Also, these Altos Research numbers are for detached houses only (condos are not included). For this reason, I have included numbers that show the percentage of hones in each city that are detached houses. The Redfin numbers are for both houses and condos.

To see additional information from Redfin including which homes are currently on the market as well as what homes have sold for recently, click on the Redfin link. To see additional Altos Research numbers for each city, click on the Altos Research link.

Following are some recent Altos Research and Redfin numbers for the North Orange County housing market.

Summary: In general, according to the Altos Research index numbers, the housing market is improving in North Orange County. However, the housing markets for all North Orange County cities are still buyers’ markets. Then again, Garden Grove and Stanton, which have Altos index numbers just shy of 30, are approaching a sellers’ market. As has been true for some time, the low-end of the housing market in North Orange County is doing better than the high-end.

Anaheim: Approximate % homes on market that are detached: 70%

• Altos Research median list price:
  October 18, 2009: $374,408
  August 16,2009: $364,232
• Altos Research Market Action Index:
  October 18, 2009: 26.24
  August 16, 2009: 22.19
  July 5, 2009: 23.69
• Redfin median sold price:
  September 2009: house–$241/SF; condo–$217/SF

Brea: Approximate % homes on market that are detached: 90%

• Altos Research median list price:
  October 18, 2009: $551,288
  August 16,200: $550,327
• Altos Research Market Action Index:
  October 18, 2009: 19.98
  August 16, 2009: 16.57
  July 5, 2009: 20.14
• Redfin median sold price:
  September 2009: house–$271/SF; condo–$207/SF

Buena Park: Approximate % homes on market that are detached: 85%

• Altos Research median list price:
  October 18, 2009: $363,731
  August 16,2009: $357,945
• Altos Research Market Action Index:
  October 18, 2009: 26.23
  August 16, 2009: 21.09
  July 5, 2009: 23.32
• Redfin median sold price:
  September 2009: house–$266/SF; condo–$174/SF

Cypress: Approximate % homes on market that are detached: 70%

• Altos Research median list price:
  October 18, 2009: $532,196
  August 16,200: $502,327
• Altos Research Market Action Index:
  October 18, 2009: 22.57
  August 16, 2009: 20.12
  July 5, 2009: 25.82
• Redfin median sold price:
  September 2009: house–$276/SF; condo–$217/SF

Fullerton: Approximate % homes on market that are detached: 80%

• Altos Research median list price:
  October 18, 2009: $561,908
  August 16,2009: $545,955
• Altos Research Market Action Index:
  October 18, 2009: 21.24
  August 16, 2009: 18.90
  July 5, 2009: 21.41
• Redfin median sold price:
  September 2009: house–$248/SF; condo–$208/SF

Garden Grove: Approximate % homes on market that are detached: 80%

• Altos Research median list price:
  October 18, 2009: $377,958
  August 16,200): $376,622
• Altos Research Market Action Index:
  October 18, 2009: 29.34
  August 16, 2009: 26.00
  July 5, 2009: 27.56
• Redfin median sold price:
  September 2009: house–$280/SF; condo–$214/SF

La Habra: Approximate % homes on market that are detached: 70%

• Altos Research median list price:
  October 18, 2009: $481,831
  August 16,2009): $508,236
• Altos Research Market Action Index:
  October 18, 2009: 22.75
  August 16, 2009: 21.56
  July 5, 2009: 21.64
• Redfin median sold price:
  September 2009: house–$241/SF; condo–$142/SF

La Palma: Approximate % homes on market that are detached: 80%

• Altos Research median list price:
  October 18, 2009: $581,795
  August 16,2009): $606,200
• Altos Research Market Action Index:
  October 18, 2009: 21.99
  August 16, 2009: 18.77
  July 5, 2009: 18.65
• Redfin median sold price:
  September 2009: n/a

Placentia: Approximate % homes on market that are detached: 75%

• Altos Research median list price:
  October 18, 2009: $526,823
  August 16,2009): $527,559
• Altos Research Market Action Index:
  October 18, 2009: 20.33
  August 16, 2009: 18.14
  July 5, 2009: 20.49
• Redfin median sold price:
  September 2009: house–$252/SF; condo–$126/SF

