Placer County real estate market softening

As the real estate market adjusts to higher interest rates, Placer County's attributes have provided a cushion. "The reason why is Placer County is an incredibly desirable place to live," Placer County Association of REALTORS President David Uhte said. "It has incredible schools, a great safety rating and there's so much to do here. It's a very attractive place to live." January sales statistics reflect the market's softening. Listings are down 17.6 percent from a year ago. Purchase price is down 6.1 percent and days on the market are up 88 percent from the same time in 2022. "We see the market as normalizing," Uhte said. "Values have dropped a little from the frenzy when we were getting multiple offers on properties and seeing historic low- interest rates." Even with the changes, it remains statistically a sellers' market. "But I would say it is an even market where both sellers and buyers have the ability to have success in what they are trying to accomplish," Uhte said. Uhte is not seeing significant differences across the market's sectors.. "Quite frankly, most all sectors are seeing productivity in buying and selling," Uhte said. "First-time buyers or those buying their 10th or 15th home are still in the market looking to buy. Low-end buyers have just as much opportunity as high-end buyers." His advice for buyers is to do the homework, not only on the home itself but surrounding aspects. "This is a process and they should guard against purchasing out of emotion," Uhte said. "They should follow the advice of the Realtor, who is there to help them be educated. Buyers need to be prepared, working with a lender early so that when they make an offer, they can get the home they want to purchase." For sellers, they need to be realistic about their home's current value, Uhte advised. "We have seen a short drop. Sellers have to look at what's competitive on the market and set up the home (for viewing)," Uhte said. "A potential buyer wants to see the home like they'd want to live in it, not what the seller has. With inventory changes, sellers need to be prepared that potential buyers will spend more time looking at a home, looking at inspections and making more requests for things that need to be repaired. Remember it is a business deal and they are in the process of completing that business deal and moving to their new home." Looking toward the coming months, Uhte expressed confidence that Placer County's strong market will continue. "The beauty of south Placer is Placer County has always come out strong and with growth," he said. Uhte, a Realtor with Coldwell Banker Sun Ridge in Roseville, will lead the Placer County Association of Realtors through the end of the year. "I think it is important that our association is all about helping the consumer and the community to really be able to buy and sell as they choose," Uhte said. "We're here to help them as an association or individual Realtors or affiliates. That's what we are all about, helping our community grow."