Orange County Housing Report:  It’s the Final Countdown!

The window of opportunity to take advantage of the Summer Market, the second best time of the year for selling, will soon be coming to a close.

Running Out of Time

Demand will remain elevated for the next month, but from there, it will decelerate for the remainder of the year. 

The Women’s World Cup has started, and millions of soccer enthusiasts will be tuned in worldwide for the next month. There will undoubtedly be blowouts. But there will also be close games where fans will be on the edge of their seats anxiously watching the last seconds of the game tic down to zero. Similarly, the Orange County Summer Market is rapidly coming to a close. By the end of August, just a month from now,…

Orange County Housing Report:   Affordability Predicament

Even though the housing market is hot once again, many buyers have been pushed to the sidelines due to the high mortgage rate environment.

Demand is Low Due to Affordability

Today’s monthly payment is 72% of the median household’s monthly income at the current rate and median detached sales price.

This year’s housing market is booming despite the higher mortgage rate environment. Open houses are lined with buyers. Bidding wars have returned, along with homes selling above their asking prices. Housing is crazy once again. To many, it seems as if more buyers are looking to purchase today than before the pandemic, or very similar to the COVID years of the second half of 2020 through…

Orange County Housing Report: Sum-Sum-Summertime

Housing’s Summer Market has arrived, and with it comes an increase in inventory, a slight decrease in demand, and a rise in the market time.

The Summer Housing Market

Expect the Orange County housing market to slow slightly yet to remain exceptionally hot. 

Graduation caps have been tossed into the air since the end of May, marking the beginning of the Summer Market for housing. With the school year ending, it is time to usher in all the distractions of summer: the beach, the community pool, hiking, biking, camping, traveling, and all kinds of camps for the kids. As everyone turns their attention to fun in the sun, the housing market evolves and downshifts slightly.

Spring is cyclically…

Orange County Housing Report:  Different Flavors of the Market

The Orange County housing market is not the same for every price range; some are hot, while others are not.

Price Range Differences

The market is extremely hot in many price ranges, but the luxury end is the biggest exception.

The FOR-SALE sign is pounded into the front yard of a detached home listed at $1 million. It is in mint condition, nicely upgraded, on a beautifully landscaped, small lot. During the initial weekend, the Saturday open house is a success, with buyer after buyer bumping into each other to see the home. By Tuesday morning, the listing agent is sorting through ten offers to purchase the home. By the week’s end, the seller comes to an agreement and accepts an…

Orange County Housing Report: Hype Versus Data

From YouTube to TikTok to the backyard barbecue, there are plenty of narratives regarding the pending doom for housing that the underlying data does not support.

 Stick to the Facts

The best advice in hearing all the talk swirling around the belief that a real estate crash lurks around the corner is to ignore the noise and stick to the facts.

Many YouTube channels, TikTok, and Instagram accounts are devoted to the housing crash narrative. Either housing is crashing, or it is about to. They are convinced that the market will implode, and values will plunge similar to or worse than the Great Recession. The videos are persuasive in tone but lack the complete picture, ignoring the actual…

Orange County Housing Report: Constrained 2023 Inventory

The high mortgage rate environment has prevented many homeowners from selling their homes, and the trend has only deepened this year.

Lack of Sellers

From January through April, there were 46% fewer sellers than the average before COVID, more than 6,500 missing FOR-SALE signs.

In the spring of 2020, life changed for everyone. Public schools, private schools, daycare, universities, dine-in restaurants, sporting events, organized sports, concerts, movie theaters, trips to the mall, amusement parks, public pools, beaches, neighborhood parks, and travel were all put on hold. The COVID “stay at home” order affected nearly every aspect of daily life, including real estate.

The…

Orange County Housing Report:  Housing Insanity Returns

With the number of available homes to purchase at extremely low levels, there simply are too many buyers competing against each other despite high mortgage rates.

A Seller’s Market

When the Expected Market Time drops below 40 days, the housing market leans heavily in favor of sellers.

A three-bedroom, two-and-a-half bathroom, 2,100 square foot home on a 3,700 square foot lot, built in 2003, was placed on the market on the second Tuesday of March at $1,099,000. There was a steady stream of buyers during a three-hour window on Saturday and a two-hour window on Sunday. By Monday evening, more than 20 offers were submitted to the listing agent. The seller countered all offers and asked…

Orange County Housing Report: Supply Dilemma

In the past few years, there has been a severe inventory crisis initially instigated by the pandemic and now due to the high mortgage rate environment.

Lack of FOR-SALE SignsHome values had declined after peaking in May of last year. According to the Freddie Mac Home Price Index, values in the Los Angeles-Orange County region have dropped 7.9% since May. From June 2022 to January 2023, the Expected Market Time averaged 72 days. It was 84 days to start the year. However, in dropping to today’s 44-day level, home values are rising in many areas and price ranges due to the lack of supply. Open Houses are once again crowded with prospective buyers. Many homes are obtaining multiple offers and are selling…