Contact | Login|Register

Call Us: 949.874.7020

• Home
• Open Houses
• Search Properties
• Buyers Resources
• Sellers Resources
• Financing
• About

High-End Home Sales Up in O.C.

Sales of Orange County upscale homes are back on the rise, albeit at a slow pace, after having dropped a whopping 80% over the past few years, according to the latest figures from real estate information provider DataQuick.

The data defines high-end homes as those priced $700,000 or more, or 38.5% above the Orange County average of $430,000. These homes are largely concentrated in the coastal areas such as Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Dana Point and San Clemente.

High-end sales had been plunging steadily since its June 2005 high of 1,764 sales. The busiest month this year was July, when 536 upscale homes were sold-less than a third of the said peak. The lowest month was January with a mere 206 sales.

However, buyer activity has been inching back up since, as foreclosures abated slightly and fewer distressed properties entered the market. This may be partly due to the usual buying season in the summer, although experts remain hopeful that it's more long-term.

Despite the rise, however, high-end homes have a long way to go before catching up to pre-recession levels. The upscale market made up only 17.8% of homes sold last month, compared to a healthy share of 42.8% back in June 2007.

The 2009 drop is believed to be a result of falling home values, especially as distressed home sales (such as foreclosures, bank-owned homes and short sales) flooded the market after the housing market crash.

Tighter lending standards may also have contributed to the slowdown in expensive home sales. Banks are now issuing three times less the volume of high-dollar loans, so many upscale homes are sitting on the market vying for a limited number of buyers.