Wednesday, March 11, 2020

MARCH 2020 ORANGE COUNTY REAL ESTATE NEWS

Horton Team Real Estate Newsletter

March 2020

LOWER RATES FUEL HOUSING MARKET

Happy Spring
We continue to see an active housing market. Buyer demand seems further spurred by low interest rates and the continued low inventory, particularly under $2m. Here are take aways we found informative from the Orange County Housing Report, March 2020.

In our last newsletter, we talked about how top economists are predicting rates to stay under 4% in the first quarter of 2020. Now that the first quarter is almost over, it's looking like that prediction held true. Even amidst stock market volatility and global health concerns, it's looking as though it will hold true for the second quarter of 2020 as well. 

The reality is, the current environment of the housing market continues to be one that promotes high activity, and has yet to show signs of letting up. Orange County's inventory of homes for sale is at an all-time low since 2013, a dramatic difference from where we were just a year ago (see graph below), but with rates continuing to drop and buyers reaching higher and higher levels of affordability, listing's days on market continues to go down and homes are going into escrow every single day. 
 

Homes coming on are not keeping pace with previous year's statistics from around this time, yet pending sales and closings continue to rise. (You can see the affect of this trend on the Laguna Beach housing market detailed below.) 
 

5 TIPS FOR KEEPING A SANITARY HOME

Source - Today.com

While physicians continue to remind everyone to wash their hands and keep from touching their faces to help prevent the spread of coronavirus, they also say it’s important to keep a clean house.

You can’t control the cleanliness of what you touch outside the home, such as surfaces in stores or on public transportation. But within your home, there are specific steps you can take to protect yourself and your family.
These tips should be used in conjunction with basic sanitary guidelines: regularly wash your hands for at least 20 seconds, use hand sanitizer, avoid touching your face, cover your coughs and sneeze, and stay home if you are sick.

1. Clean commonly touched surfaces

A virus spreads mainly when people come into contact with an infected person’s respiratory droplets at close range, but the virus can also spread if you touch a surface that has the virus on it, and then touch your own eyes, nose or mouth. Daily cleaning of “high-touch” surfaces around the home, such as doorknobs, light switches, countertops and cabinet handles is recommended.

2. Use the right cleaning supplies
When it comes to cleaning supplies, make sure you’re not accidentally spreading infection by reusing dirty items. Experts recommend using disposable wipes, arguing they "really are ideal for cleaning in the home because you can dispose of them after one use.” If you do reuse sponges and cloths, “they really should be washed in hot water and dried on the hottest setting after each use."

3. Clean your electronics and mobile devices
Your phone could be an infected surface hiding in plain sight. Phones often travel everywhere with us throughout the day, potentially picking up germs along the way. Use an alcohol wipe, or damp cloths with warm soap and water, to regularly clean the surfaces of your phone. Also, don’t forget to regularly disinfect shared electronics in the home, like computer keyboards and mice, landline phones and remote controls, especially if a sick person has been using them.

4. Tips for the kitchen
Practice common sense hygiene when it comes to food preparation. Wash your hands and make sure people who are sick don’t come into close contact with shared food. When someone is sick in the household, give them their own designated plates, drinking glasses and eating utensils. When washing dishes, clean them thoroughly with soap and water. If you have a dishwasher, use the hot setting. Make sure to frequently clean high-touch surfaces in the kitchen, such as countertops, drawer pulls and fridge handles.

5. Tips for the bathroom
 
Bathrooms should be a “high-priority focus” when it comes to keeping yourself and your family safe from virus, experts say. Frequently clean all surfaces, including the toilet, shower and sink, keep toothbrushes separate from each other, regularly wash hand towels, and don’t share hand towels with a sick person.

CURRENT LISTINGS

Laguna Beach

2841 Ridge Dr - $2,930,000
4 bd, 4.5 ba, 4,400 sqft
2841Ridge.com
31012 Aliso Circle - $2,399,000
3 bd, 2.5 ba, 2,301 sqft
31012Aliso.com
977 Noria St - $1,275,000
3 bd, 2 ba, 1,536 sqft
977Noria.com
885 La Mirada Lot - $599,000
25' x 100' Ocean View Buildable Lot
LaMiradaLot.com

IN ESCROW

Laguna Beach

1085 La Mirada St - $1,295,000
3 bd, 2 ba, 1,712 sqft
Representing Seller
959 Quivera St - $1,289,000
3 bd, 2.5 ba, 1,648 sqft
Representing Seller
21701 Wesley St #A - $748,000
2 bd, 1 ba, 900 sqft
Representing Seller

MARKET STATISTICS

Laguna Beach

Active - 211 (Up 13% vs. Feb.)
Pending - 56 (Up 12% vs. Feb.)
Sold in February - 31 (Up 82% vs Jan.)

Under $1,000,000 - 4
$1,000,000 - $2,000,000 - 12
$2,000,000 - $3,000,000 - 9
$3,000,000 - $5,000,000 - 4
$6,400,000 - 1
$7,950,000 - 1

 
Learn More

THE HORTON TEAM

AMANDA
HORTON

C 949.422.6122
EMAIL AMANDA
DRE#01357096
 

PAMELA
HORTON

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EMAIL PAMELA
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JACE
HORTON

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