Sweet Orange

Up today are the housing numbers for all of Orange County. This includes the combined numbers for all 34 cities included in the County of Orange, CA. Unless otherwise noted, the stats are provide by DQNews.

Orange County Median House Price

Median Selling Price in Orange County

• October 2010: $430,000 (down 0.41% y-o-y)
• September 2010: $440,000 (up 2.8% y-o-y)
  Redfin’s numbers:$435,000 (up 2.1% y-o-y) or $274/SF (down 1.6% y-o-y)
• August 2010: $439,000 (up 3.29% y-o-y)
  Redfin’s numbers:$429,000 (up 2.1% y-o-y) or $275/SF (up 0.5% y-o-y)
• July 2010: $449,000 (up 6.90% y-o-y)
  Redfin’’s numbers: $440,000  (up 7.3% y-o-y) or $276/SF (up 2.2% y-o-y)

Orange County Median Condo Price

Number of Sales in Orange County

• October 2010: 2,199
• September 2010: 2,443
  Redfin’s  numbers: houses=1,624 (down 10.4%), condos=844 (down 7.3%)
• August 2010: 2,378
  Redfin’s  numbers: houses=1,586 (down 11.4%), condos=837 (down 8.4%)
• July 2010: 2,479

Graphs Courtesy Redfin

Up today are the Costa Mesa housing numbers. This includes all areas of  Costa Mesa: Eastside, Westside, Central, Southwest, South Coast Metro, Mesa Verde. Unless otherwise noted, the stats are provide by DQNews.

Median Sold Price/SF–Houses

Median Selling Price in Costa Mesa

• October 2010: $495,000 (down 5.58% y-o-y)
• September 2010: $477,500 (down 1.55% y-o-y)
• August 2010: $462,000 (down12.00% y-o-y)
  Redfin’s numbers: $482,000  (up 1.4% y-o-y) or $304/SF (up 4.4% y-o-y)
• July 2010: $505,000 (up 0.3% y-o-y)
  Redfin’s numbers: $485,000  (down 4.9% y-o-y) or $318/SF (up 4.4% y-o-y)

Median Sold Price/SF–Condos

Number of Sales in Costa Mesa

• October 2010: 45
• September 2010: 66
• August 2010: 49
  Redfin’s numbers: houses=41 (down 34.9% y-o-y), condos=29 (up 7.4% y-o-y)
• July 2010: 59
  Redfin’s numbers: houses sold=49, condos sold=26

Graphs Courtesy Redfin

Up today are the housing numbers for all of Orange County. This includes the combined numbers for all 34 cities included in the County of Orange, CA. Unless otherwise noted, the stats are provide by DQnews.

Orange County Median Sold Price/SF-Houses

Median Selling Price in Orange County, CA

• September 2010: $440,000 (up 2.8% y-o-y)
• August 2010: $439,000 (up 3.29% y-o-y)
• July 2010: $449,000 (up 6.90% y-o-y)

Note: Redfin’s August numbers:$429,000 (up 2.1% y-o-y) or $275/SF (up 0.5% y-o-y); Redfin’’s July numbers: $440,000  (up 7.3% y-o-y) or $276/SF (up 2.2% y-o-y)

Orange County Median Sold Price/SF-Condos

Number of Sales in Orange County, CA

• September 2010: 2,443
• August 2010: 2,378
• July 2010: 2,479

Note: Redfin’s August numbers: houses=1586 (down 11.4%), condos=837 (down 7.3%)

Graphs Courtesy Redfin

Up today are the Irvine housing numbers. This includes all the Irvine neighborhoods (or villages as they are called in Irvine): Northpark, West Irvine, Northwood, Portola Springs, Woodbury, El Camino, Walnut, Columbus Grove, University Park, University Town Center, Orange Tree, Oak Creek, Westpark, the IBC (airport area), San Joaquin, Shady Canyon, Turtle Ridge, Turtle Rock and Quail Hill neighborhoods.

Irvine Median Price/SF--Houses

Median Selling Price in Irvine

• September 2010: $625,000 (up 16.93% y-o-y)
• August 2010: $580,000 (up 1.9% y-o-y)
• July 2010: $580,000 (up 6.62% y-o-y)
  Redfin’s JuLy 2010 numbers: $570,000  (up 5.1% y-o-y) or $339/SF (up 1.2% y-o-y)

Irvine Median Sold Price/SF--Condos

Number of Sales in Irvine

• September 2010: 222
• August 2010: 229
• July 2010: 226
  Redfin’s numbers: houses sold=106, condos sold=112

Source unless otherwise noted: DQnews

Graphs Courtesy Redfin

Here are some quotes from a post in a recent John Burns Consulting newsletter. They provide some food for thought when deciding if housing prices are going up, down, or sideways:

When forced to answer the question, we [John Burns Consulting] say that most home prices are reverting to 2003 prices - some areas have overcorrected and some have not fully corrected. While that covers our butt nationally, we know the truth is much different depending on what submarket or pool of homes you are talking about.

…

If you read the newspapers, you would think prices are appreciating, whether it is the Case Shiller price index or median resale prices - the two price measures that used to be the most reliable measures…

According to CS, prices are up 6% in LA (includes Orange Co.) and 11% in San Diego since March of 2009. According to the median price, prices are up 12% in LA, 17% in Orange County, 12% in Riverside and 18% in San Diego since April of 2009. Neither is correct if you are talking about most homes in those markets.

