Housing Recovery Continues in July
Fueled by low mortgage rates and increasing consumer confidence, Orange County’s nascent housing recovery continued in July as both home sales and prices increased.
Last month, 3,871 homes were sold in the county, a 29.8% jump from last year and a slight increase over the 3,726 sold in June, according to Acxiom/DataQuick.
Prices also remained strong, with the median Orange County home selling for $199,000 in July, 3.1% more than last year, but less than the $201,000 mark set in June.
Analysts say the market has hit a plateau in price, but they expect values to move up a few notches this fall.
“These things move in stages,” said John Karevoll, Acxiom/DataQuick analyst. “When it plateaus again [later this year], prices will be 3% to 5% higher.”
Resale houses are once again in high demand and increasingly hard to find, with sales increasing and few new listings coming on the market.
“There’s more buyers out there than there are houses,” said Rich Varner, an agent with Century 21 Chuck Stevens in La Habra. “We are starting to get multiple offers” on houses, he said.
Three- and four-bedroom homes under $200,000 are disappearing quickly, agents said, as many first-time home buyers enter the market lured by low mortgage rates and the threat of rising prices. Since early June, the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has been dropping, reaching a low of 7.09% in late July before edging back up slightly to 7.23% this month, according to Morro Bay-based Mortgage News Co. Both rates involved paying fees of at least 2 percentage points.
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The total number of resale homes was up 30.4% last month to 2,650 from 2,032 in July 1996. And prices are continuing to rise. The median resale home price increased 5.4% to $215,000 in July from $204,000 the same period last year.
Prices are increasing for homes of all values. The median price per square foot of resale houses increased slightly to $127.43 from $126.02 in June and $123.28 last year.
“The overall perception of the economy is so much better, buyers are now willing to take a long-term risk,” said Mark Ackrich, an agent with Re/Max South County in Newport Beach.
But if buyers are willing to take the plunge, few sellers are.
Owners with little or no equity in their homes are still holding on and waiting for prices to rise. Agents say that might change some this fall as the newly adopted capital gains tax cut brings more homes on the market in older, well-established areas.
And Karevoll suggests that some people might be ready to buy a new house with some of the money they have taken out of the flighty stock market.
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New home sales picked up too last month, but not as much their resale counterparts, edging up 11.6% in July to 472 from 423 last year.
And although new home prices vary widely depending on what communities are selling, prices remained somewhat weak, increasing just 1% in the last year to $227,250 from $225,000 last July. Builders claim that their luck is changing as buyers are unable to find what they want in the existing housing market.
“Our sales are quite good and our prices are increasing,” said Frank Foster, Orange County region manager for Fieldstone Communities. But, he said, some areas are doing better than others, including South County, where Fieldstone has raised prices as much as 20% in its Solana Vista community.
Condo resales were the only category that didn’t improve in price. Although the volume of condo resales was up 41.9% from last year to 749, the price hasn’t budged from last year. The median condo stayed at $123,000, the same as last July and even below the $128,000 price reached last month.
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Orange County Home Sales
July home sales rose 29.8% from a year ago, and the overall median price rose 3.1% to $199,000. Sales and median price for new and resale homes and condominiums, by ZIP Code:
