Home sales have clearly slowed from the pandemic-fueled frenzy of 2020-2021, with July marking the fourth consecutive month the number of homes sold trailed 2021 sales figures.
Western Nevada County saw 18.6% fewer homes sold in July than in June, the second time this year home sales dropped on a monthly basis as February’s 89 homes sold represented a 22.6% decrease from January sales.
In July, a total of 127 homes were sold locally, down from 156 in June and 36.1% lower than the 199 homes sold in a year-over-year comparison with July 2021 — which, should be noted, posted the most homes sold in a single month of last year.
July sales also marked just the third time that western Nevada County sales dipped below the pre-pandemic norms of 2019, which posted 136 homes sold in July of that year, or 7.1% more than sold last month.
That also happened in November 2021, when the 127 homes sold fell below the 133 in November 2019. Prior to that, May 2020 — as the pandemic hit the brakes on the local market, before accelerating into the fast-lane frenzy that followed — was the last time 2019 monthly sales outpaced a current month’s total, with 101 sold reflected a 24.6% drop in a year-over-year comparison.
That’s a significant statistic for those looking for a pre-pandemic perspective on home sales in western county, while looking ahead to what’s in store for the second half of 2022.
Along with a lower sales volume, western Nevada County recorded a 60% increase in average days on market before a home received an accepted offer. July saw an average of 24 days on market, up from 15 days in June, the only month this year to mark fewer than 20 days on market.
Meanwhile, there were 457 active listings on the market in July, marking the third-straight month inventory surpassed 400 homes, a milestone that prior to May had not been met since May of 2020, when there were 431 homes listed for sale. In fact, the 339 homes listed in April was the highest inventory offered — and the first time more than 300 homes were listed locally — since June 2020, when the market inventory started to struggle to keep pace with surging sales.
MIXED MESSAGES?
Even as the volume of homes sold has decreased in monthly and annual comparisons, there are still signs of steady sales locally. The median price for a home sold in western Nevada County in July rose to $584,000, up 0.9% over June and 3.4% higher than the $565,000 recorded in July 2021.
A similar increase was also seen in price per square foot, which rose from $318 in June to $322 in July. One year ago, homes sold on average at $306 per square foot.
But even as the median sale price and price per square footage grew higher, homesellers appear to still be shifting with the slowing market, as the initial sale price listed by homeowners decreased 3.5% from June to a median of $600,000 last month. That marked the fourth consecutive monthly decrease in first sales price since a median of $691,500 was recorded in March, reflecting a 13.2% decrease in the median initial asking price for a home in western county.
Pending sales held steady in July, with 163 homes under contract, a slight increase over the 161 pending in June but 21.3% fewer than 207 in July 2021.
The months of March, April and May each reported more than 190 pending deals earlier this year.
Brian Hamilton is a Realtor (Lic.# 02149112) and assistant to the regional manager for the Betsy Hamilton Real Estate Team (Lic.# 01936209) at RE/MAX Gold (Lic#: 01949144) in Grass Valley. For more information, contact him at Brian@BetsyHamilton.com or visit http://www.BetsyHamilton.com