Redding Pending Sales Climb As Inventory Drops
INDUSTRY NEWS, SHASTA COUNTY, TIPS FOR BUYERS, TIPS FOR SELLERS
September 1st, 2009
Redding home units eclipsed the 500 mark briefly before falling back to 497 today-levels not seen in more than three years! 2009 began with only 257 homes pending sale. Listing inventory of active homes dropped to 1484 today, down from July’s peak of 1564. My data is derived from the Shasta MLS.
July saw 193 homes close escrow in the Greater Redding area. Of those, 162 sold for less than $300,000. The bulk of these homes were purchased by first-time buyers and investors. Over 1/3 of homes sold are distressed sales-bank repo’s or short sales.
Expect the number of homes for sale to drop as winter approaches. Pending home sales will likely follow suit. The number of bank owned properties listed for sale has remained stable at 110-120 available on any given day. Likewise, available short sale listings have been hovering around 230. A short sale is a property that cannot clear liens and closing costs with existing equity.
1252 homes have closed escrow since the beginning of the year. The low end of the market seems to be bottoming out price-wise while high end home prices continue to fall. Only 5 homes are in escrow over $600,000 in Shasta County. Two of those are new construction and only one lies within the city limits. More than 70 homes are listed for sale above this price point.
Interest rates remain low but banks are still being tough underwriting and approving loans. New appraisal laws have resulted in appraised values coming in all over the place. Sometimes they are substantially above or below the negotiated sales price. The cost to the consumer for an appraisalis $400-$500 or about $100 more than before the HVCC rules went into effect. This additional sum typically goes to the appraisal management company that serves as the go between for the lender and appraiser.
530-224-6767 or 530-941-7492
BRAD GARBUTT
REALTOR/BROKER ASSOCIATE
REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONALS GMAC
CORNER OF COURT AND PLACER IN REDDING
QUARTER CENTURY LOCAL REAL ESTATE EXPERIENCE
