Laguna Beach Home Sales Speed Up

Laguna Beach surprised real estate experts last week with an unexpected boost in home sales pace, whereas the other two South Coast cites, Dana Point and San Clemente, both slowed down in the same period.

The market time for Laguna Beach homes fell from 14.29 months to 13 months within the last two weeks. Although still slower than the rest of Orange County, this is a welcome change for the city whose sales have been slowing for the past several months.

Dana Point slowed from 5.16 months to 5.82 months, while San Clemente went from 3.65 months to 4.07 months. Experts have also noted the correlation between market times and home values: while the two cities have an average price of $1.8 million and $1.1 million respectively, Laguna Beach homes go for an average of $3.7 million—and this has greatly affected market activity in the already economically-stressed area.

Market times went up on average throughout the rest of Orange County. Homes now take an average of 3.02 months to sell compared to 3.22 months two weeks ago. But while this is encouraging for O.C. residents, it also makes Laguna Beach one of the county’s most sluggish real estate markets.

The figures come from a biweekly report by broker Steven Thomas of real estate developer Altera. According to Thomas, Laguna’s luxury inventory—made up of homes priced over $1.5 million—represents 15% of the active inventory but a mere 3% of the demand.

Thomas added that the Laguna Beach real estate market remains “frozen,” a term given to markets where market times exceed 10 months. While the speedup is encouraging, he says, Laguna Beach is still in a deep buyer’s market and homes will continue to sit on the market for months before being sold.

 

Earlier in Laguna Beach Real Estate News:
Government Programs Can Help Laguna Beach Homeowners
Montage Resort Plans $400 Million Utah Expansion
Emerald Bay Home Slashes Price By $1 Million