Sacramento region’s home market cools a bit. Could that mean relief for Elk Grove buyers?
Demand for new homes in the Sacramento region remains strong but sales look to settle into a more normal seasonal pattern, say local building industry experts.
That could be slightly better news for Elk Grove home buyers.
The Sacramento Bee scanned online realty sites Realtor.com, Redfin and Zillow in the wake of the June sales numbers, finding Elk Grove continues to be a seller’s market with median home listings in the $575,000 to $595,000 range for all homes, well above the $530,000 to $550,000 seen in the spring.
But the median home sold price in Elk Grove dipped slightly from May’s $600,000 to $598,000 in June, according to Realtor.com. Homes still went for nearly 6.5% above asking price on average in June and were on the market for five weeks — 37 days — before agents tacked on the sold sign. The 37-day time frame is unchanged from May, according to Realtor.com
And the Sacramento region’s red-hot new home market showed slight signs of cooling with monthly sales in June slipping below the same month last year.
“Demand for new homes in the Sacramento region remains extremely strong but it appears that sales are beginning to settle into a more normal seasonal pattern, unlike the sharp jump that occurred during the second half of 2020,” said Michael LaFortune, chair of the North State Building Industry Association, in its June 2021 Sacramento region new home sales report.
The region’s 625 home sales in June were lower than the 655 posted in June 2020, the first time since May 2020 that sales were lower than in the year-before month, the building association said.
California Association of Realtors President Dave Walsh is seeing the same trend play out statewide as sales of existing single-family homes also slowed in June.
“We’re starting to see what a difference just a slight uptick in inventory and listings can do to help lessen the buying frenzy and create a sense of normalcy,” Walsh said in a statement announcing the association’s June home sales and price report.
At Redfin, the typical sale price for a home in Elk Grove - new and existing - was $595,000 in June, but sellers were able to get 7.1% above list and homes stayed on the market for only six days, according to the online realty site.
Even with the market cooling ever so slightly, Elk Grove home prices continue to post dramatic gains over the same time last year.
Prices were up nearly 23% year-over-year in June, according to Realtor.com. Zillow’s Home Value Index also pegged its one-year change at 23%; while Redfin’s $595,000 June average rose a full 29.7% over the same month last year.
But that still barely managed to keep pace with the statewide trend, the California Association of Realtors said.
California’s median home price of $819,630 in June set a record high for the fourth straight month and was 30.9% higher than June 2020. The statewide median price increased more than 30% year-over-year for the third consecutive month.
“Tight supply, low rates and the change in the mix of sales continue to be the primary factors pushing up home prices to record levels,” said realtors association vice president and chief economist Jordan Levine in a statement.
But Levine added that the state realtors association expects that growth to slow heading into the second half of 2021 as prices on the top end of the price scale begin to moderate.
California home buyers are already feeling some relief, even in a still-hot market, Walsh said in the statement. That could give would-be Elk Grove home buyers hope.
“The market is still extremely competitive, with 70% of homes selling above list price,” Walsh said. “However, the number of new listings increased in June and both the share of listings with a reduced price and median reduction amount increased, giving buyers more opportunities to purchase.”
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