Doug’s Crystal Ball
(AKA - Educated Guess):
I am asked almost daily by both buyers and sellers on where this market is headed. And while I don’t have a crystal ball, I can still provide my opinion/guess. There is an interesting dynamic to the market right now. The homes that are priced right/show well/marketed great are getting sold in a short period of time with a lot of buyer activity. On the other end, the houses that miss one of those aspects are sitting and having little/no activity until the prices are reduced to get more attention. Bottom line, the buyers have become more picky because the inventory has increased and the amount of investors/cash offers has slowed down. History shows that Sacramento has always been a very cyclical real estate market, most of the sales happen in the spring/summer and taper offer in the fall.
SO, Here’s my personal opinion: If you’re considering selling your house in the next few months, I would suggest getting it on now before the buying season continues to slow down. IF you’re a buyer out there: figure out exactly what you are looking for and get preapproved with an excellent lender. Look over the properties that have been sitting on the market with your agent, if something catches your eye see if you can negotiate the price down. And lastly, be ready to jump all over the perfect property that comes on the market any day now because those are still selling fast, at or above list price.
By the end of the year, i see the inventory increased to probably around 4 months (we are currently at 2.2 months), the median will probably decline a little bit from the $270k we are at and i think buyer's will have a little more power in the transaction compared to the last few years. I think these will all be subtle shifts but noticeable.
Only time will tell if I’m right but that is what I’m currently seeing in the market….
