January home sales in western Nevada County continued to see the same trends that led to the hot market home sellers have enjoyed over the second half of 2020, with 38% more homes sold than January 2020 and the median price paid at $525,000 — up from $505,000 in December and up from $420,000 in January 2020.

Statewide, according to California Association of Realtors data, more than one third of (35%) buyers paid above asking price in 2020, up from 26% of buyers doing so in 2019.

Overall, California home prices saw an 9% increase in 2020, and Zillow is forecasting a 10.6% increase by end of 2021.

Zillow data also shows that from the beginning of 2012 to the end of 2019, the median price of homes in California appreciated by a whopping 85.5% — from $305,000 to $566,000. 

Low inventory and low interest rates continue to drive higher prices and faster sales in terms of average days on market, a trend experts expect will continue in 2021 — as long as there are actually homes to sell.

“An extremely favorable lending environment and a strong interest in homeownership will continue to motivate financially eligible buyers to enter the market,” California Association of Realtors President Jeanne Radsick said in the association’s 2021 forecast report. “While the economy is expected to improve and interest rates will stay near historical lows, housing supply constraints will continue to be an issue next year and may put a cap on sales growth in 2021.”

Since May 2020, when there were 431 homes listed for sale, western Nevada County has seen continued dwindling inventory. June saw 356 homes on the market. But the next seven straight months saw fewer than 300, including January 2021, which with 169 homes listed was the second consecutive month of fewer than 200 homes for sale locally.

Fewer options on the market has meant buyers are moving faster on making offers on those available.

Since the average days on market of 45 recorded in May, that statistic has eclipsed 30 days just once — at 31 days in August — over next eight months. The average days on market in January was 21 days, up from 19 in December — and up from a low of 11 days in November 2020. 

And although western county has seen a continued drop in average days on market annually, dating back from an average of 68 days in 2015, the drop to 21 days averaged in December was nearly half from 2019’s average of 41 days.

But, despite the low inventory locally, January saw a total of 102 homes sold in western Nevada County, up from 74 in January 2020 — the eighth-straight month of increased sales in year-over-year comparisons.

Brian Hamilton is the assistant to the regional manager for the Betsy Hamilton Real Estate Team. Visit MidLifeOfBrian.com for previously published market updates. Contact him at BrianHamiltonRE@gmail.com.