As an agent always looking to stay ahead of the trends, you might be looking for the next hot locale for your clients. You just might be able to strike gold in Sacramento, dubbed by some as the next Silicone Valley.
Professional services firm JLL said Sacramento could prove to be a magnet for tech companies due to its high concentration of computer programmers and a lower cost of living.
The report indicates that Sacramento now has 11,510 computer programmers employed in the area and the median salary is $84,350.
The median salary for Sacramento computer programmers is less than both the San Francisco/Oakland area and the Silicon Valley area. Silicon Valley’s average salary is $106,420 and San Francisco/Oakland’s average salary is $107,395.
However, with the lower cost of living, companies in the Bay Area could start to look to Sacramento as a viable option. The city is experiencing a real estate boom and urban renaissance that’s hard to miss.
The city boasts a vibrant entertainment scene, including an NBA franchise, the Sacramento Kings. Many out-of-towners are discovering the burgeoning city, which is equidistant from San Francisco and Lake Tahoe and offers the best aspects of the Northern California lifestyle for a fraction of the price.
The attraction isn’t lost on the Sacramento real estate market, now one of the hottest in the country.
According to the Sacramento Area Realtors, more than 1,700 homes sold in May, which is the highest number recorded since 2012.
According to SAR data, the average Sacramento County home is on the market for just eight days before selling.
According to Kellie Swayne, an agent with Dunnigan Realtors, it comes down to supply and demand.
“Right now, California’s real estate is hot, hot, hot,” Swayne said. “With so little supply out there we’ve got lots of buyers in the market. We’ve got multiple offers most of the time.”
According to SAR, new construction hasn’t kept up with demand. Even as buyers from the Bay Area start to flood in, there is competition for new developments and the city’s stock of Victorian homes as well as a steady uptick in the average home price.
According to CoreLogic, Sacramento County’s median home price of $310,000 was still 17 percent below the pre-recession peak.
The real estate outlook for Sacramento is a positive boost for a city that has spent much of the last decade recovering from the housing crisis.
According to Ryan Lundquist, an independent real estate appraiser, overall demand is strong in Sacramento but buyers are sensitive to price and are hesitant to overpay.
