- There is a disconnect between home buyers and sellers developing in the housing market. Sellers want everything under the sun, while buyers are starting to back away from unfair or unfavorable deals. Buyers are still out there writing aggressive, strong offers on properties that are priced correctly. However, some buyers are beginning to back away from deals if the seller is unreasonable during the negotiation process when it comes to price and terms. I’m Tim Hamilton with StellarQuest Real Estate and this is our Orange County October Housing Market Update Video. If you like to stay up to date on the housing market and other real estate related topics please subscribe to our YouTube Channel.
- The market is extremely hot with an expected market time of only 26 days. Anything under 60 days is considered a hot seller’s market, yet 24% of the current active inventory has been on the market for more than 2 months without selling. I recently wrote offers on 2 homes, both of which received multiple offers, and both of which FAILED to sell. The seller essentially scared away all the buyers by asking for too much. The buyer I am working with is not writing low ball offers either. On both homes the buyer I am working with offered more than what the most recent model match sold for. You can see in this situation there is a clear disconnect between what the seller wants, and what buyers are willing to give.
- In the most recent “Orange County Housing Report” by Steven Thomas, he explains why he believes the market will remain in very hot sellers market for the remainder of the year. We still have extremely low interest rates hovering right around 3% which is fueling buyer demand. Despite the low rates, demand is on a slight decline. It will likely continue to decline slowly until Thanksgiving, when we transition to the winter housing market. At that time, demand will start to drop faster due to the distractions of the holidays. It most likely won’t start rising again until the start of the new year.
- The active inventory, which is the number of homes listed for sale in Orange County will also follow the same trend as demand. It will continue to decrease slightly until about Thanksgiving, when it will begin to drop at a faster rate. There are 2 factors contributing to the drop in supply. The first factor is simply less homes coming on the market. When looking at recent historical averages, 46% less homes come on the market in November and 63% less homes come on the market in December compared to May. May is the month with the highest number of homes coming on the market. The second factor is unsuccessful sellers pulling their homes off the market. As the holidays approach, some sellers will decide take their home off the market until next Spring so they can enjoy the holidays.
- If you are thinking about selling it is extremely important to work with a real estate professional that understands the current market conditions. It is extremely important to price your home correctly. As a seller, you will most likely get the highest possible price within the first few weeks of coming on the market. If you come on the market priced too high, you are not going to get a bidding war that creates the type of negotiating leverage we have been using to sell many of our listings above the asking price. If you’re thinking about selling a home, please feel free to contact me for a FREE home valuation and honest assessment of what I think your home would sell for today. I can also answer any of your questions related to buying or selling a home. You can find my personal contact information in the description below.
- If you are thinking about buying a home it is also extremely important to work with a real estate professional that understands the current market conditions. You don’t want to be working with an agent that is aggressively looking for their next commission check. You want to be working with an agent that can recognize a bad deal, and will give you the appropriate advice so you don’t overpay for a home, or agree to terms that could put your earnest money deposit at risk. If you’re thinking about buying a home, please feel free to contact me. We offer free buyer consultations and I can set you up on a home search and start showing you homes if you’re ready to start looking now.
- Thank you for watching! If you liked this video make sure you subscribe so you can keep up to date on the housing market in Orange County. If you have any questions about the housing market or real estate in general please feel free to contact me anytime. All of my contact information is in the description below. If you want to read a copy of the most recent “Orange County Housing Report” please let me know and I will send you a copy.
StellarQuest Real Estate – Lic. # 02077900
Tim Hamilton
Broker Associate – Realtor®
Lic. #01959966
(714) 486-4086
timsellsca@gmail.com
www.StellarQuest.com