The Orange County housing market has received a 3% ($21,500) median increase in home sales in the last year, however, the average home sales value has been unsteady. Starting at 2016 to 2018, with the home sales volume equalling to 37,900 to 38,400 and 35,100 respectively, the market has gone up and down. Since its peak in 2003 at 53,900, the market seems to have gotten stuck since.

The homeowner turnover rate has not been doing any better, with between 7.3 to 6.8% in 2015 through 2017 or 20% to 17.8% for the renter turnover rate. With this said, a dramatic exponential increase to the turnover rates will likely occur in the next few years as the Gen Y, or Centennials will begin to purchase homes. Unlike other housing market trends nearby, the single-family residential rates have seen a 19% decrease in the last year compared to 2017, and the multi-family rates have not done any better. These rates are expected to grow in the next few years as legislative moves are focusing on adding more housing options for the growing population of the area.

With the high demand for housing due to the large California population, Orange County has still seen its highest prices in the last few years despite the decline in these stats. This has caused many more people to need to rent rather than buy, and the prices for rent have therefore increased in line. It is expected that home prices go back down in the next few years, perhaps by 5-10% by 2020 due to rising mortgage rates and more people leaving than moving in.

The overall data for the Orange County housing market make it hard to predict whether now is the best time to purchase a home or to wait onto later, however many agree that if you’re wanting to buy a home for yourself, do it now. If your goal is to buy to renovate and sell, perhaps wait a bit to see how the market turns in the next year or so.