September 2016 Orange County Real Estate Market Update

Good afternoon. I’m Jeb Smith, Real Estate Broker with ReMax Terrasol here in Huntington Beach with your Southern California Real Estate Market Report for September 2016 (September 2016 Orange County Real Estate Market Update). As we discussed over the last few months, the market has a general ebb and flow to it and this year is no different as we start to see the ominous signs of the market slowing as we enter the Fall/Winter Market. If you believe the market is starting to move in favor of Buyers then you may want to pay attention as I discuss the state of our local market and my expectations of what the future holds as we push forward into year end and 2017

If you are interested in the actual market statistics, please go here http://www.jebsmith.net/market-stats/

The biggest change over the last month has been the overall slowdown in the market with homes sitting a bit longer than just a few weeks/months ago as well as the Buyer activity slowing with the kids going back to school and reality of the Holiday season looming a few months out. Not only does the statistical data point to a Buyer slow down, it has been obvious at open houses where Buyer traffic has slowed whereas buyers were knocking down each other to be the 1st one in just a few months ago.

This in no way means that the market is shifting to a buyers’ market as this is a seasonal effect that happens almost every year. Many believe that our market is in a bubble or due for a correction but I believe our market has some room to run before any correction takes place and once again this comes down to supply and demand. As you have heard me talking over the last year or so, we have been experiencing a real estate market with anemic levels of inventory and a huge buyer demand which at this time hasn’t changed. Yes, the market has slowed but it was expected and with the slow in buyer demand will also come a decrease in inventory levels as we move into the Holiday season keeping our market in essentially the same territory that we are experiencing now. I have said this in the past and believe that our market will continue moving up to sideways for the foreseeable future unless something happens in the bigger global picture to change that.

Interest rates are still very low by historical measure and while the Federal Reserve may choose to raise them toward the end of the year, it is unlikely that we see a significant increase to rates that would impact home affordability. In other words expect more of the same as low rates continue to support the housing market.

As you know, all Real Estate is local, so if you are a Buyer, Seller or Investor in Today’s market and you have questions, I would love the opportunity to help guide you in the right direction. If you would like more information about me, please go to my website www.jebsmith.net or check out my other videos on YouTube. As always, I appreciate you taking the time to watch and I look forward to seeing you again next month. Make it a great day.