Orange County’s homebuying binge continued in June as price records were broken across the region and in all six Southern California counties.
House hunters ignored soaring prices and bidding wars and bought homes at a pace not seen in years. Here are 12 must-watch trends my trusty spreadsheet found within DQNews/CoreLogic’s report on closed transactions in June for Orange County …
1. Sales: 4,146 existing and new residences sold, up 18% from May and up 67% from pandemic-iced June 2020.
2. Context: You have to look back to 2005 for a June with more sales. This was the 12th busiest June since 1988. Last month was 24% above the 10-year average buying pace for the month. Compared with the previous month, sales increased 18% vs. an average 8.1% gain since 1988. This is a period where sales increased in 27 of the last 34 years.
3. Past 12 months? 42,292 Orange County sales — up 34% above the previous 12 months and 23% above the 10-year average.
4. Prices: The countywide $900,000 median for all homes was up $135,000 or 18% over 12 months. This breaks the record median of $897,000 set in May.
5. Context: Over 10 years, price gains averaged 7.3% annually. The latest 12-month jump ranks No. 44 among the 390 12-month periods since 1988.
6. Past 12 months? Six records set. The median rose $135,000 — an increase equaling owners making $15.41 an hour.
Here’s a look into key slices of Orange County data for June …
7. Existing single-family houses: 2,694 sold, up 73% in a year. Median of $1,019,000 — a 23% increase over 12 months.
8. Existing condos: 1,190 sales, up 83% over 12 months. Median of $627,000 — a 15% increase in a year.
9. Newly built: Builders sold 262 new homes, down 2% in a year. Median of $996,500 — a 1.3% increase over 12 months.
10. Builder share: 6.3% of sales vs. 10.8% a year earlier. Orange County builders’ slice of the market ranks fourth among SoCal’s six counties.
11. Rates: How cheap is money? Rates on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3% in the three months ending in June vs. 3.23% a year earlier. That translates to 3% more buying power for house hunters. At these rates, a buyer with 20% down would pay $3,036 a month on the $900,000 median sale vs. $2,658 on last year’s $765,000 median. So during the past year, the typical house payment is 14% pricier.
12. Supply: Some good news for buyers is that Southern California listings bottomed out in February and increased 10% — some 3,600 homes — since then, figures from Zillow show. On the other hand, listings are 18% lower than during the depths of pandemic lockdowns, down some 8,700 listings year over year.
Around Southern California, according to DQNews’ latest report on closed sales in June compared to a year earlier …
Six-county region: 27,012 sold, up 12% for the month, up 52% in a year. Median? record $680,000 — a 23% increase.
Los Angeles County: 8,555 sold, up 10% for the month, up 69% in a year. Median? record $790,000 — a 23% increase.
Riverside County: 4,790 sales, up 9% for the month, up 44% in a year. Median? record $510,000 — a 20% increase.
San Bernardino County: 3,547 sold, up 19% for the month, up 42% in a year. Median? record $442,750 — a 21% increase.
San Diego County: 4,789 sold, up 13% for the month, up 34% in a year. Median? record $750,000 — a 25% increase.
Ventura County: 1,185 sold, up 5% for the month, up 48% in a year. Median? record $736,000 — a 23% increase.
Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com
Source: Orange County Register
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