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Pct. Median Pct. Highest Community Zip Sales Chng. price chng. price Aliso Vjo 92656 108 30.1% $177,000 16.4% $400,000 Anaheim 92801 34 3.0% $138,750 -0.9% $287,500 Anaheim 92802 26 73.3% $155,000 -2.5% $210,000 Anaheim 92804 60 11.1% $155,250 -0.2% $385,000 Anaheim 92805 39 2.6% $137,750 2.0% $200,000 Anaheim 92806 21 -34.4% $179,500 6.8% $225,000 Anaheim 92807 61 35.6% $212,000 7.1% $701,500 Anaheim 92808 49 36.1% $224,250 -12.7% $650,000 Brea 92821 42 -12.5% $194,500 4.0% $480,000 Bna Park 90620 57 96.6% $159,000 -0.6% $200,000 Bna Park 90621 28 40.0% $162,750 6.4% $450,000 C. del Mar 92625 33 65.0% $615,000 -13.8% $1,263,000 Csta Mesa 92626 34 -5.6% $216,500 3.8% $349,000 Csta Mesa 92627 35 -12.5% $174,000 2.4% $560,000 Cypress 90630 64 25.5% $222,000 29.8% $430,000 Dana Pnt 92624 13 62.5% $206,000 -20.1% $640,000 Dana Pnt 92629 58 26.1% $251,000 16.7% $1,050,000 FH. Rnch 92610 34 -19.0% $209,500 -5.8% $427,500 Fntn Vlly 92708 75 11.9% $225,000 -0.7% $435,000 Fullerton 92831 19 -17.4% $143,000 -21.9% $303,000 Fullerton 92832 12 -7.7% $144,750 -7.8% $325,000 Fullerton 92833 49 36.1% $155,500 -14.3% $298,000 Fullerton 92835 37 68.2% $248,000 9.0% $685,000 Gdn Grv 92840 56 47.4% $155,500 1.6% $2,000,000 Gdn Grv 92841 32 3.2% $173,500 12.3% $605,000 Gdn Grv 92843 44 76.0% $136,250 -8.6% $200,000 Gdn Grv 92844 21 40.0% $116,500 -11.7% $207,000 Gdn Grv 92845 25 56.3% $178,000 -11.0% $265,000 Hunt. Bch 92646 71 34.0% $218,000 6.9% $375,000 Hunt. Bch 92647 54 22.7% $226,000 9.4% $370,000 Hunt. Bch 92648 64 12.3% $251,000 -0.8% $700,000 Hunt. Bch 92649 41 -14.6% $231,500 14.3% $1,100,000 Irvine 92604 46 48.4% $221,250 -1.7% $400,000 Irvine 92606 22 120.0% $231,750 5.3% $430,000 Irvine 92612 52 33.3% $277,000 11.2% $695,000 Irvine 92614 39 116.7% $233,500 -7.2% $440,000 Irvine 92620 56 43.6% $239,500 19.8% $445,000 La Habra 90631 42 -2.3% $145,500 -12.9% $750,000 La Palma 90623 17 -43.3% $228,000 6.0% $283,500 Lag. Bch 92651 46 35.3% $450,000 18.4% $2,250,000 Lag. Hlls 92653 102 6.3% $204,750 32.1% $1,425,000 Lag. Ngl 92677 161 3.9% $237,250 -0.5% $2,600,000 Lk Forest 92630 110 1.9% $195,000 2.6% $382,000 Los Almts 90720 25 -13.8% $299,000 8.7% $455,000 Mssn Vjo 92691 102 41.7% $193,000 0.0% $382,500 Mssn Vjo 92692 116 8.4% $230,000 -1.4% $484,000 Nwprt Bch 92657 8 0.0% $350,000 -8.9% $882,000 Nwprt Bch 92660 62 40.9% $422,000 -20.8% $1,698,000 Nwprt Bch 92661 3 -40.0% $730,000 50.5% $795,000 Nwprt Bch 92663 35 -2.8% $285,000 -10.7% $1,150,000 Orange 92865 21 90.9% $168,000 -6.7% $234,000 Orange 92866 20 100.0% $197,500 16.5% $260,000 Orange 92867 44 25.7% $210,000 10.2% $857,000 Orange 92868 13 -35.0% $132,250 1.5% $180,000 Orange 92869 62 77.1% $187,000 -16.0% $390,645 Placentia 92870 69 76.9% $202,000 12.8% $295,000 RS Mrgrta 92688 137 67.1% $179,500 11.8% $388,000 SJ Capo 92675 57 58.3% $200,000 9.9% $1,090,000 Sn Clmnte 92672 73 46.0% $249,250 13.8% $1,000,000 Sn Clmnte 92673 40 48.1% $253,750 4.4% $513,500 Santa Ana 92701 40 17.6% $115,500 -5.7% $180,000 Santa Ana 92703 45 28.6% $115,000 -8.0% $175,000 Santa Ana 92704 63 6.8% $146,250 -2.5% $340,000 Santa Ana 92705 53 35.9% $248,500 13.5% $740,000 Santa Ana 92706 34 25.9% $168,250 -1.0% $339,000 Santa Ana* 92707 49 2.1% $137,000 24.0% $280,000 Seal Bch 90740 23 43.8% $313,500 2.6% $1,085,000 Stanton 90680 24 33.3% $101,000 -12.6% $190,190 Trabuco/Coto 92679 131 37.9% $264,000 -7.2% $2,303,500 Tustin 92780 61 32.6% $175,000 -11.6% $340,000 Tustin 92782 41 70.8% $255,000 25.6% $524,500 Villa Park 92861 10 -23.1% $480,000 20.0% $660,000 Westminster 92683 68 7.9% $178,000 11.3% $320,000 Yorba Linda 92886 68 4.6% $230,000 -1.3% $1,850,000 Yorba Linda 92887 52 18.2% $275,000 -12.0% $750,000 Others - 133 - - - - Countywide 3,871 29.8% $199,000 3.1% $2,600,000
Entered Community foreclosure Aliso Vjo 29 Anaheim 14 Anaheim 5 Anaheim 27 Anaheim 20 Anaheim 7 Anaheim 11 Anaheim 3 Brea 2 Bna Park 22 Bna Park 3 C. del Mar 2 Csta Mesa 11 Csta Mesa 11 Cypress 10 Dana Pnt 0 Dana Pnt 6 FH. Rnch 3 Fntn Vlly 11 Fullerton 3 Fullerton 5 Fullerton 14 Fullerton 2 Gdn Grv 13 Gdn Grv 18 Gdn Grv 16 Gdn Grv 7 Gdn Grv 6 Hunt. Bch 13 Hunt. Bch 5 Hunt. Bch 7 Hunt. Bch 5 Irvine 7 Irvine 0 Irvine 7 Irvine 3 Irvine 9 La Habra 16 La Palma 3 Lag. Bch 5 Lag. Hlls 13 Lag. Ngl 19 Lk Forest 27 Los Almts 0 Mssn Vjo 29 Mssn Vjo 14 Nwprt Bch 0 Nwprt Bch 5 Nwprt Bch 0 Nwprt Bch 2 Orange 6 Orange 3 Orange 5 Orange 11 Orange 19 Placentia 11 RS Mrgrta 22 SJ Capo 10 Sn Clmnte 7 Sn Clmnte 1 Santa Ana 18 Santa Ana 22 Santa Ana 37 Santa Ana 13 Santa Ana 16 Santa Ana* 19 Seal Bch 1 Stanton 13 Trabuco/Coto 13 Tustin 13 Tustin 3 Villa Park 2 Westminster 20 Yorba Linda 13 Yorba Linda 2 Others 11 Countywide 781
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Sales, Price Trends
Sales
July 1997: 3,871
Median Price
July 1997: $199,000
July Sales: 3,871
July Median Price: $199,000
* Includes Lemon / Cowan Heights
Source: Acxiom/DataQuick
Researched by JANICE L. JONES / Los Angeles Times
