Sacramento-area sales of new and existing homes reached a 2009 high in July as 3,815 buyers closed escrow, researcher MDA DataQuick reported this morning.
The sales tally included 3,495 existing homes and 320 new homes in Amador, El Dorado, Nevada, Placer, Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba counties, according to the La Jolla-based researcher. Six of every 10 closed escrows were in Sacramento County, said DataQuick.
July sales beat June’s 3,758 total. But it was well below 4,126 closings in July 2008.
It’s the second straight month that sales have fallen below last year, when a massive supply of discounted bank repos fueled a sharp uptick in sales to first-time buyers and investors. The share of repo sales, which exceeded 70 percent early this year, fell below half in Sacramento County in July, according to the Sacramento Association of Realtors.
A dwindling share of repos drove up the county’s median price again in July to $180,000, DataQuick reported. That’s after two months holding steady at $175,000.
More significantly, the rate of year-over-year price declines greatly slowed again in July in Sacramento County, with prices 14.3 percent below the same time last year. For much of the past two years Sacramento County’s median prices – where half the homes sell for more and half for less – have slipped 30 percent or more from the same time a year earlier.
Regional highlights from DataQuick for new and existing homes combined:
• Sacramento County reported 2,318 sales, up from 2,284 in June. The $180,000 median price compared to $210,000 in June 2008.
• Placer County reported 617 sales, up from 598 in June. The county’s median sales price of $295,500 was down 14.3 percent from $345,000 last year.
•El Dorado County’s 237 sales were up from 218 in June. Its median price, $330,000 was down 15.4 percent from $390,000 in July 2008.
• Yolo County’s 240 sales were up from 225 in June. The county’s $281,500 median price was down 3.9 percent from $293,000 the same time last year.
• Sutter County reported 110 sales, down from 123 in June. The county’s $160,000 median price was down 21.2 percent from last year’s $203,000.
• Yuba County’s 113 sales were also down from 136 in June. The $155,000 median price was down 15.5 percent from $183,500 in July 2008.
• Nevada County reported 151 closed escrows, up from 143 in June. The county’s median sales price, $320,000, was down 14.1 percent from $372,500 the same time last year.
• Amador County’s 29 sales were down from 31 in June. Its $197,250 median price was down 32.6 percent from $292,750 in July 2008.
Regionally, the number of for-sale signs also fell for a 23rd straight month in El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento and Yolo counties after peaking at 16,262 in Aug. 2007. Sacramento-based researcher TrendGraphix reported 6,572 homes on the market in the four counties as July ended, the fewest in four years.
TrendGraphix said 14 percent of the for-sale signs were tied to bank repos and 27 percent to buyers seeking short sales, where banks accept less than owed to avoid the higher costs of foreclosing.
The real estate service Trulia also reported this week that 27 percent of Sacramento-area listings have cut prices, with the average drop being 11 percent.
