Orange County Housing Report | Not a Good Time to Buy?

Echelberger Group

07/15/21

 
 
 

Potential buyers are being fooled into thinking it is not a good time to purchase and are delaying their plans, ignoring economic facts.

Housing’s Strength: The housing boom has everything to do with supply and demand, and those fundamental features are not going to change anytime soon.
 
Doctors, dentists, lawyers, investors, neighbors, family, friends, it seems everybody has an opinion on the direction of the housing. Unbelievably, only 19% of consumers believe that now is a good time to buy a home. That means that 81% think it is not a good time to buy. There are TikTok videos proclaiming the inevitable crash in housing. No longer than 3-minutes in length, the clips offer Chicken Little titles with no economic backing whatsoever. From YouTube to Facebook, social media has a big opinion when it comes to real estate. All of the noise, the “Gossip Factory,” feeds on everybody’s collective fears and prevents far too many consumers from making the sound decision to participate in this crazy housing market.
 
ATTENTION BUYERS: now is a great time to buy due to historically low mortgage rates. Housing is going to remain strong due to low inventory levels and strong demand fueled by low rates. It is simple Econ 101. This is not going to change anytime soon with no anticipated flood of homeowners coming to market to change the supply side of the equation. It will be more of the same. Follow an economic model and stop watching TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook videos that are not rooted in a laundry list of economic principles, charts, and irrefutable data.
 

Orange County Housing Market Summary:

  • The active listing inventory increased by 140 homes in the past two weeks, up 6%, and now totals 2,528, its highest level since January. In June, there were 14% fewer homes that came on the market compared to the 5-year average between 2015 to 2019 (2020 was skewed do to COVID-19), 557 less. Last year, there were 4,645 homes on the market, 2,117 additional homes, or 84% more.
  • Demand, the number of pending sales over the prior month, decreased by 145 pending sales in the past two weeks, down 5%, and now totals 2,761, its lowest level since February. Last year, there were 3,050 pending sales, 10% more than today, due to a delayed Spring Market.
  • With an increase in the supply and a drop in demand, the Expected Market Time, the number of days to sell all Orange County listings at the current buying pace, increased from 25 to 27 days in the past couple of weeks, its highest level since February, but still an extremely Hot Seller’s Market (less than 60 days). It was at 46 days last year and getting hotter.
  • For homes priced below $750,000, the market is a Hot Seller’s Market (less than 60 days) with an Expected Market Time of 21 days. This range represents 28% of the active inventory and 37% of demand.
  • For homes priced between $750,000 and $1 million, the Expected Market Time is 22 days, a Hot Seller’s Market. This range represents 21% of the active inventory and 27% of demand.
  • For homes priced between $1 million to $1.25 million, the Expected Market Time is 22 days, a Hot Seller’s Market.
  • For homes priced between $1.25 million to $1.5 million, the Expected Market Time is 28 days, a Hot Seller’s Market.
  • For homes priced between $1.5 million and $2 million, the Expected Market Time increased from 29 to 30 days. For homes priced between $2 million and $4 million, the Expected Market Time decreased from 57 to 55 days. For homes priced above $4 million, the Expected Market Time increased from 144 to 168 days.
  • The luxury end, all homes above $1.5 million, accounts for 34% of the inventory and 16% of demand.
  • Distressed homes, both short sales, and foreclosures combined, made up only 0.3% of all listings and 0.4% of demand. There are only 4 foreclosures and 3 short sales available to purchase today in all of Orange County, 7 total distressed homes on the active market, down 3 from two weeks ago. Last year there were 29 total distressed homes on the market, slightly more than today.
  • There were 3,545 closed residential resales in June, 63% more than June 2020s 2,169 closed sales. June marked a 10% increase compared to May 2021. The sales to list price ratio was 101.4% for all of Orange County. Foreclosures accounted for just 0.1% of all closed sales, and short sales accounted for 0.1%. That means that 99.8% of all sales were good ol’ fashioned sellers with equity.

To request to read/download the full report and charts, please email [email protected].
 
 
 
 

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