October Sales

The median selling prices of existing detached homes in the region continues their decline with a few exceptions. According to DataQuick Information System the median selling price of a home in Sacramento County is now $345,000 a drop of 5.1 percent from October of 2005. In Placer County the median price is $435,000, an 11 percent decline from a year earlier. Nevada county’s median price is now $468,000 a drop of 9 percent from October of 2005, Yolo County lost 5 percent of its median value, down to $398,000, Sutter County’ s median home price is 259,500 a drop of 11.4 percent and Yuba County’s median sale price is $230,000 an 8.2 percent decline from last year.

El Dorado County’s median home price of $449,500 was an increase of 2.7 percent from October of 2005. Amador County also posted a an increase of 7.4 percent but total county sales in rural Amador County only totaled 27 for the month.
New home sale prices were higher than resale. In El Dorado County the median price of a new home was $590,000 a gain of 5.3 percent over October of 2005. In Nevada County the median price for October was $569,000 a 15 percent gain. In Placer County the median price for new construction is $475,000 a drop of 14 percent. In Sacramento County the median is $398,000 a decline of 13.2 percent. In Yolo the median new home sold for $444,500 and in Yuba the median new home went for $346,000 a 2 percent drop.

The total number of available listing for the eight-county region in October was 13,900. That number is down from the 15,474 posted in July. There were 3,324 total sales for the month in the region of which 30 percent were new homes. During the first 10 months of the year there has been 35,174 home sales. Last year during the same period of time there were 54,337.

The largest drop in home prices, have occurred in counties with the most amount of new construction. El Dorado and Amador Counties that had the fewest new homes sales (50) recorded higher new and resale home prices. Placer County reported 250 new home sales and their median new and existing home prices experienced the largest regional decline.

Builders are adjusting to the market. New building permits are expected to decline in 2007 by 25 percent. Fewer new homes and less deep discounts and builder incentives should firm up the new home market and thus help the resale sector.

Survey Says..............

Americans remain highly confident about the nation's housing prospects, with more than four out of five homeowners expecting the value of their home to appreciate over the next five years and nearly seven out of 10 calling it their most valuable investment, according to results from a new nationwide survey conducted by RT Strategies. The polling found that 81 percent of homeowners believe that the value of their homes will rise over the next five years. Only 13 percent felt their home would fall in value, while four percent expected no change and three percent were unsure. In addition, 69 percent of the respondents listed their home as their most valuable investment. By contrast, this was followed by 401(k) and other retirement accounts, with just 11 percent of those polled citing this as their top investment.

"The poll clearly debunks the more sensational media reports speculating on the demise of the housing market," said David Pressly, president of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder. "It is interesting to note that other polls conducted by major news organizations have come up with similar results, indicating that despite the current housing market downturn Americans resoundingly believe that buying a home is the best investment they can ever make."