Sacramento’s spring market kicked off with a curious split: more homes changed hands than a year ago, but each one took noticeably longer to sell. The typical home spent 23 days on the market in March, compared with 17 days in March 2025 — a 35% increase that means homes are sitting roughly six days longer than they were last spring, according to newly released data from Redfin.

Prices flat, payments lower

The median sale price in Sacramento was $500,000 in March, down 1.2% from $506,250 a year earlier. The median price per square foot, however, edged up 1.0% to $342, suggesting that while overall sale prices slipped slightly, buyers were not getting meaningfully more home for their money. Compared with February, the median price rose 2.2% from $489,000 — a typical seasonal lift as the spring market gets underway.

The mild dip in prices, combined with lower borrowing costs, has translated into real savings for buyers. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate averaged 6.18% in March, down from 6.65% a year earlier, according to Freddie Mac. On a median-priced Sacramento home with 20% down, that works out to a monthly principal-and-interest payment of about $2,445 — roughly $155 less per month than a buyer would have paid in March 2025. The 15-year fixed rate averaged 5.55%, down from 5.83% a year earlier.

Affordability remains stretched, though. With a median household income of $87,321, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the typical home now costs about 5.7 times annual household earnings — above the 5x threshold generally considered unaffordable. The estimated monthly payment on a median home eats up roughly 34% of median household monthly income.

More sales, but more patience required

Sales activity is the brighter spot in this month’s report. A total of 293 homes sold in Sacramento in March, up 4.3% from 281 in March 2025 and up 8.9% from 269 in February. New listings rose to 495, a 5.3% increase over the 470 brought to market in March 2025. Active inventory ticked up just 1.0% year-over-year to 706 homes.

That works out to about 2.4 months of supply at the current sales pace — still firmly in sellers’-market territory, where buyers have limited choice. The competitive signals back that up: 46.4% of homes sold above their list price in March, slightly higher than the 45.2% share a year earlier, and the typical home sold for 100.1% of its asking price. Half of all listings went off the market within two weeks.

At the same time, 31.0% of active listings saw a price drop during the month, down from 35.1% a year ago — a sign that fewer sellers are having to recalibrate their expectations, even as homes take longer to sell. The longer days-on-market figure suggests buyers are being more deliberate, but when they do commit, they are still bidding competitively.

The contrast with two years ago is sharper. In March 2024, the median home sold in just 11 days and active inventory stood at 413. Inventory has since grown by roughly 70%, giving buyers meaningfully more to choose from than they had two springs ago, even as the median price has held essentially flat at $500,000. Looking back five years, prices have risen 17.6% from $425,000 in March 2021 — a more modest gain than the headline-grabbing run-up many California markets saw earlier in the pandemic.

Sacramento vs. California

Sacramento, with a population of about 528,000, continues to look comparatively affordable next to the broader state. California’s statewide median sale price was $855,300 in March, up 0.7% year-over-year — meaning Sacramento’s median runs roughly $355,000 below the state benchmark. Statewide price per square foot was $519, well above Sacramento’s $342. Homes also moved faster locally: California’s statewide median days on market was 37, considerably longer than Sacramento’s 23.

Nationally, home prices were essentially flat year-over-year, with the S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index slightly lower than a year earlier — a backdrop consistent with Sacramento’s own modest price softening.

The bottom line

March’s data paints Sacramento as a market still tilted toward sellers, but one where buyers have a bit more breathing room than they did a year ago. Prices have softened only slightly, mortgage payments are down meaningfully from last spring, and homes are taking nearly a week longer to find a buyer — but nearly half are still selling above the asking price.