Sweet Orange

Today is a continuation of our survey of DataQuick’s housing numbers for Irvine broken down by ZIP. Up today is the 92604 ZIP, which includes El Camino and upper Woodbridge. The DataQuick numbers are for single-family residences, condos, and new homes.

Median Selling Price for 92604 homes (Source: DataQuick)

• April 2010: $587,000 (up 17.4% y-o-y)
• March 2010:$525,000 (up 3.96% y-o-y)

Number of Sales in 92604 (Source:DataQuick)

• April 2010: 35 (up 191.7% y-o-y)
• March 2010: 36 (up 89.47% y-o-y)

The photo is of 14722 Bel Aire Street. This home, which is located in Irvine’s El Canimo area and is currently listed at $575,000, is priced near the median selling price of homes in the 92604 ZIP.

Appraisals for 14722 Bel Aire Street: Low/Medium/High (Source: Redfin)

• Zillow: $515,310/$579,000/$631,110
• Eppraisal:$467,587/$550,103/$632,618
• Cyberhomes: $517,323/$574,804/$661,024

Up next: the 92614 ZIP, which includes lower Woodbridge and part of  the Westpark neighborhoods

Today is a continuation of our survey of DataQuick’s housing numbers for Irvine broken down by ZIP. Up today is the 92603 ZIP, which includes Shady Canyon, Turtle Ridge, Turtle Rock, and Quail Hill. The DataQuick numbers are for single-family residences, condos, and new homes.

The photo is of 32 Tall Hedge, which is a Turtle Ridge home that is priced near the median selling price of homes in the 92603 ZIP.

Median Selling Price

• April 2010: $1,420,000 (up 82.1%  y-o-y)
• March 2010: $847,500 (up 48.68% y-o-y)

Number of Sales

• April 2010: 23 (down 14.8% y-o-y)
• March 2010: 34 (up 70.00% y-o-y)

Note: Up next is the 92604 ZIP, which includes the upper Woodbridge and El Camino areas.

In the next week or two, we will be following  some recent numbers from DataQuick’s for housing in each of Irvine’s ZIP codes. The DataQuick numbers are for single-family residences, condos, and new homes.

Up today is the 92602 ZIP, which includes the Northpark and West Irvine neighborhoods. The photo is of 63 Congress #10, which is a West Irvine home that is priced near the median selling price of homes in the 92602 ZIP.

Median Selling Price

• April 2010: $637,000 (down 1.2% y-o-y)
• March 2010: $634,250 (up 3.48% y-o-y)

Number of Sales

• April 2010: 24 (up 20.0% y-o-y)
• March 2010: 26 (up 30.00% y-o-y)

Note: Up next is 92603 ZIP, which includes Shady Canyon.Turtle Ridge, Turtle Rock, and Quail Hill.

Here are the some recent numbers for Costa Mesa by ZIP. The 92626 ZIP includes South Coast Metro, part of Central and Mesa Verde. The 92627 ZIP includes Eastside, Southwest and part of Central Costa Mesa.

DataQuick March 2010 Median Selling Price

• 92626: $515,000 (up 12% from March 2009)
• 92627: $467,500 (up 24.7% from March 2009)

DataQuick March 2010 Number of Sales

• 92626: 32 (down 22.0% from March 2009)
• 92627: 36 (up 24.1% from March 2009)

Redfins’s January 2010 Median Price per Square Foot

92626:

• house–$310 (up 1.6 from January 2009)
• condo–$242 (down 4.7%  from January 2009)
• both–$275 (down 2.1%  from January 2009)

92627:

• house–$346 (up 0.7 from January 2009)
• condo–$275 (down 10.1 from January 2009)
• both–$312 (down 2.4 from January 2009)

Sources: DataQuick, Redfin

Graphic of the Performing Arts Center in the South Coast Metro area of Costa Mesa Courtesy Costa Mesa Conference and Visitor Bureau

Cash-in-hand converts to house-in-hand in current market

MDA DataQuick had the following to report on the number of Southern California homes that are bought but do not end up being occupied by the owner:

Absentee buyers - mostly investors and some second-home purchasers - bought 18.9 percent of the homes sold in February. Buyers who appeared to have paid all cash - meaning there was no indication that a corresponding purchase loan was recorded - accounted for 29.3 percent of February sales. In January it was a revised 29.7 percent - an all-time high. The 22-year monthly average for Southland homes purchased with cash is 13.8 percent.

As would be expected, some of these absentee buyers are flippers. According to DataQuick’s DQNews, 3.4% of Southern California homes were flipped* last month (February 2010). This is up 1.6% from February 2009.

This brings up the question: What is the optimum percentage of homes that should be owner-occupied versus rentals? Urban Land Institute (ULI) predicts that homeownership levels in the U.S. will stabilize at 62% to 64%.** Whether or not that is the optimum level is a discussion that I’ll leave for another time.

*Flipped is defined as bought and sold within a three-week to six-month period.

**The U.S. homeownership rate is currently approximately 67% and was approximately 45% between 1900 and 1945. I’ll have more on this in an upcoming post. You can also read more about this in the ULI report “Housing in America: The Next Decade,”

As a recent post shows, homes in low-priced areas such as parts of Anaheim, Stanton, and Garden Grove are selling much better than homes in the high-priced areas. MDA DataQuick reports the same:

Sales rose 120 to 150 percent in parts of Anaheim and Stanton where prices ranged from $250,000 to $310,000, reports MDA DataQuick.–”Housing sales jump,” The Orange County Register

The Register article goes on to say that brokers are reporting that homes above $500,000 continue to sell slowly.

So, to check this out, let’s take a look at what is happening in two of these ZIPs that have homes priced on the lower end of the market: Anaheim’s 92804 and 92805.

A DataQuick/Orange County Register chart shows that the number of home sales in July in the 92804 ZIP  increased by 11.9% when compared to the July 2008 sales numbers. However, Trulia shows that the May 2009 to July 2009 sales in the 92804 ZIP decreased by 25.2% when compared to prices of one year ago.

In addition, DataQuick reports that in July Anaheim’s 92805 ZIP, had the second highest increases in the number of sales in Orange County when compared to the same time last year (+123.1%). However, Trulia numbers show a less impressive increase. According to Trulia,  the May 2009 to July 2009 sales in the 92805 ZIP increased by 7.1% when compared to prices of one year ago.

Trulia’s numbers cover a longer time period and, therefore, it is not surprising that the numbers differ. However, watching the numbers from these two sources in the coming months to see if they converge or continue in different directions will be interesting. They should give a clearer picture of which Orange County areas are seeing increases in the number of homes sold and by how much.

According to DataQuick/OC Register, Anaheim’s July 2009 housing numbers by ZIP are as follows.

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).