Did April Home Price Beat the Bubble?

The median price of an Orange County home hit $644,000 in the four weeks ending on April 25 – just $1,000 shy of the all time high of $645,000 set in June 2007, CoreLogic’s weekly update shows.

When CoreLogic releases its final April housing report on Tuesday, Orange County’s market may be the first in Southern California to regain ground lost when the housing bubble burst in late July 2007.

The weekly housing number released Friday includes home sales for the final five days of March and does not include the final four days of April.

The median price is up 8.5 percent from the same four-week period in 2015 and is 3 percent higher than March’s median, or price at the midpoint of all sales.

But fewer people appeared to be willing or able to buy Orange County residences at April’s prices.

Transactions were down 3.5 percent in the period to 3,400 closings.

Even if April’s final median price meets or beats the 2007 record, housing here is still a bargain compared to the bubble once inflation is taken into account.

A home costing $645,000 today still is worth about $96,000 less than the amount paid in 2007 dollars.

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Looking For a Home Under $750k? 11% Fewer Options This Spring

It’s not easy being a house hunter in Orange County this spring, if you’re looking for a home priced under $750,000.

Shoppers looking for properties priced below $750,000 are finding limited choices and what’s available is selling extremely quickly, the latest edition of ReportsOnHousing shows.

As of last Thursday, 47 percent of the residences for sale in brokers’ listing networks were priced below $750,000. A year ago, this same cheaper end of the market had 54 percent of the listings.

How did we get here? ReportsOnHousing data shows:

• At the low-end, 2,559 Orange County residences listed were priced under $750,000, down 324 homes or 11 percent fewer choices vs. a year ago.

• Despite quickly falling supply, demand for homes priced under $750,000 – defined as new escrows in the last 30 days – was 2,119 as of last Thursday, off just 92 homes or 4 percent from a year ago.

• At the high end, supply grows: 3,481 Orange County residences were listed for sale at $750,000 and above. That’s up 506 or 17 percent from a year ago.

• High-end demand is keeping pace, though, with new escrows above $750,000 at 1,093 as of last Thursday, up 155 (17 percent) from a year ago.

As a result of the inventory turmoil, Orange County shoppers seeking cheaper homes must act quickly. Just look at ReportsOnHousing’s “market time” calculation that tallies how long it would take to sell the entire inventory at the current pace of demand.

The typical Orange County home priced under $750,000 is getting into escrow in 36 days as of last Thursday, according to market time math. That’s three days quicker than a year ago. Note that ReportsOnHousing considers any market time reading under 90 days to signal a “seller’s market.”

Pricier homes take almost three times as long to sell in Orange County. Market time for homes priced $750,000 and above slowed a day. Last Thursday’s market time was 96 days, one day longer than a year ago.

“Demand is so hot for starter homes that many buyers will not be able to purchase,” ReportsOnHousing’s Steve Thomas says. “There are currently far more buyers than sellers. Buyers need to be on their ‘A’ game in order to be successful and secure a home within these ranges today.”

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