Fewer Sacramento-area homes hit the market as sales slow at the end of 2025

Home prices are dipping slightly in the Sacramento area as the real estate market softens at the end of 2025, analysts said.

“The good news for buyers today is (mortgage) rates are slightly lower right now and so are prices,” said Ryan Lundquist, a certified residential appraiser and housing market analyst.

“Granted, it hasn’t been enough to attract a flood of buyers off the sidelines, but this seems like a step in the right direction,” Lundquist said.

Overall, though, the market in Sacramento is slower than last year.

“The fundamental issue is there’s not enough housing and it’s not affordable,” said Mike Frank of Community Lending Group.

Even if interest rates are lower, he said high monthly payments make it impossible for many first-time buyers or people looking to move to a bigger or smaller home.

“Their personal economy is not thriving,” Frank said. He said costs and fees associated with new home construction will need to come down to ease a “slow slog” in the Sacramento-area housing market.

Here’s what to know:

Housing prices fall slightly

Median home prices in the Sacramento area fell 3.36% to $575,000 from $595,000 in November 2025 compared to the same time last year, Lundquist said.

Average home prices fell by nearly 3% to $645,773 in the same period, he said. Averages can be skewed by extremely high or low numbers, while the median highlights the exact middle of a range of numbers.

A Zillow analysis found that average home values in the Sacramento area fell 2.3% to $567,352 in 2025. The analysis found that 29.4% of homes sold for more than the list price and 53% sold for below list price.

Homes spent more time on market

Homes spent an average of 54 days on the market in November 2025, compared to 41 days in November 2024, Lundquist said.

“It’s taking almost two weeks longer to sell, which reflects sellers overpricing and buyers taking more time to shop,” Lundquist said.

The median number of days on the market rose to 33 days from 21 days a year ago, a 57.1% jump, he said. The Zillow analysis shows a median of 30 days to pending.

Kelly Pleasant, a Realtor, said he has seen a slight uptick in buyer activity at the end of the year, perhaps as a result of recent interest rates and better affordability. Sellers, however, are being more conservative.

“You still have homes that are sitting out there,” Pleasant said. “I think it’s a lack of sellers having a picture of what the market is right now.”

Sellers who want the same prices their homes commanded several years ago are having a harder time, Pleasant said.

“Buyers are saying, ‘hey, I’ll wait it out,’” he said.

Slightly more homes are selling for cash, accounting for 16.2% of sales in November 2025 compared to 14.9% a year ago, Lundquist said.

The total number of sales in November 2025 dropped by 4.4% compared to the previous year, he said. The number of bank-owned sales and short sales stayed about the same.

“Buyers today are very picky about condition, price and location. And if a property doesn’t fit what they’re looking for, they’ll simply wait for something better to come along,” Lundquist said. “This is why sellers have to price it right and be open to negotiate with buyers throughout the escrow process.”

Sellers pull homes off market

“One of the most interesting things we’ve seen this year is sellers have backed off from listing homes,” Lundquist said. “Since April we’ve had increased uncertainty, and sellers notably started to come to the market in lower numbers.”

The number of sellers has dropped in the past four months, compared to the same time in 2024, he said.

“Sellers have also pulled listings from the market, as there are about 30% more canceled listings this year so far,” Lundquist said.

That means a reduced selection for potential buyers, he said. Also, sellers may be waiting for the new year to list their homes.

Zillow showed an inventory of 6,428 homes for sale in the Sacramento area for November 2025.

Pleasant said he also suspects many sellers are waiting to see what the new year brings before listing their homes.

This story was originally published December 29, 2025 at 11:45 AM.