LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Home sales in Lake County showed a year-over decline in January, while sales of other property types stayed steady or rose slightly, according to the Lake County Association of Realtors’ latest report.
The association said in January, the homes sold through the multiple listing service totaled 55, compared to 81 during the same time last year. These include traditionally built “stick-built” houses as well as manufactured homes on land.
There were seven sales of mobile homes in parks with the same number sold for the same time period last year, and 21 bare land sales — lots and acreage — compared with 17 for the same time in 2022, the association reported.
There are 285 “stick built” and manufactured homes on the market right now. If the rate of sales stays the same at 55 homes sold per month, there are currently 5.1 months of inventory on the market at the moment compared to 4.26 months of inventory a month ago in December, and 5.45 months of inventory in November.
The association said that means that if no new homes are brought to the market for sale, in 5.16 months all of these homes would be sold and there would be none available.
Less than 6 months of inventory is generally considered to be a “sellers’ market” while more than 6 months of inventory is often called a “buyers’ market.
The inventory has been growing over the past several months, with more homes being brought to market and staying on the market for a longer time with fewer buyers. The association said the interest rate hikes and inflation have played a major role in reducing the number of active buyers.
Of the homes sold in January, 16% were purchased with all cash, compared to 33% for December and 26% for this same time last year.
Thirty six percent were financed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, or considered to be “conventional loans,” compared to 44% for December and 46% for the same time in 2022.
Another 20% were financed by the Federal Housing Administration, or FHA, compared to 10% for December and 19% for this time last year.
Fifteen percent were financed by the VA or CalVet, compared to 4% for December and 4% in January 2022, while 11% had other financing such as private loans, USDA, or seller financed notes, compared to 6% in December and 5% in January of last year.
The homes were selling at an average of 95% of the asking price, same as December but lower than the 97% of the asking price a year ago at this time.
The median time on the market last month was 57 days, compared to 30 in December and 39 days for January 2022.
The median sale price of a single family home in Lake County in December was $292,000, down from $295,000 in December and well below the median sale price of $325,000 during this time period last year.
In January, 47% of homes sold had seller concessions for an average of $9,100; in December 30% of homes had seller concessions for an average concession of $7,614 and a year ago 32% of homes sold had an average seller concession of $9,570.