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O.C. Home Buying Nears Four-Year Rising Streak

After a toughing it out since the sub-prime mortgage boom, real estate seems to be picking up in Orange County as it nears its fourth straight year of sales and price gains, according to data from real estate information provider DataQuick.

In the month ending October 16th, the latest available data from DataQuick, Orange County saw a $6,000 rise in median selling prices compared to September, an increase of 1.4% and the longest series of increases since August 2005.

A total of 3,103 homes were sold in the said period, 4.8% above the figures from a year ago. However, home sales have yet to rise back to the 1997-2006 average of 4,304 sales per month.

Home prices were also up by 3.6%, averaging $435,000 countywide, although still a good 33% below the June 2007 peak of $645,000. Experts believe the figures will keep rising and may peak again if the market remains strong up to next summer.

The latest median price recorded was 18% higher than the cyclical low hit of $370,000, reached at the start of 2009. The figure represents a current bottom that was previously at 43% below the abovementioned peak.

Median prices were down on a year-to-year basis from September to August in 2007, and reached its worst in August 2008 with a drop of 31.5%. The period was also the year's slowest for Orange County's biggest cities, including Laguna Beach and Newport Beach.

Condos and single-family homes remain the most active slices of the real estate market, although both have yet to catch up to their pre-recession peaks. Single-family homes are reselling for 33% below their June 2007 high, while condo resales are still 34% cheaper than their peak in March 2006.