Friday, May 10, 2019

MAY 2019 ORANGE COUNTY REAL ESTATE NEWS

Horton Team Real Estate Newsletter
May 2019

TIME TO MOVE?

Low rates and high demand means it may be a good time to make a move.
Source: Steven Thomas Housing Report - April 22, 2019

Timing is arguably the second most important key to success in real estate, behind the #1 key we all know: "Location, location, location!"

When is the best time to make a move? Current housing conditions and trends point to now being the best time, for both buyers and sellers. Buyers can take advantage of low interest rates, and sellers can get the best prices possible as demand rises and inventory starts to decrease.

At the end of 2018, economic experts and major financial institutions were forecasting interest rates anywhere from 5.25% to 6% in 2019. That seemed more than reasonable given the fact that rates had climbed from 3.95% at the beginning of 2018 to nearly 5% by November. Yet, after an exceptionally rocky December for Wall Street and news of an economic slowdown in both China and Europe, interest rates retreated and dropped to 4%. Since then, they have risen slightly to about 4.2%, where they stand today. The bottom line, mortgage rates are back down to historical lows. It is a great time to be a buyer.

To put this newfound affordability in practical terms, if a buyer is looking for a payment of about $3,000 per month with 20% down, they are now looking at purchasing a home priced at $762,500 with a 4.25% mortgage rate. Compare that to last November when rates were just about 5%; that $3,000 per month payment allowed a buyer to purchase a home at $698,750. The drop in rates has allowed this buyer to purchase $63,750 more home for the same money.

These lower rates and surge in buyer demand has been beneficial for sellers as well, with growth in demand in recent weeks outpacing new inventory coming on. As a result, expected days-on-market (the number of days it would take for a home placed on the market today to sell) has dropped from 84 last month, to 76 days now. This kind of drop has not been seen during this time of year in a decade.

If you are thinking of thinking of making a move, let's get the conversation started!

JUST SOLD!

Laguna Beach

674 Seaview, Laguna Beach
Represented Buyer

Sale Price: $3,000,000
5bd, 4ba, 2500 sqft
1490 Del Mar, Laguna Beach
Represented Seller and Buyer

Sale Price: $1,420,000
3bd, 3ba, 1350 sqft
454 Broadway, Laguna Beach
Represented Seller

Sale Price: $1,400,000
3bd, 3ba, 2174 sqft

IN ESCROW

Laguna Beach

480 Thalia St, Laguna Beach
List Price: $1,729,000
2bd, 2ba, 1207 sqft
934 La Mirada St, Laguna Beach
List Price: $1,575,000
3bd, 2ba, 1734 sqft
1098 Wykoff, Laguna Beach
List Price: $1,599,000
3bd, 3ba, 1642 sqft
1489 Regatta, Laguna Beach
List Price: $1,465,000
4bd, 2ba, 1831 sqft

CURRENT LISTINGS

Laguna Beach

397 Weymouth Pl - $7,750,000
5 bd, 7 ba, 4949 sqft
www.397Weymouth.com
1585 S. Coast #4 - $1,999,000
3 bd, 2 ba, 1448 sqft
www.1585Coast4.com
605 Glomstad Lane - $1,189,000
2 bd, 2 ba, 798 sqft
www.605GlomstadLn.com

MARKET STATISTICS

Laguna Beach

Active - 284
Pending - 52
Sold in April - 37

Under $1,000,000 - 4
$1,000,000 - $2,000,000 - 19
$2,000,000 - $3,000,000 - 5
$3,000,000 - $4,000,000 - 5
$10,375,000 - 1
Learn More

THE HORTON TEAM

AMANDA
HORTON

C 949.422.6122
EMAIL AMANDA
DRE#01357096

PAMELA
HORTON

C 949.633.6667
EMAIL PAMELA
DRE#01013024

JACE
HORTON

C 714.833.1730
EMAIL JACE
DRE#02050612