Sacramento Housing Data Shows Strong Start to 2015

“From open escrows to new homes sold, residential real estate saw a somewhat surprisingly strong January, according to several local trackers.

The number of open escrows for home sales jumped by 44 percent in the region compared to December, according to Trendgraphix. Seasonality might explain part of the trend, but not all of it, said Pat Shea of Lyon Real Estate.

Toward the end of 2014, the median home price stabilized at $300,000 to $310,000, and interest rates defied expectations and kept dropping, he said. “People saw no sense of urgency and took a break over the holidays,” he said.

But as the new year brought more good economic news locally as well as more progress in industrial leasing and downtown redevelopment, buyers decided the time to wait had passed, he said.

Appraiser Ryan Lundquist, who runs a blog tracking Sacramento County real estate trends, saw a…