FAIRFIELD — Home sales in Solano County dipped in the past reporting month this summer after a year-high total in the previous month, but the president of the Northern Solano County Association of Realtors said that is not unusual for this time of year.
“It’s pretty tough and we are still in a situation when we don’t have enough homes to sell,” said Rick Ungerecht, president of the association and a Realtor with Coldwell Banker Kappel Gateway.
He called the low inventory the single biggest issue facing the Solano County real estate market.
According to information provided by the Northern Solano County Association of Realtors, 448 homes were sold throughout the county from June 16 through July 16, down from 552 during the period that started May 16.
The seven-month total for the year was 3,051. The previous eight months recorded 4,017 sales.
The number of homes for sale during the most-recent reporting period this summer was listed at 732, up from 634 in the previous month, but down from the same period in 2015 when it was listed at 761.
The average selling price was $397,000, also down from the previous month when the price was $412,000.
Ungerecht is not sure why there are not more homes for sale.
“It is harder to say why people don’t do something,” he said. “It is easier to say why people do do something.”
One factor could be that more people are buying up homes, repairing them and then using them as rentals to supplement their incomes.
“And we still haven’t completely recovered (from the recession). San Francisco, Contra Costa and Sonoma have recovered to their previous home values,” said Ungerecht, suggesting people may be waiting to sell until the prices are fully recovered.
Solano County also has the lowest conforming home rate in the region, which makes it more difficult for buyers to get FHA or conventional loans for homes with prices greater than $417,000.
“If you go above that, it requires a jumbo loan and jumbo loans have a higher interest rate and higher (qualifying) requirements,” Ungerecht said.
The Realtor said he is hopeful the feds will up the conforming rate near the end of the current calendar year, buoyed by the fact that depressed pricing areas such as Vallejo are showing a resurgence in prices.
Ungerecht said there are a lot of other indicators that things are brighter than they seem. At the top of that list is interest rates have stayed down.
“I don’t want to paint a bleak picture. I want paint a bright picture,” Ungerecht said.
The number of association members is climbing monthly, and Realtors are making money. They just have to work harder to get the listings because of the inventory.
“The good news is when you do get a listing, it is going to sell,” Ungerecht said.
He pointed to a recent house he had for sale that had an initial asking price of $299,000. He has six offers in the first week and the house sold for $337,000.
“And Travis Air Force Base is still a huge influence on us. I have three houses in escrow and all are airmen who have just come in (to the area),” Ungerecht said.
Reach Todd R. Hansen at 427-6932 or [email protected].
