Homes in Fair Oaks sold in a median of 20 days over the three months ending in August, ten days faster than the same stretch a year earlier — a 33% quickening even as the number of homes actually changing hands fell. According to newly released Redfin data, 94 homes sold during the period, down 8.7% from 103 a year ago, one of the steeper pullbacks in sales volume seen across the region. The combination points to a market where fewer homes are available, but the ones that list are moving quickly.

Fewer sales, faster deals

The drop in sales activity coincided with a thinning of supply. Active inventory stood at 176 listings, down 13.3% from 203 a year ago, and new listings fell to 98 from 123. With fewer homes on the market and buyers competing over a smaller pool, properties spent less time waiting for offers.

That dynamic left Fair Oaks with roughly 1.9 months of supply — the amount of time it would take to sell every home currently listed at the present sales pace. Anything under about four months is generally considered a sellers’ market, and 1.9 months places Fair Oaks firmly in tight territory, with limited choice for buyers.

Momentum has cooled slightly in recent weeks, though some of that is typical late-summer behavior. Compared with the three months ending in July, sales slipped 6.9% and homes took a few days longer to sell — a median of 20 days versus 17. Both shifts are modest and consistent with the seasonal slowdown that follows the busy spring and early-summer stretch.

Prices edge higher

The median sale price reached $699,537, up 6.9% from $654,500 a year earlier. On a per-square-foot basis, prices rose a more moderate 4.3%, from $327 to $342, suggesting the headline gain partly reflects buyers purchasing larger homes rather than pure appreciation across the board.

Sellers held firm on price. The median home sold at 99.2% of its asking price, and 37% of homes sold above list — up from 27.2% a year ago, another sign of the competitive conditions created by tight supply. Month over month, the median price was essentially flat, edging up 0.7% from $695,000.

Over a longer horizon, prices have climbed 9.6% over the past five years, and the current median sits well above the $640,000 recorded two years ago. Nationally, home prices continued to rise, with the S&P/Case-Shiller index up year over year.

What it costs to buy

Higher prices and slightly higher borrowing costs have combined to push monthly payments up. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate averaged 6.67% in August, up from 6.59% a year earlier, according to Freddie Mac. On a median-priced Fair Oaks home with 20% down, that translates to a principal-and-interest payment of about $3,600 a month — $259 more than the $3,341 a buyer would have faced a year ago, combining the price increase with the rate move.

Affordability remains stretched. At current prices, a median home costs about six times the median household income of $116,975, according to U.S. Census Bureau data — above the 5x threshold generally considered unaffordable. That monthly payment represents roughly 37% of median household monthly income, a level the National Association of Realtors considers stretched but not out of reach.

The bigger picture

Fair Oaks, a community of about 32,799 residents, has seen its market tighten across nearly every measure over the past year: fewer homes for sale, fewer sales completed, faster deals, and a growing share of homes selling above asking. Taken together, the data describes a market that continues to favor sellers, even as overall transaction volume has thinned.

For buyers, the practical takeaway is a narrower set of choices and less time to act. The 20-day median means a home listed at the start of a month was typically under contract before the month was out — noticeably faster than the 30-day pace of a year ago and closer to the eight-day frenzy of the summer of 2021, when 174 homes changed hands in a comparable stretch, nearly double this year’s total.