Laguna Beach No Longer O.C.’s Slowest Market

Laguna Beach is showing slight improvement after weeks of being the slowest housing market in Orange County. The city's average market times dropped from 10.97 months at the start of the month to just 10.32 months as of September 21st.

Corona del Mar in Newport Beach now holds first place with an average market time of 10.84 months, up significantly from two weeks ago. Experts point to high property prices as the reason for the slowdown, as is often the case with slow housing markets.

Laguna Beach is one of the few areas to show improvement, as other major cities saw increasing market times at the start of fall. Dana Point's market time went from 5.15 to 5.45 months, while San Clemente went from 3.36 to 3.41 months in the same period.

The fastest housing market is in Portola Hills, where homes spend a mere 0.64 months in the market. Its inland location and relatively low property values are believed to be major factors in its market performance.

Market times throughout Orange County are going down on average, having dropped from 2.46 to 2.33 months within two weeks. For short sales, the market time is approximately 1.5 months.

There are also fewer distressed properties on the market. Last week, the number totaled 2,834 homes, down by 132 from the start of September. Short sales also dropped 134 homes to 2,050 this week.

The report was provided by Steven Thomas, a broker from O.C.-based firm Altera Real Estate. According to Thomas, while numbers are improving countrywide, the lack of inventory in large, expensive cities like Laguna Beach can slow down their recovery.

 

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