spring market in 2024 - Sacramento Appraisal Blog

The spring market is awake. Today I want to talk about some trends I’m seeing, debunk a myth, and share some super random stats involving pickleball, Starbucks, and other stuff (sorry). Haha.

UPCOMING (PUBLIC) SPEAKING GIGS:
01/31/24 Joel Wright & Mike Gobbi Event 9am (on Zoom here)
02/01/24 Gateway Event (private)
2/09/24 PCAR WCR Event (11:30am-1pm (more details))
2/13/24 Downtown Regional MLS Meeting 9am
3/11/24 Yolo Association of Realtors (YAR only)
3/26/24 Orangevale MLS meeting 9am
4/11/24 Lindsay Carlisle Event (private)
4/25/24 HomeSmart iCare Realty (details TBA)

THE SPRING MARKET IS WAKING UP

The market typically starts to wake up in January, and then we really see things kick into high gear by March when more new listings and more pendings really start to happen. But right now, we’re seeing an uptick in new listings, more bidding wars, and buyers pouncing on the good stuff so to speak. Keep in mind it takes a couple of months before today’s pendings start to close, so there is a lag in seeing a hotter market in the sales data.

THIS IS NOT 2021 THOUGH:

Let me clarify that this is NOT the insanely hot housing market we had in 2021, so let’s keep things in perspective here.

NEW LISTINGS COULD OUTPACE LAST JANUARY

New listings are starting to increase as the spring market takes off. Basically, they’ve been flirting with January 2023 levels, and as of now it looks like they could just outpace last year (we’ll know for sure in two weeks). Keep in mind, January 2023 was the lowest January ever, so we are NOT seeing sellers rush the market today. Yet, more new listings are exactly what we want to see happen. I mentioned in my 2024 outlook that this year is poised to be far from normal with the number of sales and listings, but the hope is to see more.

A HOUSING MARKET MYTH:

The summer has the hottest temperature, but summer is NOT the hottest time in the housing market like so many sellers believe. Locally, we see prices usually peak in June, it starts to take longer to sell in the summer for the rest of the year, and the number of new listings and pending contracts usually climax in May. In short, by mid-summer, we’ve basically peaked for the year statistically. On that note, sellers should list whenever they want. No pressure from me. Yes, demand is at the height during the spring, but sellers aren’t always ready to list then. My advice? Do what you need to do. You can sell in any season as long as you are priced for the market.

BIDDING WARS ARE PICKING UP:

Do you see the dotted line on the right side of the graph? That’s the percentage of multiple offers based on what I’m seeing in pending contracts so far. This shows us demand is heating up for the spring as the percentage of multiple offers has increased. Keep in mind, the percentage of sales with multiple offers tends to peak in April or May each year, which complements my point about the summer NOT being the hottest market. Also, these are closed sales, so the percentage of multiple offers technically peaks in the pendings in March or April before these properties close in April or May.

PENDINGS ARE LIFTING OFF THE GROUND:

We’re starting to see the number of pendings tick up as the year begins, and here’s a cool way to look at pendings so far. For instance, 61.1% of pendings so far have been below $600K. My advice? For anyone who works in real estate, be in touch with where the action is happening, and position yourself for that. And sellers, be aware that not all price points are going to have the same temperature or number of buyers (overpricing can happen in any range).

Here’s a way to look at the number of pendings so far in the region for the month of January only. We’re hovering around half the number from last year. Keep in mind it takes a little extra time for pendings to be counted since properties need to be exposed on the market before getting into contract.

Anyway, those are just a few things on my mind about 2024. Let’s keep in touch, and please let me know what you’re seeing out there.

RANDOM STUFF

As promised, here’s some random stuff. I can’t help myself. This is what tickles my funny bone, and I’m also intrigued with real estate marketing.

HONEY, STOP THE CAR:

Just for fun. Here’s how many times the phrase, “Honey, stop the car,” has been used in our local MLS. Haha. On a serious note, this was barely used last year, and I’m concerned. Could we see a 2024 rebound? Fingers crossed.

PICKLEBALL IS ALL THE RAGE:

The sport of pickleball has grown in popularity, so it’s no surprise we’re seeing more mentions in MLS. Honestly, what’s stunning though is to see so many mentions in 2023 despite 40% fewer sales last year. Here’s a pickleball post and interview I did a few months back.

STARBUCKS MENTIONS IN REAL ESTATE LISTINGS:

Is Starbucks a selling point? At what price range? The number of mentions has really grown through the years. Keep in mind volume was quite low in 2022 and 2023, which likely explains the drop.

THE SHE-SHED HOUSING MARKET INDEX:

Should we be concerned? “She Shed” wasn’t mentioned as much this last year. Granted, volume was down 40%, so we have to take 2023 with a grain of salt, but what does this mean? Haha.

ELEVATORS ARE ON THE RISE (THAT WAS A DAD JOKE):

A reporter called me recently to talk about elevators. What a random story idea, but his article ended up being interesting. Anyway, mentions of elevators have increased through the years in MLS. Granted, elevators are super rare, but we do see them show up in some high-end sales, and we’re also seeing some builders install them in various neighborhoods (Crocker Village, some in Midtown, etc..). I even spotted an owner who installed one in a tract neighborhood in Rancho Cordova (Anatolia). Where have you seen them?

TRADER JOE’S

And here’s a scatter graph to show Trader Joe’s mentions. Do you shop there? We do. My family shops at multiple stores because it seems impossible to get everything all at one place at a reasonable price. But backing up, if I was an agent, I’d love to be the first person to ever mention something. You know, start a trend. But maybe that’s why I shouldn’t be an agent. Haha. 🙂

LADY BIRD HAS ONLY BEEN MENTIONED THREE TIMES:

A few years ago, the movie Lady Bird came out, and it was set in Sacramento. Some people on social media at the time would say stuff like, “Bro, every Realtor is mentioning Lady Bird in their listings,” but that’s actually not true. I was only able to locate a total of three listings ever that used the phrase, Lady Bird. Technically, there are four, but one listing is located on a street in Elk Grove called Lady Bird, and it mentions the street name in the listing (which doesn’t count as a movie mention). Just wanted to clear that up. And on a related note, here’s something I wrote about fame and real estate.

Thanks for being here.

Questions: What are you seeing in the market right now in 2024? Anything stand out to you above? I’d love to hear your take.

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