Placer County real estate prices fell 9.4% from May to May on a sold price per square foot basis, from $147.47 per square foot in May of 2010 to $133.61 per square foot in May of 2011.  The average sale price fell 10.5% during this time, from $323,787 in 2010 to $288,496 in 2011.  In May the median selling price stood at $246,000, down 7.2% from last May’s $264,975.   In addition to having more non-distressed homes for sale than neighboring counties, Placerville’s unit volume is an exception to the rule as well.  While Sacramento County’s year-on-year unit volume is flat (down .2% from last year), and El Dorado County’s sales volume has decreased 5.4%, sales in Placer County are going strong.  At 491 homes sold through the Metrolist MLS this May as against 448 in May of 2010, unit volume has risen 9.6%.

In terms of inventory, Placer County has 5.1 months of homes in inventory overall, with 1.4 months of inventory for foreclosures, 4.8 months for non-distressed sales, and 9.5 months for short sales.

The raw numbers are below:

Price Data

Inventory (Based on 12 months of prior sales)

Inventory (Based on 6 months of prior sales)

Why do I say it’s a seller’s market?   The most important reason are the numbers for unsold inventory.  In fact, the traditional rule-of-thumb definition for a seller’s market is one where we have less than six months of unsold inventory.  (In other words, if you stopped listing homes for sale beginning today, it would take less than six months to sell off what’s currently on the market).  Indeed, even when you factor in the short sales, where there are 8.9 months of inventory, the average for all categories is still only 3.8 months of inventory.  If you look at foreclosures, the inventory figure is an extremely low 1.1 months, reflecting both the reduced prices on foreclosures and the ease of a foreclosure transaction relative to  a short sale.

Perhaps the most encouraging number of all this month in Roseville is the non-distressed category, where there are only 2.2 months of inventory.  This number compares favorably to some of the foreclosure inventory numbers we’ve seen up until recently, and this is for homes with equity.  (Imagine that!)

Since inventory is partly a reflection of demand, we’d expect to see demand increasing right now as well, and sure enough, the volume of sales is up 14.6% over last year, from 151 homes sold April year to 173 homes sold this April.

Does this mean you’re going to get the price that you really want to get for your home?  Well, if you’re like most seller’s we’ve worked with, you’re going to find that you won’t, and that your expectations are still too high.  Unfortunately, you still have to compete with the short sale and foreclosure inventory, and these homes continue to drive down prices.  This year the average sold price per square foot is down 6.1% from the same time last year, from $143.74 per square foot last year to $134.94 this year.  With the average sized home in Roseville coming in at 2005 square feet, that puts this year’s April’s average sold price at $270,615, down from $289,859 last April.

Of course, if you are looking to sell, please keep in mind that all the numbers posted here are for the statistical  “average” home — what you’ll be able to net for your home will depend on location, size, and condition.  We’re always happy to do a detailed market analysis if you believe you might have a need to sell.  Just let us know by using our Contact Form.  We’re not arm twisters so you won’t have to worry about that (of course, the “bad news” — or should that read “more good news” — is we won’t lie to you about price, so if you’re looking for someone to do that we won’t be able to help on that score).  Too often we’ve found that seller’s who want to “test the market” find that it’s as bad as they thought it was when they started, only now they have to reduce the price even further than if they were aggressive to begin with because their home is shop-worn and prices have been falling in the meantime.

All in all, however, we’re encouraged by enough by both the inventory numbers and increasing demand in Roseville to say that if you do the right things to get your home ready to sell and price it well, you’ll have less problem selling getting your home sold than you expect in this market.

We’ve pasted some of our statistical data below so you can check it out.  Enjoy!

Unit Volume Data

Price Data

Inventory (Based on 12 months of prior sales)

Average sold price per square foot is now $149.15 which is 12.8% lower year over year from a high of $171.01. The average sized home in Placer county now sells for $321,217 so homebuyers that waited a year from last August to this August could have hoped to pay – on average – 12.8% less. Last August they would have paid $368,478. Median sales price is now $291,000 which is 10.5% lower year over year.

