Placer County’s market remains slow in May, and is experiencing both falling unit volume compared to last year and lower prices.  This May the average home sold in Placer County for $396,805, down 20.1% from last May’s average sale price of $496,667.  Combined with a somewhat larger average footprint this year, the sold price per square foot figure dropped 25.5% from May to May, from $239.36 last May to $178.34.  The median price fell 21% over this period, from $428,000 in May of 2007 to $338,250 in May of 2008.

We’ve been noticing for several months in Sacramento County that prices have fallen to a point where unit volume is increasing in a very dramatic way.   The same phenomenon has not yet happened in Placer County.  In Placer County, the decline in price has yet to be large enough to bring buyers out in huge numbers, so unit volume is still falling off.  In May, 406 residential units were sold through the MLS, down 4.2% from last May’s 424 units.

In May, 44.3% of the homes that sold were bank foreclosures, up from 9.7% last May.  Short sales made up 7.9% of the total, versus 4.7% last May.  Non-distressed sales outsold short sales by about six to one.  Currently in active inventory there are 10.3% bank foreclosures and 27.9% short sales.

There are currently about 8.2 months worth of homes in inventory.  Based on last month’s sales data, it would take just 1.4 months to sell off the existing REOs, 8 months to sell off the non-distressed sales, and 22.2 months to sell off the short sales.