Sacramento region's housing market shows signs of slowing, real estate experts say
The housing market across the Sacramento region is showing serious signs of slowing, with last month marking one of the worst June's for home sales in at least 25 years, according to real estate experts.
In Fair Oaks, seller Erin Narveaz said she's been waiting nearly a year for her home to sell, far longer than expected.
"We were thinking we were going to have it sold in a couple months, but it's been almost a year," Narveaz said.
She's not alone. Many sellers across the region are facing a similar challenge: fewer buyers, fewer offers and rising frustration.
"Just waiting for the right person and that's what we've been doing. That's the hard part," Narveaz added.
Real estate agent Johnny Jennings, team lead at Make 4 More Realty, said the slowdown is evident.
"May was hard. June was way harder," Jennings said.
He believes part of the issue is that sellers haven't adjusted to the reality of the current market.
"The market is challenging. The key is it has to be turn-key and has to be priced correctly," he said.
For buyers waiting for interest rates to drop, Jennings warns not to count on it happening anytime soon.
"What I'm hearing every single day is, 'We're waiting to see what the Fed does.' The Federal Reserve has given no indication they're going to drop rates in June and they're not going to do that in July either," he said.
Still, Jennings believes the market may be on the verge of a shift.
"We're at what I would call a shoulder market. Is the market going down or is it coming back up? I think a lot of people are sitting on the fence," he said.
Currently, real estate experts say most pending home sales in the region received just one offer, a major drop from the competitive, multi-offer days of years past.
The average home price across Placer, El Dorado, Sacramento, and Yolo counties now sits at around $638,000. But in roughly 40% of pending sales, sellers had to cut their asking price before a buyer finally made an offer.
Until interest rates drop, experts said the sluggish pace may continue, with both buyers and sellers left waiting on the sidelines.
