OC Housing Report 11.1.18 – Buyer’s Market?

 

2018 will go down as the year the real estate market’s extremely hot 6-year run came to an end. Looking at the active listing inventory for Orange County, every single price range has more homes on the market today than this time last year. Overall, there are 2,077 more homes on the market, up an astonishing 40%. Typically, the inventory peaks sometime between July and August. Once schools reopen, it is common knowledge that the best time of the year to sell is officially over. Fewer homes typically come on the market in the fall and many unsuccessful sellers pull their properties off the market. But, this year, the active inventory has yet to peak and is still growing. Over the past 30-days, 11% more homes have come on the market compared to last year at this time. As a result, there is a lot more competition in selling a home.

 

Adding to the matter, demand has diminished, as is normal during the Autumn Market, but it is significantly down compared to last year, off 18%. In fact, demand is down in every price range and there are 419 fewer pending sales. There are 1,974 pending sales today compared to 2,393 in 2017.

 

Since inventory has been uncharacteristically growing while demand has dropped precipitously, the expected time for a home to sell has ballooned over the past few months. From July to today, it has grown from 80 days to 110 days, its highest level since January 5, 2012. Last year, the average time to sell was at 65 days, 41% lower than today, making it a hot sellers’ market. At today’s 110-days, Orange County housing is fairly balanced, but is moving toward a market that favors buyers.