As O.C.’s Confidence Soars, So Do Sales : Economy: Consumers are snatching up homes and autos, furniture and appliances. Merchants say the spending pace, though not as frantic as the ‘80s boom, is nonetheless brisk.

In the hills overlooking San Clemente, Del Cabo Properties last week sold three of its luxury homes--the same number it used to sell in a good month.

At Patterson Dodge in Garden Grove, Ram trucks and new Neon subcompacts are snapped up as soon as they arrive on the lot. “They can’t make them fast enough,” general manager Jeff Patterson said.

And at Pacific Coast Furniture in Fountain Valley, August’s sales were 22% higher than for the same month in 1993. One customer bought enough beds, dressers and side chairs to fill three bedrooms. “Real estate must be selling,” general manager Tom Zimmerman said. “People are buying furniture.”

Soaring consumer confidence in Orange County, revealed in the latest Orange County Annual Survey from UC Irvine, is clearly in evidence at retail stores and real estate brokerages.

Though the sales pace is nowhere near as fast as during the booming 1980s, merchants are quick to point out, it is a certainly a welcome change after the sluggish days of the recession.

“We’re pleased with what we’re seeing in Orange County,” said Bill Ihle, vice president of communications for Broadway Stores Inc. in Los Angeles. “We see the sales trend moving in the right direction for us.”

The survey found that, while household incomes in Orange County remain the same as last year, 60% of consumers say the time is right to make major purchases such as furniture, cars and appliances. In the 1993 poll, only 52% expressed such optimism.

The real test of the consumer confidence will come next month, when the holiday shopping season begins. Retailers generally ring up more sales in the final two months of the year than during the other 10, and for 1994 they voice high hopes.

“We are having a good year,” said Pete Nordstrom, a regional manager for Nordstrom department stores. “Orange County stores are doing well,” he said, and are exceeding sales projections.

One of the biggest beneficiaries of the economic rebound, though, has been the auto industry. Dealers say they are seeing a big increase in customers just as they are getting shipments of new models that have won rave reviews.

The hottest of those new models--from Chrysler Corp.’s new LX midsize cars to Ford’s sport utility vehicles--are selling as soon as they arrive, dealers say.

“This year is a heck of a lot better” than 1993, said Gary Gray, owner of Orange Coast Jeep Eagle. “1991 and 1992 were definitely the pits. Definitely, it’s better than it was.”

Real estate brokers, too, have noticed a quickening pace.

Tom Martin, marketing director for the Coto de Caza planned community in South County, said sales are way up. The company has sold 99 homes so far this year, he said--more than during all of 1993.