When I read my recent Trendgraphix report -- available exclusively to Lyon real estate agents before anybody else gets this information -- I was astonished to learn that the number of pending short sales in Sacramento County has jumped 471.9% over the past 15 months. That's an incredible percentage. Made my eyeballs pop out of my head.
I've been listing and selling a lot of short sales in Sacramento -- been busier than I've ever been in my life -- but seeing the numbers in color solidified why my business has increased so dramatically. Above is a chart from Trendgraphix that reflects Sacramento short sale activity from May of 2008 to July of 2009. You can see that the number of active short sale listings -- the inventory -- is falling, but the number of pending sales is going through the roof.
Falling inventory is one of the reasons we're seeing so many multiple offers. Buyers are lining up to buy, breathing down each other's necks, because there is very little available to buy.
The July Trendgraphix report makes me wonder, though, if listing agents are reporting status correctly to MLS. Not every Sacramento short sale agent understands that listings with an offer accepted but not yet approved by the bank should be in "active contingent" status. Only approved short sales should be in pending status, and some agents don't realize that.
I looked at the present inventory in MLS to determine if the numbers jive for August and, sure enough, they do. As of this morning, we have 6,323 homes for sale in Sacramento County. Of those, 3,744 are short sales (2,477 are active contingent and 1,297 are active listings). Pending short sales are 810.
Another way to look at this is 2,549 active listings are not short sales, and 3,774 listings are short sales. If I've done my math correctly, this means 59.6% of all the homes on the market in Sacramento County are short sales.
And to think that lots of agents scratch their heads, wondering why any real estate agent would "bother with short sales." Well, it's the market in Sacramento. It's where we are today.
Don't you find this fascinating? Or am I the only screwball who loves stats?
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Elizabeth Weintraub is an author, home buying columnist for The New York Times-owned About.com, a Land Park resident, and a Land Park real estate agent who specializes in older, classic homes in Land Park, Curtis Park, Midtown and East Sacramento. Weintraub is also a Sacramento Short Sale agent who lists and successfully sells short sales throughout Sacramento. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Put 35 years of real estate experience to work for you. DRE License # 00697006.
The Short Sale Savior, by Elizabeth Weintraub, available through bookstores everywhere and at Amazon.com.
Chart: Trendgraphix, used with permission.
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