Sales of Regular and Pre Foreclosed Homes Fell in Orange County

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Sales of Regular and Pre Foreclosed Homes Fell in Orange County

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Sales of residential properties in Orange County, California, including regular dwellings, condos and foreclosed and pre foreclosed homes, declined during the 22-day period ended April 12, 2011. Figures were down from the same period a year ago by over 10%, while prices remained the same from the same period of 2010.

A total of 2,478 Irvine foreclosures and non-foreclosed residences in the rest of Orange County were sold during the 22-day period, representing a decline of 10.7% compared with the same 2010 period. Sales of newly-built houses accounted for 6% of total residential sales for the period, the same figure recorded a year ago. Realtors reported that, during the period 1988 to 2010, new houses accounted for an average of 14% of total sales in the county.

Mainly because of the huge supply of foreclosed homes for sale in California, median prices of residences in most markets of the state have been declining for several months now. In Orange County, prices have been dropping year-over-year for the past few months, with median price for the months of December to March all posting year-over-year drops. The latest figure though, showed that median selling rates in the county have remained flat from a year ago, providing some hope to market observers that the residential market is starting to plateau.

The median sales price of pre foreclosed homes and regular single family houses sold during the period ended April 22 was $430,000, which was practically the same as last year. However, when compared with the peak median of $645,000 recorded in June of 2007, the latest figure is down by 33%. Compared with the peak price of $450,000 last year, recorded in May and July, the recent median is off by 4.4%.

Buyers were able to find foreclosed homes for sale offered at heavily-bargained prices in the area within the 22-day time frame, resulting in the continuous slump of residential prices. Although recent rates have remained flat from one year ago, figures were still down from their peaks. For single family dwellings, prices were off 34% from their June 2007 peak, while condominiums were 37% cheaper than their March 2006 peak.

New houses recorded an even bigger price decline compared with pre foreclosed homes and other existing dwellings and condo units, with new houses' median rates falling by 40% from the highest price level posted in February of 2005. Analysts speculate that prices will continue to decline in the coming months, although most of them are optimistic that sales figures will improve.