Homebuilding in Orange County is beginning to rise again. 126 single-family residence permits were issued

 in Orange County in September – which was a 63.6% increase from August and a 14.5% from September 2008.

Overall the number of building permits issued in Orange County so far are down 10.6% from 2008.  In the last nine months builders have received 955 houses compared to 1,068 in the first nine months of 2008. The biggest drop in permits had to do with multi-family units.  In September builders took out a mere 17 multi-family unit permits, a 90.2% drop from last year.

San Diego County and the Inland Empire saw the number of permits increase as well.  

Home prices throughout Los Angeles and Orange County rose 1.6% in August marking the third month of 

month-to-month gains.  This month marks the longest of those streaks since September 2006. 

Unfortunately local home prices are still falling at a rate of 12% per year, but that is the smallest annual rate of decline since November 2007. 

The real estate and finance market in Orange County has lost 1 out of 7 employees.  In the month of September t

here was 202,500 Orange County residents working in finance – although that is 15,400 less people than last year it is also the smallest year over year loss in two years. 

The construction industry in Orange County has been hit the hardest – they have lost 10,500 jobs this year alone.  

Since the deadline for the homebuyer tax credit is right around the corner, revenue from broker-handled

 deals increased last month to the highest level for a September in three years.

Broker transactions account for roughly 85% of all local home sales and generated $1.4 billion in Orange County in September.  Broker transactions include home sellers, brokers and agents.  Brokers handled 2,454 homes last month – the most homes for a September since 2005. 

Overall revenue was up 12.3% from September 2008, when broker deals generated $1.2 billion.  For the first time in 4 years revenue rose from August to September – this year rising $149 million. 

The median home price of Orange County homes appears to be on track for this year’s eighth month of

 increases.  If October ends the way its expected to end it should also be the second month of year-over-year price increases after 24 months of price declines.

For the month of September the median price of an Orange County home was $432,000, up 2.9% from 2008.  Overall home prices in Orange County are 33% below their peak. 

In September O.C. shoppers purchased 2,980 residences , up 3.5% from last year’s buying activity.  Nationwide home sales jumped a record 9.4% in September as new home buyers are trying to take advantage of the tax credit that ends next month. 

The $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit has been a target for fraudulent claims.  There have 

been more then 90,000 fraudulent claims made including those made by former homeowners and children.

Eligibility for the tax credit issued by the Obama Administration extended to those who has not owned a primary residence in the last three years and earned less than $75,000 as an individual or $150,000 as a married couple. 

The IRS has discovered 167 criminal schemes, opened 115 criminal investigation and has temporarily frozen more than 1110,000 refunds.   They found that 582 supposed first-time home buyers were under the age of 18 and 73,7999 claims belonged to people who already owned a home. 

Through late August more than 1.4 million claims have been made towards the tax credit.

If you are looking for something fun to do to get into the Halloween spirit why not go on the

 Haunted Fullerton Walking Tour .

Fullerton is one of the oldest and most haunted cities in Orange County so why not take the tour and see where the ghosts are hiding.  On the tour you will find out what businesses have pots and pans flying around when the lights shut off and which famous deceased Fullertonians like to make an appearance. 

The tour lasts approximately 2 ½ hours and will cover 1.5 miles in the downtown Fullerton area.   The tour begins at the Fullerton Museum Center and leaves at 6 pm.  Call 714-738-6545 to make a reservation, the tour ends November 6^th. 

If you are looking for an affordable apartment look no further than Westminster. 

The city had the county’s highest percentage of empty units and the greatest rent cuts.  Rents in large apartment complexes dropped 9%, averaging $1,312 per month.  Almost 11% of units in Westminster’s large apartment complexes are empty.

Mission Viejo and Irvine had the second and third biggest rent reductions.  Summer rentals in Mission Viejo averaged $1,400 a month which was a 7.2% drop.

Irvine had the county’s second-highest vacancy rate at 8.5%.  Irvine apartment owners cut rents by 7.1% to an average of $1,779 a month. 

Rents went down last summer in 22 of 23 Orange County cities studied.  Countywide the average rent was $1,523 over the summer, down 5% from the summer of 2008. 

 The only O.C. city studied to see rents increase was Brea.  Brea’s average rent in a large apartment complex increased 3% to $1,469 a month.  

According to the latest O.C. home inventory report, Aliso Viejo is the hottest market in terms of “market time.”

 Theoretically all homes for sale in Aliso Viejo could be sold in 1.2 months at the current buying pace.  It is the hardest place in Orange County to find a home to buy.

The O.C. city with the slowest market time is Corona Del Mar where – at the current pace – it would take 16.3 months to sell all for sale homes.  It is currently considered the hardest place to sell a home. 

The higher the asking price on houses in the current market conditions the longer it will stay on the

 market.  There has been some discrepancy between what sellers are asking for and where the market is currently at.  This has caused an 85% ratio of the sale to original list price.  The 15% price drop is what is needed in order to move the million-dollar homes.

 Currently homes listed for more than $1 million dollars have a market time of 10.37 months. At the current pace it would take 2.48 for all homes for sale in Orange County to be purchased.  Homes listed under a million dollars have a market time of 1.88 months.