Good afternoon. I’m Jeb Smith with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Huntington Beach with your May 2018 Orange County Real Estate Market Report. Over the past 8 months or so we have seen a lack of inventory driving our market in certain price ranges making it a difficult for Buyers to find the perfect home. While inventory is still low by historical measure, we have started to see more homes coming on the market causing our inventory to build ever so slightly. As many of you are aware, it’s typical for more homes to come on the market during this time period but buyer demand still seems to be pretty strong. In my personal opinion, a lot of the homes that I’m seeing come to the market these days seem to be over-priced based on fair market value and likely a big reason we are starting to see the inventory numbers rise.
While inventory has risen, remember, all real estate is local and things definitely vary by city and price point. I’ve personally had clients writing offers on homes that I thought were priced high only to find out that there were multiple offers 20-30K over the asking price. In speaking with other Realtors, this isn’t uncommon, especially under the $750K price point. So if you are a buyer looking to purchase in this market, make sure you are working with a Professional who can help educate and guide you through the process.
As a Seller it’s critical now more than ever to speak to a professional about what is going on in your specific price point. While there are certain price points selling quickly and above the fair market value there are also certain price ranges that were once flying off the market, now taking a little longer to sell even when priced according to market value.
On the interest rate front, the trend is still for gradually higher rates which is also putting pressure on buyers. In the last 10 days we finally seen some improvement after rates had been on a constant climb since the end of last year. While rates should moderate, if you are thinking of buying or refinancing, the time to act is now.
I don’t see the market making any drastic changes in the near future but I do expect to continue to see our inventory build as we head towards the end of summer which is typical for our market.
Buying or Selling a home is one of the biggest financial decisions you will make in your life and that’s why it’s imperative that you work with a professional who can guide you through the process. If you are a Buyer or Seller and have questions about the process I would love the opportunity to help guide you in the right direction. If you would like more information about me, please go to my website www.jebsmith.net or check out my other videos here on Facebook or YouTube. As always, I appreciate you taking the time to watch and I look forward to seeing you again next month. Make it a great day.