BLOG: On the Road to Recovery

For months, I’ve been saying that the market has changed and properties are selling faster and for more money than in the past five years. If that trend continues and keeps at the current pace, we will indeed see the housing market recover over the next 12-24 months. Hallelujah!

A recent article in the OC Register showed statistics that really help bring these facts home.  There are 83 ZIP codes in Orange County and that’s an easy way to compile and sort the data.  Over the past month here are some of the interesting trends.

• 60 of the 83 ZIP codes had an increase in sales volume from last year
• 31 of the 83 ZIP codes had an increase in the median sales price from last year
• County-wide sales are up 17 percent from a year ago
• Sales were up more than 20 percent in San Juan Capistrano and the median price was up more than 26 percent in town

Now I always caution that when using statistics you must take the whole picture and these snapshots don’t always have enough data. For instance, we’ve seen the median price jump and fall in San Juan Capistrano based on what types of properties sell. We have, nestled in the hills of our community, some pretty high-end real estate and one of those sales can make a big difference in the reporting.

The fact that the sales volume is up and the median prices are up in many of the ZIP codes gives us a better picture of the overall health of the market. This is all good news even if you aren’t in the market to buy and sell because if you remember, the whole economy slump was started by the mortgage meltdown and the crash in the housing market five years ago. 

Just as the real estate market started the economic downturn, the housing market recovery will fuel an overall economic recovery. Now don’t get all excited and start spending money yet. We still have a ways to go, but at this point we look like we are finally on that road and all I can say is … it’s about time!