The inventory issues that have continued to plague interested Huntington Beach home buyers for much of 2013 is continuing, but only to a small degree. According to Steve Thomas’ ReportsOnHousing, the tiny three-tenths of 1 percent decline marks the first drop in inventory for the Orange County housing market since mid-March.
Thomas said: “The drop in inventory is a bit delayed and should have started a couple of months ago.” But for buyers who have been contending with a deluge of competition for much of 2013, the news is anything but welcome. Most of the real estate markets around Orange County are favoring the seller, with prices pushing higher because of increased demand.
However, Thomas points out that many “overly optimistic sellers have flooded the market,” and also indicates that this decline in inventory is due in part to the seasonal nature of the real estate market. Typically, the months following the summer, especially the holiday months, are not a historically busy time for the real estate market. Many sellers don’t feel comfortable moving with their children settled in schools, and the holidays present a challenging time to list and sell a property.
According to Thomas, many sellers have lofty expectations when it comes to selling their Huntington Beach homes, many of whom believe they will begin collecting offers in as little as a week. But as Thomas points out, the typical market time for a home sale in Orange County is 2.74 months.
And while many homes were flying off the shelves, so to speak, earlier this year, this just isn’t the time of year when the market behaves that way. He adds: “Hopefully, more and more sellers will come to the realization that they need to be priced at the fair-market value.”
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