Orange County Housing Report
March 18, 2010

With the return of Southern California sunshine and temperatures in the 70's, Orange County demand is increasing. Demand, the number of new pending sales over the prior month, increased by 216 homes over the prior two weeks and now totals 3,270, the highest level thus far in 2010. Demand is 600 pending sales stronger than last year at this time and 1,187 stronger than two years ago.

Subscribe to the Orange County Housing Report as part of REALTOR® Tony Dove's newsletter. For more real estate news and commentary, visit: Inman News Tony Dove's Local Realty Digest

After looking at developing trends, I had been wondering whether or not demand was going to surge or if it would ignore cyclical market fundamentals. It would not have been the first time during this downturn that actuality strayed from the historic conventions of the Southern California housing cycle. Call it a coincidence, but now that the cool temperatures, clouds and rain have subsided, the Orange County housing market is revving its engine. There are a great many buyers in the marketplace right now according to REALTORS® in the trenches. The most current issue is surprisingly a LACK OF INVENTORY. The expected market time for all homes priced below $1 million is 2.23 months, a deep seller's market with a very low inventory. These homes represent 78% of the active inventory and 94% of demand. But, for homes priced above $1 million, there is NOT a lack of inventory. Collectively, this range represents 22% of the active inventory but only 6% of demand. The expected market time is 8.99 months, a buyer's market. To understand how the market has evolved since last year, let's take a closer look and compare year over year changes in both the active inventory and demand:

The inventory has dropped significantly in every range. With the exception of homes priced below $250,000, demand is much stronger in every range. There just are not enough homes on the market in the lower ranges where demand is so incredibly hot. For the lowest range, less than $250,000, the inventory is down 43%, but demand is only off by 10%. It is no wonder that there are multiple offers and homes selling for above their asking prices in the lower ranges. More inventory would actually be welcomed with open arms by both buyers and their REALTORS®. These charts also illustrate how the "jumbo" market between $750,000 and $4 million has improved tremendously. Their expected market time has dropped significantly as well. For example, homes priced between $1 million and $1.5 million dropped from an expected market time last year of 16.21 months to 6.55 months today. 6.55 months of inventory is a buyer's market, which is a vast improvement over no market. Anytime the expected market time is above 10 months, double digits, there is way too much inventory for the demand. Currently, only homes above $2 million have expected market times that are double digits. They represent 10% of the current active inventory, but only 2% of demand. The current market is much different than just one year ago. Just ask the many buyers who are having trouble purchasing because of a lack in inventory.

The active inventory increased over the past two weeks by 330 homes, or 4%, to 8,776. The active inventory last year was at 11,606, 2,830 additional homes compared to today. Two years ago it was at 15,617, 6,841 additional homes. The overall expected market time for all of Orange County dropped from 2.77 two weeks ago to 2.68 months today. The total pending sales count, which includes homes that have been pending for months, increased from 6,869 two weeks ago to 7,049 today. This is the highest level since I started tracking total pending sales back in September of 2006, and is primarily due to the mind-boggling number of short sales that are waiting for lender approval. Short sales are homes where the outstanding loans exceed the market value of the home and are subject to the lender[s] agreeing to take less in order to close the sale. 4,250 of the 7,049 total pending sales are short sales, 60%. Yet, only 40% of current demand is made up of short sales. On average, short sales just do not close as fast. Instead, they clog the system and buyers are left on the edge of their seats wondering when they will ever be able to move into their new home.

The number of active distressed homes on the market, all short sales and foreclosed homes combined, increased by 26 homes to 2,795 and now represent 31.8% of the inventory. Last year at this time, there were 4,673 distressed homes on the market, representing 40.3% of the active inventory. The number of foreclosed homes included within the active listing inventory decreased by two homes in the past two weeks and now total 394. The expected market time for foreclosed homes is an astonishing 1.05 months, a very deep seller's market. Foreclosed homes are flying off of the market. The number of short sales included within the active listing inventory increased by 28 and now total 2,401. The expected market time for short sales is 1.86 months, also a deep seller's market.

Source: Steven Thomas, President, Altera Real Estate