With very little fanfare, demand for homes in the upper price ranges has improved dramatically. Until recently, the emphasis has been on the price ranges, below $750,000. The expected market time for the lower price ranges is just three weeks. Multiple offers, sales prices above list prices, and a lot of unhappy buyers characterize these price ranges. It is a crazy market, which is why there is so much press hullabaloo surrounding these homes.
For more in depth analysis of the current Orange County housing market please continue on to the full Orange County Housing Report…
Photo Credit: little miss ladybug
The average days on market for the current active inventory in all of Orange County is about 80, and is skewed by high priced, over priced and poorly maintained or located homes that have been on the market for a long time, in some cases, years. Who in his right mind would sit down with a potential seller today and set an expectation of selling in eleven weeks?
For more in depth analysis of the current Orange County housing market please continue on to the full Orange County Housing Report…
Photo Credit: mrkathika
With very few homes for sale, the market is extremely challenging.
Everybody is frustrated. Buyers write offer after offer, experiencing multiple instances where they didn’t have the “winning bid.” Many wonder if they will ever be able to secure a home. REALTORS® representing buyers have to work ten times harder than in a normal, balanced market, showing every home that appears on the market, analyzing the data and writing offers that become one of 20 submitted. Sellers are surprised to find that even in this market environment, home values have not really appreciated the 20% or more that some reported median prices suggest. REALTORS® representing sellers have to keep their clients from getting too far ahead of themselves and grossly overpricing their homes.
For more in depth analysis of the current Orange County housing market please continue on to the full Orange County Housing Report…
Photo Credit: Images_of_Money
We end the year with low inventories and demand.
Homes have not been placed on the market this year at a rate comparable to any other year in the past decade. There were 16% more homes placed on the market in 2011 versus 2012. That equaled an average of 460 additional homes placed for sale in the Orange County housing market every single month. Just prior to the housing turn, in 2005, there were 53% more homes placed on the market than today. That equals an average of 1,581 additional homes for sale every single month.
For more in depth analysis of the current Orange County housing market please continue on to the full Orange County Housing Report…
Photo Credit: Lee J Haywood
It is no longer a buyer’s market, quite the opposite. Strong buyer competition, multiple offers, offers at or above the asking price, this is the new Orange County housing market reality, a seller’s market, and all sellers are interested in recouping part of the losses they have experienced over the last few years.
Even bank owned homes are selling for an average 2% to 3% above asking price, depending on whether they are priced above or below $500,000. Only 6% of all home sales in October were bank owned, a percentage not seen since 2007. There are currently only 142 bank owned homes in the Orange County active listing inventory.
For more in depth analysis of the current Orange County housing market please continue on to the full Orange County Housing Report…
Photo Credit: Diana Parkhouse
Photo Credit: Dj Crazy Gabe
The newest problem for the slowly improving housing market isn’t a shortage of serious buyers; it’s a shortage of good homes.
Increasingly, many buyers are competing for the same house. With housing inventory at a low, would-be buyers are packing open homes and scrambling to bid on homes even before they’re listed. Bidding wars are erupting. However, unlike the bidding wars that typified the bubble years which largely reflected surging sales, today’s are a result of supply shortages.
For more in depth analysis of the current Orange County housing market please continue on to the full Orange County Housing Report…
Photo Credit: Paolo Camera
Buyers’ Broken Hearts: In a multiple offer situation, only one buyer wins.
It appears that gone are the days when buyers have the time to scrutinize the market and slowly isolate the perfect home, at least for the time being.
A buyer can no longer take a week to decide to make an offer to purchase. They can no longer take their time and gingerly approach the market. These tactics only work during a buyer’s market. For homes priced below $1 million, representing 71% of the active listing inventory and 92% of demand, it is a seller’s market with tremendous competition, including multiple offers and purchase prices often at or even over the asking prices. And, as one moves down in the price ranges, they discover the completion is more and more fierce.
For more in depth analysis of the current Orange County housing market please continue on to the full Orange County Housing Report…
Photo Credit: Millzero Photography
Equity Sellers: Sellers with equity made up 63% of all sales in May.
In recent years, much of the focus in the real estate market has been on distressed properties. Equity sellers (standard sales) are typically not distressed and therefore garner little attention (especially by the media) even though equity sales have remained a large percentage of the homes sold in Orange County. At this juncture, equity sales represent 63% of home sales in Orange County in May 2012 and 62% of all home sales in 2011. Fifty-eight percent of current demand (new pending sales over the prior month) and 82% of the active inventory of homes for sale are for sale by equity sellers.
For more in depth analysis of the current Orange County housing market please continue on to the full Orange County Housing Report…
Photo Credit: The Car Spy
The following statistics are for detached single family homes as of April 9, 2012.
Anaheim Hills
More information about Anaheim Hills real estate
Orange Park Acres Area
More information about Orange Park Acres real estate
North Tustin
More information about North Tustin real estate
Villa Park
More information about Villa Park real estate
Yorba Linda
More information about Yorba Linda real estate
* Closed in the last 90 days.
** Sales Price as a % of the original list price.
*** Based on current pending sales.
**** Active Distressed.
All Information is from SoCalMLS.
All Information believed to be correct, but not guaranteed for any specfic purpose.
With the exception of buyers and sellers actively involved with the sale or purchase of a home, the general public appears absolutely unaware of the current conditions in the Orange County housing market. I am often asked about the status of the housing market in Orange County and Southern California. It is interesting to witness people’s surprise and astonishment as I explain the current market dynamics.
Many Realtors are having a hard time explaining the current situation to both buyers and sellers. Here’s the situation in a nutshell; the inventory is 36% lower than a year ago at this time, the distressed inventory is still artificially suppressed, and demand has not been at this level since the tail end of the housing bubble in 2005.
For more in depth analysis of the current Orange County housing market please continue on to the full Orange County Housing Report…
Photo Credit: horrigans
