Orange County Summer Home Buying At Highest Level In Years

This summer, home buying around Orange County climbed to its highest level in eight years, according to local real estate analysts. Despite mortgage rates ticking higher and home values climbing close to 20 percent, home shoppers demonstrated their willingness to spend money on Huntington Beach real estate.

According to a recent report by the California Association of Realtors (CAR), the median price of an existing Orange County home climbed 19.7 percent during the month of September as compared to a year earlier to $550,000. Inventory levels continued to be a challenge for interested buyers, with just a 3.8-month supply of available homes for sale. While that was an improvement over the 2.8-month availability of homes in March, it’s still well below the 6-month mark, which is considered normal.

Home builders have put their noses back to the grindstone, however, finishing projects that were abandoned during the housing crisis and economic downturn. During the third quarter, home builders accounted for 8 percent of home sales in the region, the highest number since 2007.

DataQuick, a real estate information company, found that more than 10,000 Orange County homes were sold during the summer quarter, a sharp 11 percent increase from the same time one year earlier. This makes summer 2013 the busiest buying period from July to September since 2005.

While the busy summer buying period has come and gone, many buyers are still expressing their interest in buying despite the upcoming holiday season. Experts say that buyers who are patient and willing to comb the market for available Huntington Beach homes could encounter sellers who are motivated to sell at this time of year. Typically, home sales are down about 9 percent during the holiday period from the summer, so if you’re a buyer who is looking for a tremendous value, the decline in competition could mean that the best is yet to come.

There are so many reasons to consider becoming a Huntington Beach home owner! To learn more about this bustling real estate market in Orange County, please contact me for assistance.