MicroMarket Update June 2011

What the heck is a MicroMarket update? Well, this is the first one of these that we are doing here at CostaMesaRealEstate.com, and we hope to continue the trend over the course of the year. Every market in real estate is very local, so if you are in Bend, Oregon, homes might be quietly sitting on the market for a year. If you are in a big second home market like Palm Springs, California, homes might often take two years to sell. If you live on the Upper Eastside in NYC, perhaps the market is on fire! Local markets like the one in Oak Creek in Irvine have very brisk home sales right now, many times with multiple offers on homes for sale.

 

Just know this: All real estate is local, and what you hear in the news is usually much broader and intended for a broad audience, and our Southern California news usually lumps us together with Los Angeles which is a very different market than what you will find in Costa Mesa.

 

A MicroMarket report in Costa Mesa real estate simply gives you a look at what is really going on in Costa Mesa from a respected broker. I will give you the no “BS” numbers, and we then compare those numbers to what you hear about in the national news or the local Daily Pilot or Orange County Register. It always seems like the broader media markets paint the picture for everyone, when in fact it really helps to stay local to find out what is really going on here in Costa Mesa real estate.

 

Alright already, here are the numbers:

 

• New Listings April 2011: 90
• New Homes Under Contract April 2011: 50
• Closed Sales April 2011: 56

• New Listings May 2011: 93
• New Homes Under Contract May 2011: 66
• Closed Sales May 2011: 53

• New Listings June 2011: 102
• New Homes Under Contract June 2011: 48
• Closed Sales June 2011: 55

Costa Mesa Inventory – Should be increasing over the summer of 2011

 

The numbers for Costa Mesa real estate are pretty even across the board. We normally get an uptick in listings going on the market at the beginning of each summer, and the data certainly suggests that is happening with a 10% increase in new listings since April 2011.

 

What are the trends in pricing, activity, and other goings on? It has definitely become more of a buyer’s market; there are not multiple offers on many listings, and when there are the buyers are playing it very close to the vest. There are price reductions in most of the inventory that has sat on the market for more than 4 months. The lower end of the price spectrum (homes below $499,000 and condos below $399,000) is seeing much more activity, especially in East Side Costa Mesa. The upper end of the price spectrum is certainly a good deal slower, with few showings per week. Homes with flaws (location, needing major improvements) are sitting for long periods of time.

 

The upper end of the price spectrum has really come down quite a bit, even with the extraordinarily low interest rates (4.375% as of this writing). For instance, homes in the Lower Birds section of Mesa Verde were easily in the mid $800,000 range last year while this year there are quite a few to choose from in the upper $600,000s and the $700,000 range.

 

The numbers don’t quite support it yet, but I definitely think the buyer’s market trend will continue in Costa Mesa real estate over the next six month period. Seller’s who want to stay ahead of where this market is going will be smart to adjust pricing ahead of the downward market trend.

 

Thinking about buying or selling in Costa Mesa? Call or e-mail local expert Broker Colin Delaney for info or a chat about the market at (714) 743-9882 or via his email.