Here’s the million-dollar question I’ve been hearing lately: “How is the market doing?”
Honestly, I’m not a huge fan of this question because every homebuyer and seller has a different need and a different goal, and chances are they’re not all looking in the same market. So today I’m bringing you a very general update on the state of the Orange County market as a whole:
1. We’ve seen a year-over-year rise in inventory. Currently, we have 29% more homes available than we did at this time last year. This means more options for buyers and more competition for sellers. When buyers have more options, they have more time to think about want they want to buy. More competition for sellers generally means that demand for any unique or specific property drops a little bit. If you’re a seller in the market, make sure that your home is priced appropriately because if it’s not, then the market will probably react in a way that won’t benefit you.
2. The average days on market has increased. Last year at this time, it took an average of 63 days to sell a property in Orange County; today we’re looking at 84 days. In addition, 14% fewer homes are selling now compared to last year.
3. Expired listings have increased by 64%. An expired listing is a home that was listed on the market that failed to sell for one reason or another. Around 64% more homes are expiring now than they were last year. In our market, we’ve noticed that about 40% of listed homes are failing to sell. However, it’s important to understand that the market is going through a bit of a shift at the moment. Don’t be fooled by media reports of our being in a buyer’s market—we’re still in a very strong seller’s market.
4. Sellers need to showcase a high-quality product in order to sell for top dollar. This means that you’ll need to put forth the time, energy, and money to prepare your house to show like a model home—do some minor repairs, make sure the house is clean, and have it staged to get top dollar.
In addition to preparing the home to show in its best light, you also need to price your home to attract the highest number of buyers and work with an agent who can maximize your listing’s exposure to make sure that every buyer in the market for a home knows about your listing.
Overall, the statistics may seem to spell doom and gloom for sellers, but they need to understand that with the right strategy and the right agent, you can still sell your home for a record price.
For buyers, there are many overpriced properties and there’s a lot of stale inventory. With interest rates being as low as they are, you can definitely find a great deal in Orange County.
If you’re interested in buying or selling a home and would like to learn more about how the market relates to your unique situation, don’t hesitate to reach out to me and my team. We’d love to help you.
