Here's the latest Orange County California Real Estate Market Report with excerpts and graphs provided by Orange County Economist Steven Thomas.
Homes in Orange County are no longer selling in a week. Instead the average market time is now 3.3 months or 98 days. Gone are the days of 2012 and 2013 where homes were selling a day or 2 with multiple offers. Sale prices are no longer above the asking price and most newly listed homes are overpriced and sitting on the market. Overzealous sellers are quickly realizing that today's housing market is different than the last few years and even different from the first half of this year.
After a home sits on the market for several weeks with no offers, usually the asking price is reduced. The market dictates whether or not a home is overpriced. Currently, 10% of the active listing inventory in Orange County reduces their asking price every week. This is a trend for 2014 but sellers are finding success once they reduce their asking price down to the fair market value. Today's Orange County buyers are only willing to pay the fair market value and this is why overpriced listings are not selling.
A note to buyers: It is NOT a buyers market, it is just taking longer for homes to sell. Even with an average market time of over 3 months, it is still a seller's market, but appreciation has slowed considerably. Today's Orange County sellers need to have patience. Just because a home is priced right does not mean that the home will sell right away. Interest rates are still low at around 4% and there are lots of buyers looking to purchase a home at the fair market value.
Looking for a home in Orange County? You can see all the listings right here.
If you're thinking about selling, you can get an estimate of your home's value here.
The Active Listing Inventory reached its peak last month at around 8,000 homes for sale. In the last 2 weeks the inventory dropped a little and is now around 7,800 homes. The inventory peaked at the end of August which is a normal housing market peak.
The demand for homes (the number of new pending sales since last month) has slightly decreased by 5%. As we move forward into the fall and winter market, we can expect the demand to drop a little more since many buyers will wait until the spring to find a new home.
Only 4 to 5 % of all sales are short sales or foreclosures. The foreclosure market is diminishing over time and approximately 95% of Orange County sellers were "equity sellers" last month.
If you're looking for a home in Orange County, you can see all the listings here.
Are you thinking about selling? Click here and learn how to save thousands.
I love selling real estate and helping people like you. If you have any questions, please call me at 562-225-6602. Paul Armstrong
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