Stanton: Approximate % homes on market that are detached: 65%

• Altos Research median list price:
  October 18, 2009: $314,192
  August 16,2009: $309,736
• Altos Research Market Action Index:
  October 18, 2009: 29.45
  August 16, 2009: 25.48
  July 5, 2009: 23.67
• Redfin median sold price:
  September 2009: house–$238/SF; condo–$200/SF

Westminster: Approximate % homes on market that are detached: 85%

• Altos Research median list price:
  October 18, 2009: $451,135
  August 16,2009) $451,536
• Altos Research Market Action Index:
  October 18, 2009: 27.03
  August 16: 23.12
  July 5, 2009: 27.83
• Redfin median sold price:
  September 2009: house–$274/SF; condo–$202/SF

Yorba Linda: Approximate % homes on market that are detached: 80%

• Altos Research median list price:
  October 18, 2009: $772,069
  August 16,2009: $804,377
• Altos Research Market Action Index:
  October 18, 2009: 17.42
  August 16, 2009: 15.00
  July 5 2009: 17.88
• Redfin median sold price:
  September 2009: house–$248/SF; condo–$260/SF

To see what homes are currently on the market as well as what homes have sold recently, click on the city name. To see additional Altos Research numbers for each city, click on the index number for each city.

Altos Market Action Index for Central Orange County cities, week ending on September 13, 2009:

Costa Mesa: approximate % homes on market that are detached–72%

• September 13, 2009: 18.97
• July 12, 2009: 21.13

Fountain Valley: approximate % homes on market that are detached–81%

• September 13, 2009: 20.72
• July 12, 2009: 26.05

Huntington Beach: approximate % homes on market that are detached–69%

• September 13, 2009: 16.63
• July 12, 2009: 14.50

Irvine: approximate % homes on market that are detached–43%

• September 13, 2009: 17.18
• July 12, 2009: 18.31

Los Alamitos: approximate % homes on market that are detached–77%

• September 13, 2009: 12.31
• July 12, 2009: 11.90

Newport Beach: approximate % homes on market that are detached–67%

• September 13, 2009: 11.04
• July 12, 2009: 11.42

Orange: approximate % homes on market that are detached–86%

• September 13, 2009: 18.15
• July 12, 2009: 19.26

Santa Ana: approximate % homes on market that are detached–64%

• September 13, 2009: 20.40
• July 12, 2009: 21.75

Seal Beach: approximate % homes on market that are detached–26%

• September 13, 2009: 14.24
• July 12, 2009: 12.91

Tustin: approximate % homes on market that are detached–51%

• September 13, 2009: 17.55
• July 12, 2009: 19.09

Villa Park: approximate % homes on market that are detached–100%

• September 13, 2009: 14.33
• July 12, 2009: 8.43

Summary: All Central Orange County housing markets are buyers’ markets. In general, according to the index numbers, the health of the Central Orange County housing market has decreased since July 12th.  And in general, the lower-priced home markets are currently healthy than the high-priced areas.

The percent change is the percentage increase or decrease that results when current numbers are compared to the numbers of one year ago. Anaheim contains some of North Orange County’s lower-priced areas. (Stanton currently has the lowest median list price housing in North Orange County.)

The Anaheim Altos Market Action Index for the week ending August 23, 2009 is 22.38. Above 30 is a sellers’ market; below 30 is a buyers’ market.

According to Redfin, 29.1% of Anaheim homes have price reducitons.* According to Trulia, 68% of Anaheim homes are distressed.**

*Based on homes sold or taken off the market between May 26, 2009 and August 24, 2009.

**Defined as homes in the pre-foreclosure, auction, or bank-owned stages of the foreclosure process. Different groups use different inputs and, therefore, come up with different percentages. In this case the foreclosures are not necessilarly on the market yet (and may not end up on the market).

Hart gives these Real Data Strategies numbers:

From July 2008 to the end of June, home priced at $1 million and more received an average price reduction of 14.2 percent. By comparison, homes priced at $500,000 and less received an average price reduction of 7.6 percent.

And Hart quotes broker Phil Immel as saying:

“Last recession, in the early ’90s, oceanfront (houses) dropped 50 percent before stabilizing.”

