In Laguna Niguel 56% of the detached single family homes are over One Million Dollars. In Dana Point 73% of the detached homes are over One Million Dollars.
Laguna Niguel as of May 18th has 48 attached homes on the market of which two are REO properties and one is a short sale. There are 102 detached homes on the market today and only five are distressed properties. And, there are only 21 detached homes under $800K for sale today and only four of those are under $600K. Laguna Niguel has 23 properties over $2.5 Million actively for sale.
Dana Point, on the other hand, has 110 detached homes for sale today. Only 16 are under $800K and there is only one distressed property among them. Only three of the detached homes are under $600K. As far as homes over $2.5 Million there are 41 for sale.
In Orange County the inventory is just barely creeping up. What can we expect to see through the rest of the year? Let me take a stab at that question. Most experts say the interest rates will remain low for the rest of the year which should keep the buyer demand strong. As the prices continue to rise many more homeowners who have been under water will realize that they can now sell without a short sale and will list their homes for sale. We will continue to see multiple offers on lower priced homes but there will be an increasing number of homeowners who will test the market with prices which are too high. This too will lead to slightly higher numbers of active listings.
It is not scientific at all, but it seems to this writer that for homes under $1 million we have recovered about 60% to 70% of the loss of equity since peak pricing of spring 2007. The big story has been the precipitous drop of inventory of foreclosures and short sales which has relieved the downward pressure of low-priced competition.
Once in a while I will get a call or comment from a want-to-be buyer blaming me or Realtors in general for the high prices. Remember, buyers set the market price - not Realtors. Supply and demand are the largest determining factors. In some bay area communities sellers are pricing their homes at a starting price of $250K even when the value is well over $1 million, thereby relying on the market to bring the real value. Of course they have an undisclosed minimum worked out in their listing contract.
Ron Buck, Realtor®
Ron Buck has been a real estate broker for 16 years with over 450 successfully completed transactions. He is a 11-year resident of Laguna Niguel and is an expert in south Orange County real estate. You can contact him at Ron@JonRonRealEstate.com or 949.456.0505.
