Author: Sara Beth Williams

By Sara Beth Williams–
Persistently high mortgage rates have dampened housing affordability and contributed to a “lackluster” sales environment in Citrus Heights and elsewhere.

While many were hopeful that the recent Federal Reserve interest rate cut would help, there hasn’t been any “big change yet,” according to regional housing analyst Ryan Lundquist.

In an email to The Sentinel, Lundquist said the Federal Reserve interest rate impacts credit card and auto loan payments and doesn’t automatically mean a reduction in mortgage interest rates. However, Lundquist added that mortgage rates have already dropped over one percentage point from roughly seven and a half percent one year ago to the mid to lower six percent range in 2024 due to the hype.

Even with lowering mortgage interest rates, which are dependent on the buyers’ credit, Lundquist said it’s been a season where many buyers and sellers have been “waiting on the sidelines.”

The volume of houses sold between January and September in 2024 in the 95610 area code was down 43 percent, compared to pre-pandemic numbers, and sales volume was down 40 percent in the 95621 area code.

“Overall, the number of sales has been lackluster in Citrus Heights, but that’s pretty much been the vibe in most portions of the county, so what we’re seeing in Citrus Heights isn’t anything out of the ordinary,” Lundquist said, adding that the volume of sales has dropped 39 percent across the country.

In a recent post on his Sacramento Appraisal Blog, Lundquist said that lower-priced neighborhoods across the region “have been hit really hard.” Lundquist wrote that, generally, neighborhoods with higher price points fare better because potential buyers are “less sensitive to interest rates and affordability.”

In September, Lundquist said housing prices around Citrus Heights “bounce around” from month to month because of a lack of sales. June and July showed lower prices compared to May; however, August sales were higher than any other month in 2024.

The median sales price in Citrus Heights was $510,000 in August, according to Lundquist, which is five percent higher than one year ago.

In a series of marketing updates on his blog, Lundquist said the fall season has been “pretty normal” in terms of real estate sales, but that the market still has a “weird lackluster vibe.” Lundquist said the Sacramento region has had an estimated ten thousand fewer listings in 2024 so far compared to the number of listings from before 2020.

“All things said, the market hasn’t become this dynamic hot zone like some maybe expected would happen when the Fed cut rate,” Lundquist said.

By Sara Beth Williams–
A boarded-up home remains visible to thousands of drivers passing by on Auburn Boulevard each day, with caution tape stretched across the entrance, multiple boarded up windows, broken fences, and a “Keep Out” sign that has been posted on the broken gate for months.

Removal of trees and shrubs earlier this year due to construction along Auburn Boulevard exposed the dilapidated, haunted-looking property, which was the scene of a small house fire in mid-August. Before construction began on Auburn Boulevard at the end of the summer, the home, located at 7500 Cherry Glen Avenue, was completely surrounded by large trees and shrubs, Google Images show.

Michelle Breisacher, who has lived across the street for 40 years, told The Sentinel in August that she knew the previous owners. Once the property was sold after the owners passed away, the home has since appeared to be vacant for years.

Breisacher recently spoke with the Sentinel again on Wednesday and said nothing has changed since the house fire in August, in terms of renovation. Breisacher, who has a clear view of the front of the property, said the owner removed several loads of debris, but otherwise have not been seen on the property.

The owners of the house on Cherry Glen Avenue spoke with The Sentinel Thursday and said they are planning to remodel the home “within the next six months,” and also expressed positivity about the city working improving Auburn Boulevard.

In an update Thursday, the city confirmed that the Building Safety Division continues to work with the current property owners to “move forward with a demolition permit for the site.” City spokesperson Marisa Brown said that the owner has not yet applied for a demo permit and there has been no further update regarding unresolved tree violations.

The city said previously that the property owner removed several trees from the property in March of this year “without authorization,” and that a demo application had been put on hold “due to unresolved tree violations.”

Residential real estate website Trulia shows the property on Cherry Glen Avenue sits on half-an-acre. The four-bedroom, one-and-a-half-bathroom home is reported by Trulia to have last sold for $270,000 in February 2019, however Sacramento County Assessor’s Office records indicate the property changed ownership most recently in August 2022.

Separately, as part of the Auburn Boulevard Complete Streets revitalization project, the city confirmed that it received permission from the owner of the home to remove a tree that “posed a safety risk” and obstructed the construction of a new retaining wall along the property line and the sidewalk.