vellinga
What You Should Know About Comments on Sacbee.com
Sacbee.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. (See our full terms of service here.)
Here are some rules of the road:
• Keep your comments civil. Don't insult one another or the subjects of our articles. If you think a comment violates our guidelines click the "Report Abuse" link to notify the moderators. Responding to the comment will only encourage bad behavior.
• Don't use profanities, vulgarities or hate speech. This is a general interest news site. Sometimes, there are children present. Don't say anything in a way you wouldn't want your own child to hear.
• Do not attack other users; focus your comments on issues, not individuals.
• Stay on topic. Only post comments relevant to the article at hand.
• Do not copy and paste outside material into the comment box.
• Don't repeat the same comment over and over. We heard you the first time.
• Do not use the commenting system for advertising. That's spam and it isn't allowed.
• Don't use all capital letters. That's akin to yelling and not appreciated by the audience.
• Don't flag other users' comments just because you don't agree with their point of view. Please only flag comments that violate these guidelines.
You should also know that The Sacramento Bee does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "Report Abuse" link to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at feedback@sacbee.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.
If you submit a comment, the user name of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them.
Order Reprint
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "Report Abuse" link below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.