Following are the current Altos Research index numbers for some of the high-end  Orange County housing markets. Above 30 is a sellers’ market; below 30 is a buyers’ market. For comparison, Irvine is currently 18.01, and Costa Mesa is currently 17.70. And often criticized Santa Ana scores best with an index number of 20.53. Santa Ana’s current list price for a single-family home, according to Altos Research, is $326,573.

I also included, in bold, the current (August 16, 2009) Altos median list price for each of these housing markets.

Altos Market Action Indexes

• Corona Del Mar: $2,411,818 median list price
  May 22, 2009: 12.28
  August 16, 2009: 9.97
• Dana Point: $1,040,681 median list price
  May 22, 2009: 12.16
  August 16, 2009: 13.68
• Laguna Beach: $2,270,116 median list price
  May 22, 2009: 10.38
  August 16, 2009: 13.27
• Newport Beach: $1,948,468 median list price
  May 22, 2009: 10.11
  August 16, 2009: 9.80
• Newport Coast: $3,157,636 median list price
  May 22, 2009: 10.18
  August 16, 2009: 11.54
• Villa Park: $1,247,864 median list price
  May 22, 2009: 7.36
  August 16, 2009: 10.78

Note that the Altos numbers are for detached homes only (condos are not included). For this reason, I have included numbers that show the percentage of home in each city that are detached. The index numbers listed below are as reported by Altos Research on July 12, 2009. The Altos numbers are updated each week, so if you click on the Altos index numbers for each city, you will see the July 19 numbers (or the most recent index number). In most cases, the July 19 numbers show that  the market has retreated further into a buyers’s market in just this one week.

Also, note that the Altos numbers for Central Orange County show a similar story when it comes to the high-end and low-end of the housing market: Central Orange County cities with the highest-priced homes  have some of  the least favorable market index number (for example, Newport Beach, Villa Park and Los Alamitos). And the Central Orange County cities with lower-priced homes have some of the most favorable market index numbers (for example, Santa Ana). However, as shown by the numbers, the housing market in all of these cities is a buyers’ market.

To see what homes are currently on the market as well as what homes have sold recently, click on the city name.

Note: The brown line in the graphs is the Altos Market Action Index 90-day median; the black line is the Altos Market Action Index 7-day median.

Costa Mesa:

• Altos Research Index–21.13
• approximate % homes on market that are detached–72%

Fountain Valley:

• Altos Research Index–26.05
• approximate % homes on market that are detached–81%

Huntington Beach:

• Altos Research Index–~14.50
• approximate % homes on market that are detached–69%

Irvine:

• Altos Research Index–18.31
• approximate % homes on market that are detached–43%

Los Alamitos:

• Altos Research Index–11.90
• approximate % homes on market that are detached–77%

Newport Beach:

• Altos Research Index–11.42
• approximate % homes on market that are detached–67%

Orange:

• Altos Research Index–19.26
• approximate % homes on market that are detached–86%

Santa Ana:

• Altos Research Index–21.75
• approximate % homes on market that are detached–64%

Seal Beach: 

• Altos Research Index–12.91
• approximate % homes on market that are detached–26%

Tustin:

• Altos Research Index–19.09
• approximate % homes on market that are detached–51%

Villa Park:

• Altos Research Index–8.43
• approximate % homes on market that are detached–100%

Note that the Altos numbers are for detached homes only (condos are not included). Costa Mesa has approximately two and a half detached homes on the market for every condo.

Following are the Altos Market Action Index numbers for Costa Mesa. According to these numbers, the Costa Mesa housing market is improving. However, I should note that these numbers also show that the Costa Mesa housing market is still firmly in the buyers’ favor.

And here is another side note: For the first time since I have been following these numbers, the index shows that the housing market in Costa Mesa is healthier than the housing market in Irvine. I will post the Irvine numbers later this week.

Altos Market Action Index for Costa Mesa, CA:

• May 17, 2009: 16.29
• March 20, 2009: 15.04
• February 22, 2009: 15.43
• January 30, 2009: 15.71
• December 31, 2000: 17.96
• November 30, 2009: 18.46
• October 26, 2008: 18.45

Source: Altos Research