Four Facts ....

At our last Seven Gables office meeting Mike Hickman CEO presented us with a different set of statistics and facts about the housing market and contrary to everything the media is reporting about the housing market, Orange County real estate sales trended upward for the seventh month in a row. Foreclosure rates are dropping. The market is humming-not overheated, but not softening either. It’s kind of on cruise control. And after what we’ve been through the past three years, that’s a good thing.

When analyzing sales data, we took four key indicators. And all four are looking good. Here’s what we saw:

• Pended Sales--there were 3,209 recorded in July 2011, up 281 over June, and up significantly over July 2010: a 1,042 gain.
• Month of Inventory (closed sales)--this figure stands at 5.2 months. Sure it’s up from the June figure of 4.5, but way below last July’s 6.8 months.
• Average Price per Square Foot--$291 per square foot. This is the second lowest it’s been in 15 months.
• Sold-to-List Price Differential—this number has not changed significantly. In July it stood at 96 percent. In fact, it has bounced back and forth from 96 and 97 percent for 15 months.

So what does all this mean? For starters, it means good news. Here’s what else: The way buyers and sellers are negotiating indicates a further softening in prices. People perceive value and that’s why sales are up. And that means there’s still a great opportunity for buyers in the Orange County market.

It means that while the market isn’t exactly on fire, it’s not the smoking ruin that the pundits would have us believe.

These numbers don’t lie. The Orange County market is not in as bad a shape as the media says…in fact it’s not bad at all.