The Orange County real estate market has started to rally
during the first quarter after the economic recession of last year. According
to a March 16, 2010 article in the Orange County Business Journal, “Orange County’s median home price dropped $3,000 in February from January despite seeing an increase in sales. The median price for an OC home was $417,000 in February, compared to $420,000 in January, according to San Diego-based MDA DataQuick, a unit of Canada’s MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates.” The piece, composed by Julie Leupold, continued to state that “Sales of less expensive homes dominated sales, bringing down the median price. The median here still is up 11.2% from a year earlier, when home prices weighted in at $375,000. Sales were also up, rising 5.7% from February 2009 with 1,986 homes sold last month. There were 173 more homes sold in February than January.”
The good news for Orange County homes for sale was also great for Southern California homes, according to a March 17, 2010 article in the Los Angeles Times. This piece found that “Southland home prices jumped 10% in February compared with the same month last year as foreclosure sales dropped significantly. San Diego and Orange counties made particularly strong gains. The increase in prices indicates that foreclosure sales are not dominating the market as much as they were a year ago.” The article, composed by Alejandro Lazo, continued to say that “And it could signal that more traditional buyers – those with equity in their homes looking to trade up – are getting back in to the game. But the number of homes sold throughout the region was nearly flat, up only o.8%. That was the lowest year-over-year increase since home sales began to rise in July 2008, according to San Diego firm MDA DataQuick.”
The same general trend for Orange County real estate for sale was noted by a March 16, 2010 article in Business Week, which found that “Southern California house and condominium prices jumped 10 percent in February from a year earlier as homebuyers took advantage of tax incentives. The median price climbed to $275,000 from $250,000 a year earlier, MDA DataQuick said today in a statement.”