Home sales top $546M in 29 months

Manteca homebuyers in the past 29 months have spent $546,413,000 snapping up housing deals in the resale market.

If the pace continues to year’s end, Manteca exiting home transactions will hit $611,620,000 during the three years encompassing 2008, 2009, and 2010. That will almost match the aggregate dollar values of existing homes sold within the city limits in the previous three years of 2005, 2006, and 2007.

“There is still very strong demand from buyers out there,” Realtor Tom Wilson said. “The market is undervalued and the multiple offers out there support that.”

Wilson, along with a number of other real estate agents contacted by the Bulletin, had a concern that the end of the federal tax credit of $8,000 for first-time buyers would slow down buying activity in the resale market. It hasn’t.

Wilson attributed that to the fact the market is undervalued and that most buyers understand that.

“You keep reading newspaper stories that say the real estate market is in the tank but it is a great market if you’re a buyer,” Wilson noted.

The amount of money being spent collectively just in Manteca proves Wilson’s point.

Despite a weakened economy and unemployment just under 16 percent, existing Manteca home sales are still attracting the same amount of money that they did during the last three years of the real estate bubble. The big difference, of course, is the price paid per home.

Realtors noted all cash buyers were rare until just three years ago. That means more people are putting their own money into homes while at the same time first-time home buyers who qualify for FHA loans are pushing hard to buy given the affordable market.

Wilson pointed out obtaining a loan is harder than when he started in the business more than 20 years ago. Even so, it isn’t stopping first-time buyers.

Wilson is working with a couple that missed out on the federal tax credit and would like to secure a piece of the $10,000 state tax credit before it expires but they don’t actually need it to make their deal work.

“It would be nice for them to get but it isn’t essential,” Wilson said.

As of June 1, existing Manteca homes that closed escrow numbered 473 for the year. At that pace the total sold by year’s end should hit 1,142 homes. That would make it the third best year ever behind 2009 at 1,211 homes and slightly behind 2008 at 1,165 homes. The fourth highest year for existing resales was in 2002 with 803 homes selling.

Another encouraging sign is the median selling price of those 472 closed deals. It is at $187,460 or where it was at in early April of 2009. The median selling price for 2009 in Manteca was $178,000.

If the trend holds it will mark the first year the median price paid for homes in Manteca has increased since it peaked at $413,000 in 2006.

By Dennis Wyatt
Managing Editor
dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com