Orange County Housing Report | Year-Over-Year Comparison

Echelberger Group

07/28/22

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In comparing this year to last year, the housing market is profoundly different with higher mortgage rates, more available homes, much lower demand, and significantly longer market times.
 
The tell-tale signs that the market has changed are all here. OPEN HOUSE directional arrows now adorn busy intersections, and it is common to see the same OPEN HOUSE for multiple weekends in a row. The number of price reductions is rapidly growing, indicating buyers’ sensitivity to pricing. Sales prices are no longer stretching tens of thousands of dollars above asking prices. The heydays of 2020, 2021, and the first few months of this year are gone. The rapidly appreciating, insanely hot housing market has transformed into a completely different, much slower Slight Seller’s Market that requires a much different strategy and approach to find success.
 
Many sellers are approaching housing as if nothing has changed. They are stretching the asking price and testing the market as if home values are continuing to rocket higher. Unfortunately, OVERPRICED homes are now quite common. An astonishing 35% of all homes available to purchase today have reduced their asking price at least once. It was at 19% in May. These price reductions are not indicative of a drop in home values; instead, it illustrates the volume of sellers who initially price their homes out of bounds, much higher than their true Fair Market Value. In the process these overpriced sellers lose out on the most valuable marketing period, the first couple of weeks after placing their home on the market.
 
Sellers:
→ Arriving at the Fair Market Value is essential
→ Future price reductions leads to fewer buyers and offers
 
Buyers:
→ It is not a market where values are going down
→ Upgraded and well priced homes will sell quickly
→ More days on the market leads to willingness for negotiation
 
Orange County Housing Market Summary:
  • The active listing inventory continued to rise, adding 238 homes in the past couple of weeks, up 6%, and now totals 4,041 homes, breaking past the 4,000-home level for the first time since October 2020. The rate of growth of the inventory as slowed. In June, there were 11% fewer homes that came on the market compared to the 3-year average prior to COVID (2017 to 2019), 418 fewer. Last year, there were 2,537 homes on the market, 1,504 fewer homes, or 37% less. The 3-year average prior to COVID (2017 to 2019) was 6,776, or 68% more.
  • Demand, the number of pending sales over the prior month, decreased by 17 pending sales in the past two weeks, down 1%, and now totals 1,693, its lowest level at this time of year since tracking began in 2004. Last year, there were 2,812 pending sales, 66% more than today. The 3-year average prior to COVID (2017 to 2019) was 2,578, or 52% more.
  • With supply rising and demand falling, the Expected Market Time, the number of days to sell all Orange County listings at the current buying pace, rose from 67 to 72 days in the past couple of weeks, a Slight Seller’s Market (between 60 and 90 days). Housing is rapidly cooling, and the market time is at its highest level since May of 2020. It was at 27 days last year, much stronger than today.
  • For homes priced below $750,000, the market is a Hot Seller’s Market (less than 60 days) with an Expected Market Time of 51 days. This range represents 19% of the active inventory and 27% of demand.
  • For homes priced between $750,000 and $1 million, the Expected Market Time is 66 days, a Slight Seller’s Market. This range represents 25% of the active inventory and 27% of demand.
  • For homes priced between $1 million to $1.25 million, the Expected Market Time is 68 days, a Slight Seller’s Market. This range represents 13% of the active inventory and 14% of demand.
  • For homes priced between $1.25 million to $1.5 million, the Expected Market Time is 71 days, a Slight Seller’s Market. This range represents 11% of the active inventory and 11% of demand.
  • For homes priced between $1.5 million to $2 million, the Expected Market Time is 82 days, a Slight Seller’s Market (between 60 and 90 days). This range represents 11% of the active inventory and 10% of demand.
  • For homes priced between $2 million and $4 million, the Expected Market Time in the past two weeks increased from 98 to 107 days. For homes priced between $4 million and $8 million, the Expected Market Time increased from 159 to 173 days. For homes priced above $8 million, the Expected Market Time decreased from 625 to 372 days.
  • The luxury end, all homes above $2 million, accounts for 20% of the inventory and 10.5% of demand.
  • Distressed homes, both short sales and foreclosures combined, made up only 0.1% of all listings and 0.2% of demand. There are only 4 foreclosures and 2 short sales available to purchase today in all of Orange County, 6 total distressed home on the active market, unchanged from two weeks ago. Last year there were 12 total distressed homes on the market, similar to today.
  • There were 2,362 closed residential resales in June, 33% less than June 2021’s 3,545 closed sales. June marked a 6% decrease compared to May 2022. The sales to list price ratio was 101.5% for all of Orange County. Foreclosures accounted for 0.1% of all closed sales, and there were no closed short sales. That means that 99.9% of all sales were good ol’ fashioned sellers with equity.

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