Orange County Housing Market News

Thinking of buying or selling a home this summer in Orange County? Kids are getting out of school, the weather should be heating up soon, and the summer housing market has officially started here in OC. However, it's not what a lot of people expected. Interest rates have been on the rise in May, briefly going above 7% again, but at the same time the housing market is on fire with multiple offers o...

One of the most politicized issues to hit the housing market this year has been the new changes that just went into effect May 1st that impact home mortgage interest rates. There have been a lot of headlines out there that make it seem like people with higher credit scores will now be getting a higher interest rate than those with lower credit scores. This seems crazy, but is there any truth in it...

It MAY be hard to believe but the housing market in most price ranges is back to a seller’s market in Orange County as we head toward the summer. Open houses are packed and multiple offers are becoming more and more common as the weeks go on. How is this possible with home prices and interest rates so high? It all comes down to supply and demand, and right now we are dealing with the lowest supply...

Will the market crash in 2023? Over the last 6 months that has been the most popular question I've had conversations around with both home buyers and sellers and it makes sense. It's natural the think back to the last time we saw homes lose value and use it as a reference, however in this case, the last time we saw home prices fall consistently was during the housing crisis of 2008 where we saw a...

Surprising even me, the popularity of the California Dream for All Loan program offered by CALHFA that gave buyers up to 20% downpayment assistance caused buyers to flood to it depleting the $300,000,000 in funds in under 2 weeks! I knew the original timeline that they thought it would last(which was until the end of Summer) was way to optimistic but I was assuming it would at least last for a mon...

Have we reached the bottom of the housing market downturn in Orange County? The data seems to all be pointing that way. Open houses are packed and multiple offers are becoming more common place again. Demand has been increasing for a month strait, inventory still is struggling to go up, and rates have dropped again. This is all leading to a very real chance that if these trends continue, we will s...

Looking to raise your credit score quickly? Giving advice is one thing, but taking my own advice and applying it is another. In today's episode I go over a 3 month experiment that I ran with my own credit score to see what impact I could have if let my credit debt build up and then paid it off all at once. The results were surprising! I knew that my score would go up but how much and how fast it w...

You can't turn on the news without seeing stories about how the recent big bank failures both here and abroad have impacted the economy. But does the bank failures impact the housing market, and more specifically, will it impact you if you're buying a home? There are actually some pros and cons of these recent news headlines and on this episode I'll be covering what all this means for anyone looki...

If you're thinking about putting your house on the market this year, you won't want to miss this essential guide of the 5 things you need to know before selling your home in 2023. Today I’ll cover: 1. The importance of getting a pre-inspection done on your home. By doing this, you can identify any issues that may need to be addressed before putting your house up for sale, which can save you time a...

The month of February in the Orange County housing market was the most turbulent month we have seen since October of 2022 in the Orange County market. Rates jumped by a full percent, and supply went down instead of up like it usually does this time of year. Wait what?! Rates went up...so shouldn't supply start climbing as less home buyers enter the market? What is going on? To find out what's happ...

Are you in the market for a new home? Don't miss out on these five essential secrets that no one talks about when buying a home. Here are the five secrets: 1. Buy a home you can afford: It's important to buy a home that fits your budget. Don't overextend yourself, as it could lead to financial difficulties down the road. 2. Buy a home in a good school district: Even if you don't have kids or don't...

Looking to buy a home in Orange County but not sure how much you need to earn? On this weeks episode I talk to Mina Yasuda from Guaranteed Rate Affinity and we'll break down the average home prices in Orange County and explore the necessary income levels to afford them. We'll also dive into the various factors that can impact your ability to purchase a home. Whether you're a first-time homebuyer o...

Are you considering buying a home in Orange County in 2023? If so, it's important to have a clear understanding of the costs involved so you know how much you need to have saved up in your bank account before really getting serious about the process. In this video, we'll explore the costs you need to know about when buying a home in Orange County in 2023, including a break down of the estimated co...

We are only a few weeks into the year and already we are starting to see some pretty significant changes in the Orange County housing market. What are those changes and how will they impact the housing market as we go through February? Check out my Orange County housing market forecast for February to find out what you need to know if you are thinking about buying or selling a home in 2023. To boo...

Looking to buy a house in Orange County in 2023? Then this video is for you! In this tutorial, we will cover everything you need to know to make a competitive offer on your dream home. From understanding the current housing market and identifying the right price to negotiating with the seller, we will give you the tips and tricks you need to make the process as smooth and successful as possible. W...

2022 was a wild year in real estate! Within one year we saw the Orange County housing market go from the hottest market we have ever seen in the Spring, then watching as interest rates spiked quicker than anytime in recent history, more than doubling in just a few months. So with all of this uncertainty in the market, what should you expect in the Orange County housing market in 2023? That is exac...

It might seem impossible but there are plenty of ways to buy a more expensive home without increasing your income. One of the ways that isn't talked about as much is instead of using all of your savings on the downpayment, you can be strategic and use some of it to pay off debt which will often disproportionally increase the amount of home your can afford relative to the dollars you spent paying o...

We have previously discussed 2/1 buy down programs, how they are used, and how they help buyers secure a low interest rate in a high interest rate environment and today's episode is going to be building on top of that knowledge by going over a brand new type of 2/1 buy down program that helps even more buyers get into homes with that low rate. To go over all the details of this new program I sit d...

Thinking about building an ADU on your property in California but don't know where to start? Are you interested in learning how to get a grant of $40,000 for some of the cost of the build, or are you interested in joining a community of others who have built or are in the process of building their own ADU so you can ask questions to help make your build easier? Then this week's episode is for you....

2/1 buy down loans are the most talked about mortgage product on the market right now because it helps buyers feel more comfortable with the monthly mortgage payments in today's high interest rate environment and don't carry the risks of ARM products that got a lot of home owners into trouble during the last recession. For those who don't have a lot of extra cash, this is a great tool to help you...

It's been a wild October in the housing market, interest rates are driving the market as well as the headlines in the news. The media is making it sound like the sky is falling and another 2008 is just around the corner, but is it? As always, let's look at the ACTUAL data in Orange County so you can have some clarity among all the chaos. In this monthly update we are going to look at: ​ 1) What su...

Is one of your goals to buy a home in the next 12 months? Then this episode is for you. Today I interview Dino Katsiametis from CA Coastal Loans and we discuss a bunch of different topics including ways buyers can reduce the interest rate by up to 3% on their next mortgage as well as a brand new program he is rolling out starting today that will help a lot of buyers with a portion of the closing c...

Home buyers! Don't let a hacker steal your down payment, make sure you take the proper steps to keep yourself and your money safe in today's increasingly digital world. Mortgage wire fraud is on the rise and is predicted to double in the next few years. One of the biggest mistakes a home buyer can make is accidentally transferring their downpayment to an account created by a hacker. When this happ...

Is it a goal of yours to buy a home in the next 12 months? Upset you missed out on the historically low interest rates over the last two years? What if I told you there is a way you might be able to still get those low mortgage rates when you purchase a home RIGHT NOW? You might have heard of assumable loans and didn’t quite know what they were or how they work. In this episode, I am going to go o...

Mortgage interest rates are the highest they've been in 20 years, making homes unaffordable for many buyers. Let's take a look at the top 5 ways to get the best mortgage rate possible as we finish out 2022 so you can still enter the market today and take advantage of the best market buyers have seen in years. Josh Alexander THE brokeredge JoshAlexanderRealEstate@gmail.com 714.366.2186 DRE#:0197443...