The Orange County,
California housing market continues to experience a low supply homes for sale
due to strong interest from buyers. Due to this fact, home buyers must have all
their ducks in a row when searching for a home in Orange County in 2018. The following
is an up-to-date glance into the local housing market, as well as some
excellent advice for home shopping success.
Home Shopping Guide for
Orange County: 2018
Limited supply. Solid
competition. Fast transactions. Those are several items prospective home buyers
can mot likely anticipate. Having said that, here are a few things you may want
to do prior to searching for a home in Orange County, to maximize your
likelihood of closing on a purchase.
1. Study and become
familiar with existing home prices in your desired area(s).
According to the
California Association of Realtors, home prices in Orange County have remained
steady during the last two years. The median sales price for single family
homes reached $786,600 in October 2017.
That is the media value,
not the average home sales price. The median value can be skewed when numerous
multi-million dollar homes sale and fewer low priced homes were sold in a given
month.
Buying in North Orange
County vs. South County
This market offers a
broad range of home prices, so you’ll want to zero in on the area(s) where you
plan to buy a home. The median sales price for many areas in Orange County fall
range from $550,000 and $580,000. But the median sales price can be $1 million
in new home developments, or $788,000 for n existing home in Irvine. There's a
diverse selection of prices.
2. Get pre-approved for a
home loan, so you can compete.
Inventory is still very
limited in the Orange County housing market. As of October 2017, the county had
a 3.5 to 4 month supply of residential homes for sale. For a balanced market
six months would be the normal measure.
This fact emphasizes the
importance of being pre-approved for home financing, prior to looking for a
home in Orange County. Savvy sellers and realtors strongly prefer interested
buyers to have their financing prepared in advance, prior to making a purchase
offer. For the buyers who are paying all-cash, they will need to provide bank
statements showing they have the necessary funds to purchase the home outright.
3. Hire an experienced
real estate agent to represent you.
Based on recent real
estate data and research, Orange County, CA is becoming less of a sellers'
market. In October, pending home sales fell for the fourth consecutive month
fell. The decline was just 2.6%, but that follows a year-over -year 6.6% drop
in Sept, and 3.5% in August.
With this facts, it is
even more reason to work with an experienced real estate agent when searching
for a home in Orange County. Wouldn't you want every possible advantage when
house hunting in Orange County.
The market could be
slowly changing but a home in a high demand area like Orange County will for
the most part remain competitive for buyers.
