Following a fourth quarter that saw the fewest home sales in the past five years, the question heading into the new year was whether the western Nevada County market would see that trend continue.
Four months into 2023, it’s clear that rising interest rates and record low inventory have combined to produce the fewest sales seen locally in the past eight years, with the month of April marking an 18.4% slide from sales one month earlier and a 52.7% decrease from units sold the same month one year earlier.
Seventy one homes sold in western county last month, bringing the total sales through the first four months of 2023 to 292 units, easily the lowest number in the past eight years, according to Multiple Listing Service sales data. That’s 41.1% lower than the first four months of 2022 and 15.1% fewer than the next lowest stretch to start a new year among the past eight, when 344 units sold in the first four months of 2016.
Now, as western county saw a slight uptick in April inventory, the number of homes listed for sale increasing to 224 — a 22.4% increase over March — the new questions for the local market are whether supply will continue to grow and will demand follow?
April’s inventory surpassed 200 homes on the market for the first time this year, but it takes more than a single increase to establish a trend. And so far in 2023, the low number of listings has likely helped prop up home prices locally, and decrease the number of days on market for a home to receive an accepted offer.
The median price of a western Nevada County home sold in April was $548,000, up 5.4% over March but down 7.8% from April 2022’s median price of $592,000, the highest recorded for any single month in the past eight years, according to MLS statistics.
Although far from the sales frenzy of 2021-2022 during the pandemic, the pace of sales has picked up a bit from the second half of 2022, when homes saw a significantly longer stay on the market over the first six months of the same year.
The median days on market for April was 30, down significantly from the 63 days on market recorded in January, and the lowest median of the first four months of the year. Whether that will become an established trend remains to be seen, as the number of homes on the market remains lower than normal — likely due to different market forces than the last time April saw such a few number of listings as the “homebuying season” begins in early spring.
In April 2021, there were only 214 homes listed for sale, more likely due to high demand in a sales frenzy that resulted in record prices and short stays on the market. That same month saw a median price of $550,000 and an average of just nine days on market.
But in April 2023, the lower than normal inventory is more likely the result of rising interest rates, as potential sellers might be pumping the brakes a bit as they likely own a much lower rate than what they’ll find as a buyer financing a replacement home right now.
If April’s uptick in inventory continues, as one would expect in spring and early summer, the question will become whether demand will also grow?
There were 106 pending sales recorded in April, a 14.0% increase over March and the most this year. For perspective, one year ago, there were 192 pending sales in April.
Brian Hamilton is a Realtor (DRE #02149112) for the Betsy Hamilton Real Estate Team at RE/MAX Gold (DRE #01949144) in Grass Valley. Email him at Brian@BetsyHamilton.com or visit www.BetsyHamilton.com for more information.
- BY THE NUMBERS
- April home sales in western Nevada County:
- $548,000 — Median price (2023)
- $592,000— Median price (2022)
- 30 – Days on market (2023)
- 26 – Days on market (2022)
- 71 – Homes sold (2023)
- 150 – Homes sold (2022)
- 224– Homes for sale (2023)
- 339 – Homes for sale (2022)