Orange County Housing Report:

E X P E C T E D  M A R K E T  T I M E 

The Time it Took to Sell A Hoe Grew Longer As the Year Progressed, and Then Improved During the Second Half of the Year.

The Expected Market Time, the amount of time it would take to place a home listed today into escrow down the road (based upon current supply and demand), started the year at 74 days, stronger than pre-pandemic levels due to a limited inventory. It dropped to 61 days in February and continued to rise through July. The market slowed, with demand unchanged from the past couple of years, and remained relatively flat throughout the year. Simultaneously, more sellers hit the market and accumulated weekly. The increased competition among sellers resulted in a market slowdown. It eclipsed 80 days in April andSeptember. They dropped below 6.5% on September 3 and have remained close to 6.25% ever since, nearly four months, the most extended period since August 2022. Rates have eased due to a weakening labor market and an overall improvement in mortgage spreads, indicating mortgage pricing has been improving behind the scenes. Unfortunately, demand was considerably diminished this year because rates remained above 6.5% throughout the Winter, Spring, and Summer Markets. The more favorable mortgage rate environment came too late, matching up with the Autumn and Holiday Markets, the slowest time of year for housing.
Within the past four weeks, demand dropped by 247 pending sales, or 18%, to 1,149, the lowest reading since January. At the end of December 2024, demand was at 1,204 pending sales, 5% higher than in 2025. The 3-year average end to December before COVID was 1,499 pending sales, 30% higher than in 2025.  90 days in June. It hit 96 days in July, but then retreated as the pace of sellers coming on the market slowed during the second half of the year, and the inventory peaked at the end
of July. It dropped below 90 days in September and did not look back. In the past two weeks, the Expected Market Time for Orange County dropped from 87 to 82 days, higher than 2024’s year-end at 67 days.

Excerpt from Stephen Thomas OC Housing