April 2021
CA Realtors expect sales to improve in coming weeks.
REALTORS® statewide remain upbeat about the housing market as California enters the traditional home buying season. More than half of REALTORS® who responded to a recent C.A.R. survey expected sales to improve in the coming weeks. Still, tight supply continues to constrain buyers; there were just 1.03 million homes for sale nationwide at the end of February, a 29.5 percent decline from the same time a year prior.
Smaller California cities dominate hottest US markets.
Smaller outlying markets continued to rise in the rankings in February, as affordability continues to be a driver of demand in spillover markets, according to Realtor.com.
In February, Vallejo-Fairfield, Calif. reclaimed the title of hottest housing market in the country after last holding it in December. The Vallejo-Fairfield metro area has been a mainstay in the top 20 hottest markets for several years. Half of all homes in Vallejo were selling in under 14 days in February - 21 days faster than last year, and 49 days faster than is typical in the rest of the country. The median price of homes in Vallejo was $510,000 in February, more affordable than nearby San Francisco, where median listing prices hovered around $1 million in February.
More homes being bought "sight unseen".
Whether trying to get ahead of the competition or have concerns about COVID-19, more buyers are still choosing to purchase a home without ever stepping foot inside. Home shoppers are relying on virtual tours or video walkthroughs from their real estate agent to help decide which home is right for them.
In July 2020, the real estate brokerage Redfin reported 45% of its consumers who purchased a home in the past year made an offer on a property without first seeing it in person.
California home receives 122 offers in two days!
A 1,400-square-foot home, 3 bedroom/2 bath - located in Citrus Heights, California, a suburb of Sacramento - was listed at $399,900.
The house received 122 offers in two days, including one above $500,000, and has since been sold for an undisclosed amount. The home's current owners predicted they would receive eight or 10 offers for their home.
The unprecedented number of offers is a symptom of a pandemic-related surge in home sales. Given the low inventory, home prices are also on the rise. Prices started soaring at the end of 2020, jumping the most in seven years by December.
March stats for Santa Cruz, Monterey & the Bay Area
Comments: We are starting to feel the uptick in new listings (25%), and not surprisingly, sales are up in all three counties by 44% over the previous month. There seems to be no slowing of days to sell, especially in Santa Clara county and obviously the list to sales price ratio follows the increase in median price and low inventory. Display of MLS data is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed accurate by the MLS.
