Keep it Real in Sacramento

The number of vacant homes for sale in the United States set a new record in the first quarter of 2008, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Monday.

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Get this, now is the time when inventory of homes on the market traditionally increases and should continue to so as we move into summer but inventory is remarkably stable right now.  Even with the large numbers of foreclosures in the Sacramento area during the first quarter we are seeing inventory staying right around 15,000 and even edged down last week.  We still have more “For Sale”  homes than wanted to achieve a balanced market but the fact that it is not increasing rapidly as it has in the past two years is very good news.  For sellers the icing on this cake is, believe it or not, according to our friends at HousingTracker the median asking price has actually increased in the past week.  For the week ending yesterday, the median asking price was $307,000 up $2,000 from the previous week.

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It is just a number but when you think about the families having to move from their homes and lives disrupted, 5,278 foreclosures in Sacramento and surrounding counties during the past three months is staggering. For more details about the Sacramento foreclosures check out my column, “Foreclosures Skyrocket, “over at Rocklin & Roseville Today.

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I must have forgotten to knock on wood last week when I babbled on about For Sale Declines and being amazed that inventory of homes on the market in the Sacramento area were declining and prices were holding steady.  I just surfed over to HousingTracker to take a look at inventory and prices this week and was surprised again, for a different reason.

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Assistance programs have been around for years but are re-emerging now that most lenders require down payments before they will finance a home. Check out my latest column, “Down Payment Assistance,” over at Roseville & Rocklin Today where I write about a few of the programs we have used, how they can benefit both buyers and sellers and where to get more information.

Here we are on Wednesday of the week where we are expected to get some 80 degree weather during the coming weekend.  That feels good to me and so does what is starting to happen in the Sacramento and Roseville real estate market.  Check out my column, “Warmer weather brings out buyers,” over at Roseville & Rocklin Today and see why I am starting to feel optimistic.

Okay, make me officially amazed!  Inventory has not started growing like it normally does this time of year, it has actually declined.  According to our friends over at HousingTracker, the number of homes on the market in the Sacramento area has declined 2.9 percent in the past month and now stands at less than 15,000 for the first time since the low last spring of just over 13,000.   This trend if it continues could make for an interesting second half of the year.

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There are many industry professionals and local agents clamoring about a recovery of our troubled Sacramento real estate market but I am feeling cautious because I have been dealing with so many shorts sales and foreclosures.  It is nice to hear about agents being busy and see some houses move so check out why I am not smiling in my weekly column, “No Smiles Yet” over at Roseville & Rocklin Today.

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Yesterday the Senate announced that it had reached a bipartisan compromise on a plan to aid families facing foreclosure.  This is good news as the lawmakers have been unable to reach agreement on some of the key provisions already passed by the house.

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It's April 1st again and that means there are some crazy things flying around the Internet.  Some of it is difficult to tell if it a joke or not but most of it is fun.  Here is a list I found earlier with links to some April 1st jokes.

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