A year ago, a typical home in Granite Bay found a buyer in less than two weeks. This spring, it took 33 days — a shift that reshapes the negotiating dynamics in one of Placer County’s most expensive markets. Newly released Redfin data for the three months ending in May shows median days on market climbed roughly 154% year-over-year, the most striking change in an otherwise steady market.

A slower pace, even as prices rise

The longer wait time stands in contrast to prices, which continued to push higher. The median sale price reached $1,418,401, up 5.1% from $1,350,000 during the same stretch last year. Median price per square foot rose more modestly, up 2.0% to $441, suggesting the price gains reflect broad-based appreciation rather than a shift toward larger homes. Sales volume held essentially flat, with 76 homes changing hands compared with 75 a year earlier.

Two years ago, Granite Bay homes were also moving in about 13 days, with a median price of $1,125,000. The current 33-day pace marks a clear departure from the rapid turnover that defined the local market through 2024 and into early 2025. Prices, meanwhile, have risen 19.9% over the past five years, when the median stood at $1,182,500 and homes were selling in just six days.

Inventory tightens, but buyers still have room

Active inventory totaled 149 homes, down 13.4% from 172 a year earlier. New listings also pulled back, with 100 homes hitting the market compared with 127 last spring. At the current sales pace, that works out to roughly 2.0 months of supply — a level that traditionally signals a sellers’ market, though the longer days on market complicates that picture.

The share of homes selling above asking price tells a similar story. In the three months ending May 2026, 28.4% of Granite Bay homes sold for more than the list price, down from 40.0% a year ago. The sale-to-list ratio sat at 99.2%, meaning the typical home closed just under its asking price — a sign that sellers, while still in a relatively strong position, are no longer commanding the premiums they did last spring.

Month-over-month, the data showed the seasonal pickup typical of spring. Homes sold rose 31% from the prior three-month period, and days on market eased from 37 to 33. The median sale price dipped 2.9% from $1,460,000, a small move in a market this thin, where a handful of high-end transactions can swing the median in either direction.

Affordability and the rate backdrop

Granite Bay, with a population of about 21,700, remains one of the region’s most expensive housing markets. At the current median price, a buyer putting 20% down and financing the rest at May’s average 30-year fixed mortgage rate of 6.44% would face a principal-and-interest payment of about $7,127 per month. That’s roughly $73 more per month than a year ago — the price gain outweighed the drop in mortgage rates, which averaged 6.82% last May, according to Freddie Mac data published by the Federal Reserve.

The median household income in Granite Bay is $184,606, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, well above state and national figures. Even so, the median-priced home now costs roughly 7.7 times the median household income, and the estimated monthly payment consumes about 46% of median household monthly income — above the 43% threshold the National Association of Realtors uses to define affordability strain.

Nationally, home prices were essentially flat year-over-year in March, with the S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index slightly below its level a year earlier. Granite Bay’s 5.1% price gain runs ahead of that national trend.

What the numbers add up to

The headline shift in Granite Bay this spring is not about price or volume, both of which moved only modestly. It’s about time. Sellers are still getting close to their asking prices, and inventory remains relatively tight, but buyers are no longer pressed to decide within days. The combination of fewer above-list sales, a lower share of homes selling at a premium, and a fivefold increase in time on market suggests a market that remains favorable to sellers on price but has loosened meaningfully on pace.