Orange County Housing Report:  Green Shoots 

September 9, 2019

Green Shoots: Trends are developing which demonstrate that the housing cool down is beginning to heat up. 

Ever since the housing market slowed last year, demand has remained sluggish, a bit subdued in comparison to the hot years from 2012 through 2017. Those markets were characterized by a very limited inventory and sizzling demand. Yet, behind the scenes, the 2019 housing market has been boosted by falling mortgage rates. After starting the year at 4.5%, rates have dropped ever since, dipping below 4% in June for the first time since the end of 2017. Today, they sit at 3.5%, the lowest level since October 2016, nearly three years ago. 

As a result of the return to

Orange County Housing Report:  It is what it is 

August 26, 2019

Today’s housing market is a slight Seller’s Market. That is when homes are not appreciating much at all, but sellers get to call more of the shots during the negotiating process. For buyers and sellers, wishing that the market was different is a complete waste of time. 

Many buyers and sellers are holding out and hoping for a change in the market. Buyers want to see housing slow to a crawl like it did in the last four months of 2018 where, for a moment, they were in the driver’s seat. They would love to see prices come down, after all, aren’t values too high? 

Sellers expect the housing market to behave like it did from 2012 through 2017. Boy those were HOT years!! They

The Sky is NOT Falling!

August 12, 2019

 No Housing Collapse: The underlying housing fundamentals have stabilized significantly compared to last year’s slide. 

For buyers or sellers wondering if there are any monsters lurking around the corner, they can be rest assured that the sky is not falling, there are no surprises on the housing front anytime soon. Reports from the housing trenches are that many buyers expect the market to drop like a rock and that is when they will finally be able to purchase. That simply is not on the horizon. Sitting back and waiting on the sidelines will prove to be a waste of time. 

This year, from May to the start of August, the active inventory has remained unchanged, demand has only dropped by 2%,

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Staying Put

Fewer Listings: Not as many homeowners are placing their homes on the market than what is typical for this time of the year.

The summer of 2019 is shaping up to be quite the same way for housing, many homeowners are kicking back in their homes and enjoying the warmer weather rather than placing their homes on the market.

In Orange County, there were 11% fewer homes that came on the market in June of this year compared to June of 2018. That equates to 439 FOR SALE signs. So far in July, there are 6% fewer, or 159 missing FOR SALE signs year-over-year. For buyers monitoring local housing closely, they have witnessed this recent phenomenon. There simply are not as many new homes coming on for buyers to tour.

Sluggish

July 15, 2019

Due to fewer pending sales, the overall housing market is not as hot as it used to be.

Pending Activity: Housing has officially been sluggish in Orange County since April 2018 and it is not changing anytime soon.

The housing market has been moving along sluggishly since the spring of last year. In April 2018, demand (the last 30-days of pending sales) was off 11% compared to April 2017. By July 2018, it was off by 13%. As the year continued to unfold, muted demand became the new normal. After hearing how slow the market had become in 2018, many homeowners eagerly waited for 2019’s Spring Market. Yet, muted demand was not just a blip on the housing radar screen in 2018. Instead, sluggish demand had

Orange County Housing Report:  The Golden Opportunity 

July 1, 2019

Accurately pricing a home initially to avoid price reductions

is the most lucrative strategy.

Similarly, when a home initially comes on the market, the price will determine whether or not a seller will be raising their arms in the air with delight as they successfully close escrow. Buyers today do not want to pay much more than the most recent closed sale. Prices are a lot stickier. The days of rapid appreciation are now in the rearview mirror. Overpriced homes sit without success. Throwing a price out there just to test the market is not a wise strategy. Instead, carefully and methodically pricing a home is vital to cashing in on the Golden Opportunity,

LAST CALL!

June 17, 2019

There is not a lot of steam left in the best time of the

year to sell a home and get it under contract.

Last Call: In order for sellers to cash in on the most lucrative time to sell a home during the year, they better open up escrow soon.

This is the time of year when many sellers come on the market thinking they have an ample amount of time to market their home to take advantage of the Summer Market, but that simply is not the case. Yes, summer has just begun, but the Summer Market for housing already started in May. The housing market shifts away from the Spring Market with the distractions of the end of the school year, especially graduations. From there, the distractions of summer and the

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Sometimes it is a great idea to step away from the

noise swirling around housing and focus on the trends.

Top 5 Housing Trends: With five months of the year in the rear view mirror, there are crystal clear trends in 2019.

Everybody seems to have an opinion about the direction of the housing market. “Up!” “Down!” “The housing run has peaked!” “I’m going to wait for values to come crashing down.” In the end, there is way too much noise that is not rooted in facts, ignoring the data. It is time to step aside from the commotion and look at the trends that have surfaced in 2019.

Here’s a breakdown of the “Top 5” current Orange County housing trends:

1.      There are a lot more homes on the market. In fact, this is the highest