With the end of the year, we thought it'd be a good time to post updates on the home sales market so people can start planning for 2011. We picked the 5 cities in our service area that are typically the best indicators for the overall health of the market: (Fullerton, Irvine, Newport Beach, Long Beach, Whittier). This will be a 5 part series, here is part 1 of 5 "Fullerton, CA" In the new year, these type of statistics will be available monthly on our website.The Summary
2010 had a few periods of exceptional market health. In particular, the spring period leading up to the end of the tax credits actually had very good number of homes sold in Fullerton. Since then, the market has softened and we are seeing an increase in numbers of days on the market while simultaneous seeing a drop in number of homes on the market. To us, this means pricing is staying low not from a large number of home options, but from an overall lack of buyer interest. For these reasons, we'll probably see the continuation of the current buyers market over the next few months.
Inventory vs Avg Days on the Market
Inventory (# of homes on the market) peaked in September, but has been decreasing to approx 450 homes on market. This is still quite a few homes on the market and usually indicates a buyers market in Fullerton.
Average Days on Market is coming up as well from the August low of 120 days on market. Now were heading past 150 days and climbing.
Median Home Price
The median price was lowest over the summer at $530,000 and is not much changed since that time. Don't worry though entry level home buyers, this is a little misleading, there are still many Fullerton homes available in the $300,000 to $400,000 price range.
Sales Volume
The graph below depicts sales from previous 3 months at any given date. Sales peaked in at about July meaning the best months were April, May, and June with approximately 146 homes being sold each month. Sales volumes have been decreasing since this time to the approx 100 homes per month current level. In a nutshell we're selling 25-35% of the available inventory every month...and yes that's pretty indicative of a buyers market.
These are all just averages and approximates. If you have specific questions, please don't hesitate to contact us.
11 comments:
I can see that you are putting a lot of time and effort into your blog and detailed articles! Will be back often to read more updates!
Deirdre G
Thanks Deirdre :)
Were any zip codes in Fullerton selling better than others? It seemed like some of the upper end homes were coming down in price?
@Fullertonsince67
Good question, and the answer depends on what we mean by selling better. The most home sales came out of the 92832 and 92833 zip codes but those zips also have a large amount of entry level homes and condos. Entry level product was far and away the best seller but I see the biggest change from the year prior in the upper end homes.
Zip codes like 92835, which has a large amount of upscale homes, saw a significant bump in sales activity. As far as a %, it definitely would qualify for a "most improved" award (if there were one). The year prior, the sales were very slow in these upscale markets as the market declined. 2010 was the first year we saw equity sellers making the decision to list as the market improved.
This is all very typical of the area as the upscale areas have been less affected with fewer distress sales. Sometimes to the point of there being "no sales" since many of the owners have the option to sit it out and wait for a better market.
Hope this helps!
That is kinda what we were thinking, its nice to see things selling again.....albeit not at the prices we loved seeing back in '06. :)
but hey its better than not selling. Been there done that :(
Thanks Todd
anytime
I hope this market comes back, we've got to relocate sometime in the next couple years and we'd be taking a loss if things don't pick up. But then again, we'd be buying in the same market so maybe it'd be wash. Thanks, this always helps with the planning!
@chilara-t
I think the understatement of the year might be "we feel you're pain" :(
Selling a home these days really does require a serious gut check. You've got the right attitude though if you have to sell and get to buy in the same market. Best.
Thanks for the great report. It would be interesting to see the number of foreclosures and short sales to gauge their influence in price and sales trends.
@alindstrom
Thanks, I think I have those stats, I"ll post them up on Monday and send an update
As of today, out of 394 homes active on the market in Fullerton:
144 are short sales
33 are bank owned REO
and the rest standard sales, hud, or flips
21 of the 144 short sales and 7 of the 33 REO's just came out Feb1 or sooner
So I guess right now, approx 45% of current inventory would be classified as a distress sale.
Thanks for the suggestion Angela, fun statistic!
We'll make it a regular addition to the market reports to track over time.
Post a Comment