September 2026 Sacramento County Market Outlook

Locals dine at the Tower Bridge Dinner on Sunday, September 6. Photo by Sean Timberlake.

How to Read This Report: County and Submarket Guidance

Data quality: Sacramento is the report's largest inland market: 894 single-family and 49 condo closings in August. Single-family data are robust and reliable. Condo data (49 sales) are solid for county-level trend analysis.

Single-family softening: Single-family sales fell 8% YoY, a moderate decline, but the headline is inventory and supply metrics. Contracts increased 6%, suggesting stabilizing demand, but closings declined, indicating a sales-supply timing lag. Months of supply rose from 2.5 to 2.7, while absorption improved 3 points to 44%.

What's unusual: Despite softening conditions, 35% of sales closed above list, up 7 points YoY—Sacramento is moving counter to other inland markets, showing maintained competition even as supply rises.

Price stability: The median held essentially flat at $549,950, suggesting the slowdown is tempo-driven, not value-driven. The 17% increase in price reductions (to 994) and 38% reduction rate indicate pricing pressure nonetheless.

Condo collapse: Sacramento's condo market fell 42% YoY (49 vs 84 closings)—the steepest decline in the region. The condo median fell 18% to $265K, the largest price drop in the region. Months of supply doubled from 3.1 to 6.3, a massive expansion indicating weakening condo demand.

Inland characteristics: Sacramento lacks Bay Area commute premiums and is most sensitive to employment, new construction, and affordability constraints.

Guidance: Sacramento's single-family market is gradually loosening as sales decline and supply increases, but price resilience and overbid strength suggest the market has not collapsed. The condo market deterioration is severe and is the report's most cautionary condo indicator. Treat condo data as a warning signal of potential multi-unit building softening across the region.

Sacramento Market Recap

  • Sales: 894 single-family homes closed, down 8% YoY and 12% from July. Condo closings fell 42% YoY to 49, the steepest condo decline among the counties.

  • Prices: The single-family median was essentially unchanged at $549,950, with price per square foot also flat at $333. The condo median fell 18% to $265,000.

  • Inventory: Combined active listings increased 1% YoY to 2,718, driven entirely by condos. Single-family actives fell 1%, while condo actives increased 17%.

  • Single family: Contracts increased 6% and absorption improved 3 points to 44%, but closings declined 8% and months of supply rose from 2.5 to 2.7.

  • Negotiation: Single-family price reductions increased 17% to 994, with the reduction rate rising to 38%. At the same time, 35% of sales closed above list, up 7 points YoY.

  • Condos: The condo market weakened considerably. Contracts fell 29%, absorption dropped 14 points to 22%, and months of supply doubled from 3.1 to 6.3. Price reductions increased 39%. MoM: Single-family closings fell 12%, days on market increased from 37 to 40, and months of supply rose from 2.4 to 2.7. Condo months of supply increased from 5.3 to 6.3.

  • Bottom line: Sacramento's single-family market is relatively stable on pricing but gradually loosening as sales decline and supply increases. The condo market is significantly weaker, with sharply lower sales, falling prices, and substantially more available inventory.

This report is specifically for the Sacramento County market. Click through if you want to see market report for Placer County or El Dorado County.

Chart: Home Price Changes Over Time
Chart: Median Year Over Year (YOY) Change

Single Family Homes

Chart: Median Sale Price (SFRs)
Chart: August Median Sale Price (SFRs)
Chart: Overbidding: Sales price above list (SFRs)
Chart: Closed Sales per Month (SFRs)
Chart: Median Price per Square Food by Month (SFRs)
Chart: August Median Price per Square Foot
Chart: Average Days on Market
Chart: Local Sacramento County communities (part 1)
Chart: Local Sacramento County communities (part 2)

Condos

Chart: Median Sale Price (Condos)
Chart: Closed sales (SFRs)
Chart: August Median Price per Square Foot (Condos)
Chart: August Median Sale Price (Condos)
August Active Listings by Price Segment
Chart: Active  & in-contract listings
Chart: Percentage of listings pending
Chart: August new listings by price segment
Chart: August closed sales by price segment
Chart: Price reductions
Chart: Last 12 months closed sales by price segment

Housing Market Report

Mortgage rates remain stubbornly elevated at 6.8%, near a 15-month high, as government spending, geopolitical tension, and inflation fears keep bond markets on edge. Don't expect meaningful rate relief soon. Inflation, while easing for two straight months, is still running well above the Fed's 2% target. Locally, the story has flipped. Ater years of Bay Area inflation running below the national rate, home price appreciation has resumed.

The labor market sends mixed signals. Nationally, August jobs data showed surprising strength, averaging 80,000 new jobs a month in 2026. That’s good for homebuyer confidence, but also fuel for inflation and higher-for-longer rates. Locally, it's the opposite: the Bay Area has shed jobs five months running, and tech employment keeps contracting nationally. Low hiring rates continue to suppress relocation-driven demand, a key historical driver of home sales.

The bright spots: foreclosures remain near historic lows thanks to high homeowner equity, and Bay Area home prices are outperforming, up 3.3% year-over-year versus 1.5% nationally. Millennials (30-39) now account for the largest share of mortgage borrowers. Perhaps most notably for our market, inbound migration to the Bay Area has turned positive for the first time in years, with Seattle, Austin, and Manhattan feeding new arrivals.

Chart: 30 years of mortgage history
Chart: Still-too-high inflation
Chart: Bay Area inflation resumes
Chart: Strong August jobs growth
Chart: A low-hire, low-fire economy
Chart: Low hiring rates keep us from moving
Chart: Home sales by price segment (national)
Chart: Millennials dominate mortgage borrowing
Chart: Very few foreclosures in 2026
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