Inventory in Placer county is at 6.3 months based on the last year of sales and 5.9 months based on the last six months of sales. Foreclosure inventory is at 1.2 months and 1.3 months respectively.

We are beginning also to see more short sales beginning to sell. Rocklin has seen a 300% increase in the number of sold short sales. Foreclosure sales are down 38% and non-distressed sales are down 36% year over year. 3 out of every 5 homes sold are now distress sales. 

Average price per square foot is not $141.96 – that is 16.5% below what it was a year ago. Last April, average sold price per square foot was $170.03. Average sales price is currently $345,501 down 16.7% year over year from a high of $414,593. Median sales price is $299,900. 

Inventory in Rocklin is at 5 months based on the last year of sales and 6.4 months based on the last six months of sales. Foreclosure inventory is at 0.8 months and 1 month respectively.

Average sold price per square foot is currently $143.41 – that’s down 14% year over year from a high of $166.79. Average sales price has fallen 18% for the same period and currently rests at $296,077. A year ago, it used to be $361,045. Median sales price is currently $279996, down 19.3% from a year ago when it was $347,000.

Inventory in Roseville is at 4.2 months based on the last year of sales and 5.3 months based on the last six months of sales.

Average sold price per square foot is currently $125.85 down 11.4% from last April’s $142.07. Average sales price is $298,676, also down 11.5% year over year from a high of $337,327. Median sales price is $277,450. That’s a fall of 13.3% year over year from a high of $320,000. 

Inventory is at 5.4 months based on the last year of sales and 6.1 months based on the last six months of sales. Foreclosure inventory in the Lincoln area is at 0.7 months and 0.8 months respectively.

However, foreclosure sales are down year over year by 12.7%. One wonders if this is because home buyers are losing interest in them or because the foreclosure inventory seems to be shrinking rapidly. Short sales are up year over year by 102.7% while non-distressed sales are down for the same period by 23%. Overall unit volume is down, albeit by a small 6.3% for the same period.

Average sold price per square foot in Placer county is currently at $147.64 which is 16.5% lower than last year’s $176.85 year over year. Average sales price has also dropped 20.5% for the same period to rest at $331,370 from a high of $416,799. Median sales price is currently at $285,000 which is 18% lower than last year’s $347,975.

Inventory in Placer county is at 6.1 months based on the last year of sales and 7.3 months based on the last six months of sales. Foreclosure inventory is at 1.1 months and 1.2 months respectively.

Prices are following the downward curve as well. The average sold price per square foot is now $134.26 down 13.8% year over year from a high of $155.73. The average sale price is down 22.2% year over year from $364,777 to rest at $283,686. Median sales price is down 21.2% for the same period to $264,000. Interestingly enough, the average home sold is also about 10% smaller than it was a year ago so the more accurate measure of home prices is the average price per square foot.

Inventory is at 5.8 months based on the last year of sales and 6.6 months based on the last six months of sales. Foreclosure inventory is at 1.2 months and 1.3 months respectively.

Average sold price per square foot doesn’t give us any better news either. It has fallen 15.5% year over year from $166.73 to $140.83. The average sales price is currently $334,104 – that’s a year over year drop of 10.4% from a high of $372,794. Median price hasn’t fared any better. It registered a drop of 15.5% year over year from $355,000 last March to currently $299,900.

Inventory is at 4.9 months based on the last year of sales and 6.2 months based on the last six months of sales, showing the recent slowdown in sales in this area.

Distress sales dominate the market with foreclosures taking up 51% of the sales pie and short sales taking 17%. Just under a third of all real estate sold in Roseville last month was non-distressed. A big change year over year from more than 55% of all sales being non-distressed.

And of course, the prices reflect that as well. Year over year, the average price per square foot has fallen 16.5% from a high of $172.85 to rest at $144.29. The average sales price has fallen 20.2% from $367,318 to $293,153. Median sales price has also dropped 17.3% from $344,500 to rest at $285,000. 

Inventory in Roseville is at 4.1 months based on the last year of sales and 5 months based on the last six months of sales.