SEPTEMBER 2014 COASTAL SOUTH ORANGE COUNTY REAL ESTATE NEWS



Sunrise Wednesday morning as the big surf begins to roll in from Main Beach to Seal Rock ...
© Mitch Ridder Photography - All Rights Reserved 2014

CALIFORNIA HOME SALES AND PRICES IMPROVE IN JULY

California home sales posted higher for the second straight month. Home prices rose over sales of June 2014 and also were higher than a year ago. Although, the pace of appreciation continued to slow.

Pending Home Sales: Properties in escrow rose 3.3% last month after slipping 1.25% in June. The index, which tracks contracts signed for previously owned homes, hasn’t been higher since August 2013. The increase from June, which beat expectations of a 0.5% rise, provides another indication that the housing market is strengthening after starting to cool last summer.

Investors: With home prices on the rise, more investors are flipping properties instead of renting them.  In 2014, 28% of investors flipped the property, up from 20% last year. 58% of investors rented their properties in 2014, down from 73% in 2013.  

Mortgage Rates Stay Low: The 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.10% for the week ended Aug. 28, unchanged from a week ago, but down from 4.51% last year, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey.

Equity Lines: Equity lines of credit are booming. Dollar volume of new loans are highest in areas with the most expensive housing; along the West Coast and Northeast. In CA nearly $6 billion in equity lines were originated in the last 12 month. This rapid increase is the direct result of the gains in home prices along with low interest rates of 3-4%. Key questions: Is this a boom or a bubble? A good thing or an omen? Stay tuned.

*CAR 8/30/14/LATimes 8/31/14

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AUGUST 2014 SALES STATISTICS FOR LAGUNA BEACH

260 active listings 55 in escrow
34 closed sales from 8/01/14 - 8/31/14

34 Sales for August 2014:
9 sales under $1 million
10 sales $1-2 million
7 sales $2-3 million

4 sales $3-4 million
1 sale $4,030,000
1 sale $6,700,000
1 sale $8,200,000
1 sale for $10,200,000

*CRMLS 8/31/14

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COASTAL ZIP CODES BY MEDIAN SALES PRICE FOR JULY 2013 COMPARED TO JULY 2014

Balboa Island - 92662 - 1 - $860,000 – minus 42.3%
Capo Beach - 92624 - 11 - $825,000 – minus 13.5%
Corona del Mar - 92625 - 14 - $1,605,000 – minus 30.5%

Costa Mesa - 92626 - 28- $687,000 – 14.5%
Costa Mesa - 92627 - 28 - $855,000 – 14.5%
Dana Point - 92629 - 26- $667,000 – minus 4.6%
Laguna Beach - 92651 - 39 - $1,955,000 – 8%
Laguna Niguel - 92677 - 56 - $835,000 – 2%
Newport Beach - 92660 - 52 - $1,600,000 – 3.9%
Newport Beach – 92661 – 7 - $1,800,000 – minus 26.5%
Newport Beach – 92663 – 21 - $2,275,000 – 70.1%
Newport Coast – 92657 – 21 - $2,700,000 – minus .6%
San Clemente – 92672 – 38 - $728,000 – 9.7%
San Clemente – 92673 – 35 - $860,000 – 5.5%

*Source DQNews/LATimes 8/10/14
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