California home prices are starting to drop, but Merced County’s keep rising
While the median price of a single-family home slightly dipped in July for California, the home prices have continued to rise in Merced County.
The single family median price rose to $365,000 in July — the highest price to date from January 2008 to now, according to InfoSparks.
The price of homes has steadily increased during the pandemic. The median price for a home in Merced County was $360,000 in June, $356,000 in May, $336,000 in April and $320,000 in March.
The median price for a single-family home in California dipped to $811,170 in July — a minor shift from the month before in what could be the start of a cooling off period in a booming market.
The latest number for the state is a 1% drop in median price from June, according to a Monday report from the state’s Department of Finance. That’s still 21.7% higher than in July 2020.
In July of 2020, the median price in Merced County was $324,366. In July 2021 it was $365,000, which is a 12.5% increase year over year.
“I believe there is indeed an aspect of buyer fatigue and there are some that want to wait out the craziness,” said Brandon Ruscoe, an agent for Better Homes and Gardens, Everything Real Estate — speaking on what realtors are seeing nation wide.
“And while it might not necessarily be a lower price down the road, buyers figure if they are going to pay that much it needs to be a perfect fit for their needs.”
Meanwhile, Ruscoe believes the demand is high in Merced County with the lack of new houses available for buyers.
“For Merced, we are so under-built for the amount of people that want to move to our region, it’s hard to see demand letting up until we actually build more inventory,” Ruscoe said. “The Central Valley is still one of the most affordable places in California and really has the most upside potential for growth and appreciation.”
Ruscoe said Stanislaus County has seen a slight decrease in housing prices while Madera and Fresno County have seen increases similar to Merced County.
Sacramento-area prices are similarly dropping for the first time in more than a year. In Sacramento County, the median price dropped $10,000 from June to $510,000 in July, according to the Sacramento Association of Realtors. Numbers have also leveled or dropped off in El Dorado, Placer and Yolo counties.
Homes selling fast over asking price
Data collected by the California Association of Realtors similarly show that “sales remain solid but the momentum continues to slow.” Seventy-percent of homes still sold above the asking price and listings continue “flying off the shelf,” according to the association.
Recent reports also indicate the same trends might be happening nationally, though the demand for homes still outpaces the supply.
Houses in Merced County are still selling fast and for over the asking price.
According to InfoSparks, the average days homes are staying on the market in Merced County is just seven days and it’s been that way since April of this year. It’s the lowest number of days homes are staying on the market going back to 2008.
According to Ruscoe, the average sale price over list price was 2.1% in July 2021. Ruscoe added that the average sale price has been above the listing price since April of this year.
“Keep in mind this is despite much loftier list prices being offered too,” Ruscoe said.
The Sacramento Bee contributed to this report.
