It may be unfavorable to talk about, but it is nonetheless the truth: Orange County, California’s housing market never fully recovered from the 2008 recession, and compounding this have been the impacts of the 2020 to 2021 economic downturn. We all understand why this occurred and why it took everything from home sales volume to job creation with it, most if not all of it having to do with the Coronavirus pandemic, ultimately responsible for historic job losses, reduced MLS inventory and residential construction struggles that continue to plague the market.
All is not lost, though – prices have shown signs of rising from the ashes due to the current supply-and-demand imbalance, further propped up by record-low interest rates and low inventory (with a similar situation occurring in the automotive marketplace). What’s the catch, you may be asking? Today’s brief pricing boost will not last when the expiration of the foreclosure moratorium – currently a hot button topic amongst Washington, D.C. bigwigs – injects distressed sales into the MLS inventory, expected to occur heading into 2022.
Malakai Sparks Group Fun Facts: In July 2021, Costa Mesa home prices were up 21.4-percent compared to last year, selling for a median price of $1.1 million. On average, homes in Costa Mesa sell after 29 days on the market compared to 49 days last year, and there were 86 homes sold in July this year – down from 92 last year.
If you have been contemplating selling your Costa Mesa property, there are a number of things to consider in terms of how a potential buyer will view the opportunity. This vibrant chunk of Southern California boasts a collection of homes in newly-constructed developments that have replaced dated neighborhoods, as well as charming craftsman’s and bungalows built in the mid-to-late 1950s. People relocate in Costa Mesa to enjoy the ocean breezes, quality schools in the Newport-Mesa District and the fantastic access to the famed beach, shopping and culture.
But herein lies the dilemma: Is it time to sell your Costa Mesa home now…or wait until 2022?
We can honestly say that if you’re on the fence about selling your home, you don’t have to be; now is as good a time as any to sell a house, and with the way things seem to be going in this unstable world, that situation can quickly change once 2022 comes around. Indeed, one of the big reasons buyers flooded the market this year, irrespective of the pandemic uncertainty and everything else that may have contributed to an unstable economy, was the historically low interest rates.
Low mortgage rates meant that buyers could save thousands of dollars over the lifetime of their home loan, and as such, many potential buyers who were waiting on the sidelines began searching for their dream house. What’s more, the low rates also meant that people could upgrade from their old home into a larger one while maintaining the same monthly payments.
Still, it must be noted that all pendulums eventually swing the opposite way, and spring 2021 has seen some mortgage rates begin to rise…a momentum likely to continue courtesy of renewed economic activity. Once mortgage rates rise significantly (not really a matter of “if” so much as a matter of “when,” unfortunately), thousands of home buyers are going to retreat from the market, softening some of the red-hot demand we’ve been seeing.
Across the U.S., there are fewer homes on the market, period – and this is helping to push prices sky-high. As we also touched on early in this post, housing inventory declined 39.6-percent on a national level in 2020, giving sellers all the bargaining power with so few homes to choose from; low inventory also forces buyers to bid over the asking price on homes, typically.
By selling your Costa Mesa home now, you get to reap the benefits of a low inventory market, and that means a better shot at getting multiple bids, cash offers, no contingency offers and above-asking price offers. Contact The Malakai Sparks Group today to discuss whether selling right now is the right choice for you and your family.
