LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Lake County Association of Realtors’ latest report showed that median home prices rose in December, while overall sales were down slightly.
Over the month of December 2023, a total of 54 single family homes were sold through the multiple listing service, compared to 59 in November and 73 sold a year ago during the month of December 2022.
These include traditionally built “stick-built” houses as well as manufactured homes on land.
In 2023, the county offices were closed during the last two weeks of the year and there were home sales that were unable to close in December because the Recorder’s Office was not open. This may be part of the reason for the fewer number of sales in December.
There were six sales of mobile homes in parks in December, compared to four in November and five sold a year ago during the month of December 2022.
For bare land — lots and acreage — 16 were sold in December, compared to 25 closed land sales in November and the 15 sold during that time the previous year in December 2022.
There are 347 “stick built” and manufactured homes on the market right now. If the rate of sales stays the same at 54 homes sold per month, there are currently 6.4 months of inventory on the market at the moment. That means that if no new homes are brought to the market for sale, in 6.4 months, all of these homes would be sold and there would be no homes available for sale.
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.”
December’s data is substantially the same as November, when there was 6.6 months of inventory available.
Agents are currently reporting an uptick in requests for property tours in January, so perhaps the market will be picking up somewhat.
The total percentage of homes bought for all cash in December:
• 35%, compared to 41% for November and 34% for December 2022;
• 37% were financed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac (“conventional loans”) compared to 29% for November and 44% for December 2022;
• 20% were financed by FHA, compared to 17% in November and 10% in December 2022;
• 1% were financed by the VA or CalVet, compared to 7% in November and 4% for December 2022;
• 4% had other financing such as private loans, USDA, or seller financed notes, compared to 3% in November, and compared to 6% for December 2022.
None of the closed sales in December were reported as assumable loans that were assumed by the buyer.
The homes in December sold at an average of 94.6% of the asking price at the time the property went under contract, but an average of 88% when compared to the original asking price when the property first came on the market. This means that the asking home prices had been reduced from their original list prices on the homes that sold before they actually sold.
In November, homes also sold for 96% of the asking price at the time the property went under contract, and 89% of the original asking price.
In December 2022, homes were selling at 95% of the asking price at the time the property went under contract and at 88%when compared to the original asking price.
The median time on the market in December was 62 days, compared to 32 days in November and 54 days in December 2022.
The median sale price of a single family home in Lake County in December was $305,000, which is higher than the $269,000 median sale price for November but lower than the median sale price of $320,500 during December 2022.
This would indicate that last month, the higher priced homes were selling in greater numbers to bring the median sale price up compared to November 2023.
The median asking price of homes on the market right now is $360,000, which is about the same as November’s $357,000.
In December, 37% of homes sold had seller concessions for an average concession of $7,679; the rate of concessions is higher compared to November 2023’s numbers, when 31% of homes sold had seller concessions with an average concession of $11,286. In December 2022, 29% of homes sold had an average seller concession of $7,614.
In December 2023, average concessions were highest for FHA loans, with an average concession of $14,206.
VA loans had an average concession of $7,600; conventional loans had an average concession of $3,325.
The 19 cash sales had no seller concessions (rather, they show up this month as a lowered sale price instead of seller credits being given in escrow).
Lake County Association of Realtors reports on December home sales
- Lake County Association of Realtors
- Posted On