Wow! Talk about how low the current active inventory is. The active inventory started 2013 with only 3,161 homes, – a record low. (The OC Housing Report data date back to 2004.) There were 8,114 at the beginning of 2012, almost 5,000 more than today. The drop in the inventory has been unabated for nineteen months, reduced by 72 percent in that span of time. In August of last year, the inventory dropped below a prior all-time low established in March 2005, when the market was sizzling hot, very similar to today. Yet, the inventory kept dropping and now sits 36 percent below that low. Quite simply, there’s just about nothing on the market today.
Ask any buyers who have been looking to purchase a home within the past six months, and they will tell you how frustratingly difficult the process has been.
These anemic inventory levels are absolutely unprecedented and so incredibly low that they are currently applying tremendous pressure on housing values. Everything that is coming on the market below $750,000 and is priced sensibly is absolutely flying off the market. Buyers are now willing to pay a few thousand dollars above the last closed sale and now closed sales are establishing higher prices throughout Orange County.
If you are thinking of selling this year, give me a call and I will work out what you can expect to get for your property in the current market. As always, there is no pressure or obligation.
