As with many markets in California that were heavily heated before the financial collapse, the Sacramento real estate market saw deep drops in prices and harsh rises in foreclosures after the bursting of the U.S. housing market bubble. Despite such adverse effects, the market does seem to be on the brink of stabilizing as of late.

According to statistics available from the Sacramento Association of Realtors, in January 2010, the median value of a home sold in Sacramento was $100,001, unchanged from December 2009 but up 5.3% from a year ago, showing slight signs of progress. The average value, however, was at $111,300, down 11.2% from December 2009’s average of just over $125,000, but the average was only down 1.3% from January 2009.

The percentage of sales in January 2010 included 54% of home sold that had been repossessed, 25% short sales and just 21% conventional home sales. There were also 190 new listings published in January, an increase in new listings of around 33% from December, and an increase of 10.5% from a year ago. The largest percentage of Sacramento homes for sale sold in January were in the $200,000 to $249,999 range, 16% of single-family home sales. As for condos, the largest number sold were in the $80,000 to $89,999 range, constituting 15.3% of total condo sales in the month.

In January, the median number of days on the market was 22 and the average number of days homes were spending on the market was 54, both relatively low numbers. According to the Sacramento Bee, about 12.3% of mortgages in the Sacramento area were more than 90 days overdue or in the midst of the process of foreclosure. December’s rate was 11.99%, suggesting the number of those in trouble is slowly rising. One year ago, the percentage of owners in trouble was just 7.6%.