ARMS STRONG
Since they were first aggressively marketed in the early ‘70s, variable/adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs), have enjoyed steadily increasing popularity. Nowhere is this more apparent than in real estate markets like Orange County, where housing prices have escalated at such a staggering rate.
For many homebuyers, the availability of adjustable rate mortgages has meant the difference between qualifying for
a home loan or not. Half of new mortgages in the county are of the adjustable rate variety. In recent months though, the allure of ARMs has diminished somewhat as the difference between fixed and variable loan interest rates has narrowed.
The following chart, reflecting commercial and residential mortgage activity transacted in 1988, shows how ARMs are distributed around the county:
Number of City Mortgage Loans Anaheim & Anaheim Hills 10,535 Brea 2,055 Buena Park/La Palma 4,027 Costa Mesa 4,641 Cypress/Los Alamitos/Rossmoor 3,789 Dana Point 1,597 El Toro/Lake Forest 8,049 Fountain Valley 3,444 Fullerton 5,502 Garden Grove 7,155 Huntington Beach/Sunset Beach/Surfside 10,954 Irvine/Silverado Canyon/Modjeska/Trabuco 9,108 Canyon/ Coto de Caza Laguna Beach 2,235 Laguna Hills 2,741 Laguna Niguel/South Laguna 5,324 La Habra 2,206 Mission Viejo 3,884 Newport Beach/Corona del Mar/Balboa Island 5,343 Orange/Villa Park 7,562 Placentia 2,255 San Clemente/Capistrano Beach 5,024 San Juan Capistrano 3,009 Santa Ana 9,408 Seal Beach 724 Stanton 1,377 Tustin/East Tustin/Cowan Heights/Lemon Heights 3,999 Westminster/Midway City 3,996 Yorba Linda 5,022 COUNTY TOTAL 134,965
Mortgage City Dollar Volume Anaheim & Anaheim Hills $2,082,627,198 Brea 397,647,433 Buena Park/La Palma 480,464,728 Costa Mesa 1,026,820,404 Cypress/Los Alamitos/Rossmoor 480,643,819 Dana Point 367,374,390 El Toro/Lake Forest 919,934,287 Fountain Valley 528,668,631 Fullerton 724,709,790 Garden Grove 816,111,314 Huntington Beach/Sunset Beach/Surfside 1,760,498,796 Irvine/Silverado Canyon/Modjeska/Trabuco 2,152,915,288 Canyon/ Coto de Caza Laguna Beach 414,210,046 Laguna Hills 411,637,516 Laguna Niguel/South Laguna 1,134,412,283 La Habra 278,123,428 Mission Viejo 699,758,804 Newport Beach/Corona del Mar/Balboa Island 1,564,002,692 Orange/Villa Park 1,198,865,786 Placentia 291,938,387 San Clemente/Capistrano Beach 733,358,555 San Juan Capistrano 603,250,862 Santa Ana 1,334,256,099 Seal Beach 156,030,824 Stanton 172,680,691 Tustin/East Tustin/Cowan Heights/Lemon Heights 939,242,287 Westminster/Midway City 460,365,440 Yorba Linda 1,010,040,952 COUNTY TOTAL $23,140,590,730
Average City Dollar Volume Anaheim & Anaheim Hills $197,686 Brea 193,502 Buena Park/La Palma 119,311 Costa Mesa 221,250 Cypress/Los Alamitos/Rossmoor 126,852 Dana Point 230,040 El Toro/Lake Forest 114,292 Fountain Valley 153,504 Fullerton 131,718 Garden Grove 114,062 Huntington Beach/Sunset Beach/Surfside 160,717 Irvine/Silverado Canyon/Modjeska/Trabuco 236,376 Canyon/ Coto de Caza Laguna Beach 185,329 Laguna Hills 150,178 Laguna Niguel/South Laguna 213,075 La Habra 126,076 Mission Viejo 180,164 Newport Beach/Corona del Mar/Balboa Island 292,720 Orange/Villa Park 158,538 Placentia 129,463 San Clemente/Capistrano Beach 145,971 San Juan Capistrano 200,482 Santa Ana 141,821 Seal Beach 215,512 Stanton 125,404 Tustin/East Tustin/Cowan Heights/Lemon Heights 234,869 Westminster/Midway City 115,207 Yorba Linda 201,123 COUNTY TOTAL $171,456
No. of Variable City Rate Loans Anaheim & Anaheim Hills 4,983 Brea 1,046 Buena Park/La Palma 1,879 Costa Mesa 2,432 Cypress/Los Alamitos/Rossmoor 1,741 Dana Point 872 El Toro/Lake Forest 4,402 Fountain Valley 1,875 Fullerton 2,936 Garden Grove 3,247 Huntington Beach/Sunset Beach/Surfside 5,911 Irvine/Silverado Canyon/Modjeska/Trabuco 5,396 Canyon/ Coto de Caza Laguna Beach 1,151 Laguna Hills 1,429 Laguna Niguel/South Laguna 3,311 La Habra 1,074 Mission Viejo 2,182 Newport Beach/Corona del Mar/Balboa Island 3,005 Orange/Villa Park 3,728 Placentia 1,153 San Clemente/Capistrano Beach 2,315 San Juan Capistrano 1,474 Santa Ana 4,014 Seal Beach 399 Stanton 640 Tustin/East Tustin/Cowan Heights/Lemon Heights 2,140 Westminster/Midway City 1,933 Yorba Linda 2,817 COUNTY TOTAL 69,485
% of Variable City Rate Loans Anaheim & Anaheim Hills 47.30 Brea 50.90 Buena Park/La Palma 46.66 Costa Mesa 52.40 Cypress/Los Alamitos/Rossmoor 45.95 Dana Point 54.60 El Toro/Lake Forest 54.69 Fountain Valley 54.44 Fullerton 53.36 Garden Grove 45.38 Huntington Beach/Sunset Beach/Surfside 53.96 Irvine/Silverado Canyon/Modjeska/Trabuco 59.24 Canyon/Coto de Caza Laguna Beach 51.50 Laguna Hills 52.13 Laguna Niguel/South Laguna 62.19 La Habra 48.69 Mission Viejo 56.18 Newport Beach/Corona del Mar/Balboa Island 56.24 Orange/Villa Park 49.30 Placentia 51.13 San Clemente/Capistrano Beach 46.08 San Juan Capistrano 48.99 Santa Ana 42.67 Seal Beach 55.11 Stanton 46.48 Tustin/East Tustin/Cowan Heights/Lemon Heights 53.51 Westminster/Midway City 48.37 Yorba Linda 56.09 COUNTY TOTAL 51.48
Source: TRW Real Estate Market Information
