Are Sales Increasing in Orange County’s Low-Priced Housing Areas? Comparing Housing Numbers

3-houseAs 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.

Orange County Housing Numbers: Reductions by Price

A recent post highlighted the number of homes (by percentage) with price reductions in a representative sample of Orange County cities.  A look at the amount of the reductions reinforces what the number of reductions were telling us: The homes at the high-end of the market are seeing both a larger number of homes with price reductions as well as a larger percentage off the asking price.

Take a look at the Redfin reduction-by-price charts, and you will see what I mean.

ORANGE COUNTY CITIES WITH THE HIGHEST REDUCTION BY PRICE—PERCENTAGE OFF MOST RECENT LIST PRICE AND THE ORIGINAL PRICE

oc-sale-to-list-most_2009-051

oc-sale-to-list-most-orig_2009-05

ORANGE COUNTY CITIES WITH THE LOWEST REDUCTION BY PRICE—PERCENTAGE OFF MOST RECENT LIST PRICE

oc-sale-to-list-least_2009-05

More price reduction numbers are available on the Redfin Excel spreadsheet.