With the year winding down it’s time to take a look back at Folsom home sales and see if we can make sense of the numbers.
It’s been nearly 3 years since Folsom home prices hit bottom (Feb 2012, at $148 per square foot), and started on the road to recovery. Gone are the days of multiple offers over asking within hours of putting a home on the market. Now, it looks like the market has finally arrived at a more reasonable pace, with both sales and price gains slowing.
Price per square foot has fluctuated over the past year between a low of $191 in January, peaking at $213 in August, and ended November at $210. In comparison, 2013 started out at $169 per foot, peaked at $207 and ended the year at $196.
We’re seeing the typical decline in inventory and sales as the year winds down, as fewer sellers are willing to make their homes available for showing during the holidays, and likewise, many buyers prefer to wait until the new year, or even into spring before they start looking.
This is, however, the time of year when the most serious of buyers and sellers seem to come out, and when relative bargains are often found. The average price of homes sold last month was $400,000, down from $453,000 in August.
Buyers are more cautious and conservative these days, buying smaller, more modest homes as ‘getting into Folsom’ seems to be more important than getting a big house. Of the 61 homes sold in November, only 10 sold for more than $500,000.
Average days on market is at 42, but when priced right, homes sell quickly. Of the 61 homes sold in Folsom in November, 29 of them sold in 14 days or less, and 24 of those were priced below $500,000.
So, although it’s slowing down and homes are taking longer to sell, there’s no need to panic. Buyers have become pickier and sellers have to be more flexible and accurate in their pricing. Contingent offers and seller concessions are becoming more common as sellers compete for buyers’ attention, but if priced right, homes will sell in any market.
Even with the slow down, Folsom remains a popular destination, with the highest average price per square foot in the region.
Today, there are 129 homes for sale in Folsom, and priced from $148,000 to $2mil, there’s something for everyone.
That’s the short version. For more info, contact me, Steve Heard – Keller Williams Realty – 916 718 9577 or steve@theheardgroup.com
Talk about it in the forum here.