For Current Market data updated monthly, please visit the Grass Valley Market Update and the Nevada City Real Estate Market Update.
Here’s a look back at how COVID first impacted our local market:
One of the challenges of living in turbulent times is navigating the mundane aspects of life. Amidst social upheaval, health crisis, and economic uncertainty, we still need to grocery shop. We still need to make decisions about matters of housing and income, and how to manage our lives so that we can all thrive in the long run.
It’s a hard time to write an article about real estate, because it is definitely not a time of business as usual. But part of our job is to keep our clients updated about the present condition of the real estate market, and we will continue to do that. We hope that you find the information helpful for making the decisions you face in your own life.
Nevada County Market Update:
Here in Nevada County, we are seeing a drop in the number of home sales, but prices are still holding steady, for now. (100 single family residences sold in May. The median listing price was $422,500 and median sold price was $410k. In May of 2019, 137 single family homes sold with a median listing price of $419k and median sale price of $415k.
April’s median sold price was $460k, an increase of 8.2% from March 2020 and up 15.9% from April 2019s median price of $397k. Total sales in April were down 38.3% from March and down 36.3% from April 2019.
California Real Estate Market Trends:
There have been a few news stories talking of bidding wars as the real estate market begins to pick up after shelter in place restrictions have been lifted. Some buyers and sellers are very eager to move and that is understandable. Shelter in place restrictions for the past few months, and now civil unrest, are motivating many people to rethink their housing situation. For those who are fortunate enough to have options, many new questions emerge:
Maybe a home office has been pushed to a priority now that you work from home? Did you homeschool your kids during the pandemic? (We tried . . . it’s not easy!) Was your home as equipped as you’d like it to be? Perhaps you feel an urgent need to leave the city? Do the thoughts of having your own garden space to grow your own fruits and veggies give you peace of mind? Some of these factors are likely influencing buyers to offer over the asking price.
But moving quickly to achieve your dreams raises a whole different set of questions. Coming out on top of a bidding war now might land you your dream home, but do you expect the investment to build equity over the coming years? If that’s important to you, you might want to consider what the market will be like this time next year when it’s likely that the government’s mortgage forbearance ends . . Will many homes enter foreclosure then? Some are predicting quite a few, and if those predictions are correct, prices are bound to be negatively affected.
April’s sales total for California was down 25.6 percent from March and down 30.1 percent from a year ago. The statewide average price per square foot for an existing single-family home was $284 in April 2020 and $289 in April 2019.
We will continue to monitor the data. To receive a once-a-month update, you can sign up here, which will also give you free access to our short webinar about making decisions in real estate. It is an overview of the factors we consider, regardless of market conditions.