…

According to a [Realtor Survey of Existing Home Prices] survey, prices only recently started appreciating in Orange County, and they are still trending down very slightly in the rest of Southern California.

…

To understand home prices (and all else housing-related for that matter), you need to look at everything. If you are making a decision based on headline data or a regression to the mean, you are taking a lot of risk.

Click on the link to see the rest of this John Burns Consulting newsletter.

Last week, I posted the price per square foot numbers for Costa’s Mesa’s 92626 and 92627 ZIPs. For comparison, here are the price per square foot numbers for Costa Mesa as a whole and Orange County as a whole.

February 2010 median price per square foot numbers for all Costa Mesa:

• House–$345 (up 13.7% from February 2009)
• Condo–$243 (up 39.7% from February 2009)
• Both (House + condo)–$304 (up 8.4% from February 2009)

Graphs: Price/SF Costa Mesa houses, Price/SF Costa Mesa condos–February 2010

February 2010 median price per square foot numbers for all Orange County:

• House–$283 (up 4.8% from February 2009)
• Condo–$234 (up 7.8% from February 2009)
• Both (House + condo)–$270 (up 4.7% from February 2009)

Graphs: Price/SF Orange County houses, Price/SF Orange County condos–February 2010

Source:  Redfin

Orange County Housing Graphs Courtesy Redfin: inventory, house price per square foot, condos price per square foot

According to DataQuick, the most recent housing numbers for Orange County are as follows:

• Sales are up 5.7%: 5034 homes sold in February 2010 vs 4590 homes sold in February  2009.
• The median selling price was up 11.2%: $417,000 in February 2010 vs $375,000 in February 2009.

For comparison here are some Redfin numbers:

• Redfin reports that the number of Orange County homes that sold in December 2009 was 3401, up 30% from December 2008.
• The median selling price in December 2009 was $415,000, which is up 7.7% from their December 2008 number. Redfin also reports that the December 2009 median price per square foot was $270, which is also up (1.5%).

Note that the price per square foot suggests less of a price increase for Orange County housing than does the overall price.

Here is an example of a home that sold for more than the list price. This home, which is in Irvine’s El Camino neighborhood, was listed on August 12, 2009, for $415,000, delisted on August 19, then relisted on September 8 for $415,000. This El Camino condo sold on 10/19/2009 for $437,500, approximately $22,000 more than the asking price.

8 Pierre Irvine, CA 92604 (El Camino neighborhood)

• 3 beds/2 baths
• 1223 SF
• Condo built in 1977
• HOA: $175
• Asking price: $415,000 ($339/SF)
• Selling price: $437,500 ($358/SF)

Current estimates for this home:

• Cyberhomes: $406,828.
• Eappraisal: $362,930
• Zillow: $438,000.

The University area of the City of Irvine is bordered by the San Diego Freeway (I-405) on the north, Laguna Canyon Road (I-133) on the east, the San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor (SR 73) on the south.This area includes the communities of Rancho San Joaquin, Turtle Rock, University Park, University Town Center, Quail Hill, Shady canyon and Turtle Ridge.

The University area also includes the Irvine Business Complex (IBC), which is bordered by the San Diego Creek on the east, Barranca Parkway on the north, The Newport Freeway (I-55) on the west and MacArthur Blvd. on the south.This area of the city includes both commercial and residential areas.–Irvine Police Department website–Irvine’s University district

Housing prices and stats are important information to have handy when considering buying a home. But the stats are only part of the story. Neighborhood characteristics are also important. With that in mind, following are some links that provide descriptions of the neighborhoods in University, which is one of Irvine’s three geopolicing districts. Special thanks goes to the Irvine Housing Blog.

• Rancho San Joaquin
• Turtle Rock
• Turtle Ridge, see the Orange County Business Journal article: “Turtle Ridge? Lifestyle combines City Life with European-Inspired Country Charm”
• Shady Canyon, also see the Orange County Business Journal articles
• Quail Hill
• University Park
• University Town Center, also see “Irvine’s Town Center: Then and Now”
• Irvine Business Complex (IBC), also see the City of Irvine’s IBC webpage

For information on inventory and pricing of homes in this Irvine district, see “Irvine by the Neighborhood: University District Home Pricing & Inventory Statistics.”

Many of the cities with the longest road to recovery are California cities, where home prices rocketed out of control, and entire economies were supported largely by a real estate bubble. Fresno, Modesto, Salinas, Bakersfield, Stockton and Los Angeles all saw home prices soar to unsustainable levels and then begin their inevitable plunge.
–”The Best And Worst Cities For Recession Recovery” by Joshua Zumbrun

According to Forbes, a median priced home in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana metropolitan area costs over five times the median income of this southern California area.

Here are some other economic stats from Forbes on the area that they call Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana:

• GDP at start of recession: $597 billion
• Projected GDP at the end of 2010: $581 billion (-2.6%, projected)
• Unemployment: 10.1%
• Median home/median salary ratio: 5.3

Forbes also states that although the southern California area was hit hard by the real estate bust, the area still “has a robust underlying economy” and the economy is growing. However, the area “still has some of the most expensive real estate in the country, indicating a housing recovery could be years away.”

Meanwhile, home buildeing company Standard Pacific is gung ho on housing in Orange County:

This [Orange County] is our best-performing area in the world.
–Ken Campbell, Standard president and CEO