O.C. Home Buying in May Fastest Since '06

From Orange County Register, June 15, 2010

DataQuick’s May homebuying report shows Orange County shoppers were at their busiest since August 2006 with 3,257 residences purchases in the month, up 22 percent from a year ago.

May Resale houses, Resale condos. New homes, All homes

Sales 2,015, 942, 300, 3,257
Year’s change +13.1%, +24.3%, +136.2%, +22.1%
Price $515,000, $305,000, $645,000, $450,000
Year’s change +8.4%, +15.7%, +21.1%, +9.8%
Median selling price was $450,000, up 9.8 percent from a year ago.

DataQuick details …

* $450,000 median selling price is 30% below June 2007’s peak of $645,000.
* The most recent median is 22% above the cyclical low hit in January 2009 at $370,000 — a current bottom that was 43% below the peak.
* Single-family homes resell for 30% less than their peak pricing (June ‘07) while condos sell 35% below their peak in March 2006.
* Builder prices for new homes are 25% below their February ‘05 top.
* Single-family homes were 69% more expensive than condos in this period vs. 80% a year ago. From 1990-2008, the average house/condo gap was 57%.

In this most recent period, O.C. shoppers bought 3,257 residences — that is +22.1% vs. year-ago buying activity. (From 1997-2006, monthly sales averaged 4,304 per month.)  This was best month for new homes since December 2007. Builder’s new homes sales were 9% of all residences sold in the period vs. 5% a year ago. From 1990-2008, builders did 15% of the selling.

By region …

North O.C. homebuying up 18%

South County homebuying up 46%

Beach town homebuying up 40%

Mid-County homebuying off 1%

PS: Any excitement should be tempered by a report from Altera showing a 20 percent drop in new escrows opened since the April 30 deadline for a federal tax break for buyers. That signals the recent homebuying binge is temporary.

A little context …

MARKET TRENDS

SoCal home price up 22.5% in year

Home sales, prices up in 40 O.C. ZIPs

O.C. homebuying in May fastest since ‘06

Real estate adds 900 jobs, best in 3 years

Portola Hills homes quickest to sell

Home demand off 20% without tax break

INDUSTRY NEWS

China boom lets O.C. architects hire 5

Buy a home in 1 hour

Costa Mesa condos restart sales, again

O.C. buyers grab 56% more new homes

Big builder's best-selling homes in Irvine

O.C. builder home sales up 76%