By Beth Moran–
Real estate can’t help but be on people’s minds this spring as rents have increased in addition to gas and food and it seems this month is beginning to see a turn in the market.
The latest market stats for Citrus Heights show a 10.6% decrease in home sales from March to April and a 7.3% decrease from last year. As every sale impacts the value of your property, sellers should be careful not to get caught chasing the market down.
On the plus side, Citrus Heights saw continued increase of sales prices with a 13.1% year over year increase. Residential single-family homes in the Citrus Heights area averaged a sale price of $507,885 with homes selling 4.4% over asking price.
The days on market averaged 10 with the square foot average coming in at 1,464, that’s about $355 per square foot for a single-family home. Of the 106 residential sales, 12 were townhomes or condos. Those averaged 12 days on the market with a purchase price averaging just under $362,000 and closing at 3% over asking.
The house winning the “longest days on market” award was a probate sale. A townhome that required court approval to close escrow coming in at 76 days. So, to be clear we’re still in a hot seller’s market with inventory selling quickly.
On the negative side, the interest rate increase to 5% is starting to impact pricing and we’re seeing more price reductions. My advice is to pay close attention to what the closing sales are doing in your neighborhood. You don’t want to be chasing the market down and lose equity as the market cools off.
One area that gets little attention is the sales of mobile homes. Citrus Heights has a few mobile home parks and those sales have been increasing just as much as the traditional sales. As prices rise and people get priced out of conventional housing these more affordable homes have a greater allure.
The number of mobile homes closed in April was 20 with the average price of $135,819. You can see why these homes saw an increase in sales, as those prices sound like what I paid for my first home in Citrus Heights in 1988!
The average square footage is about 1,250, with time on market coming in at 28 days. A couple reasons these take longer to sell is because most of these homes are in age-restricted communities and also limit people in terms of pets allowed and typically has some sort of Homeowners Association. The land lease fees also impact purchases as people are not aware of those costs and sometimes fail to factor them into a mortgage, regardless of how small.
Citrus Heights also had two residential income duplexes close in April. Again, the average days on market was 10 but the price point is higher at $614,450 on average. The average closing price was at 4.6% over asking, showing a high demand for investment properties.
The real news is the number of offers, with one receiving 17 and the other 6. It just shows how much money investors have to spend driving our market up and making it hard for locals to compete.
Beth Moran is a local, independent broker (DRE #01264309) selling real estate in Citrus Heights since 1999. She can be reached at Beth@SacAgent.com
