The Spring housing market is officially here for Orange County! Holidays are over, the Super Bowl is over, which means the market is about to heat up. This has been one of the largest swings in supply and demand that I've seen in a long time. Supply is only up 3% over the last month while demand is up a staggering 47% over the same time period setting up the start of the Spring market to heavily favor sellers. Buyers there are many different ways to make an offer more appealing to the seller besides the price, make sure your agent is reviewing all of them with you. Sellers, now is the time to get your home on the market. Over the next 4 weeks you're going to start seeing more homes(competition) hitting the market so the sooner you get it on the market the better chances you'll have of quickly getting top dollar for your home.

There is no crash in sight for the Orange County housing market. We are starting the year with not only historically low interest rates, but we also have some of the lowest inventory to start the year in recent memory. Low supply and high demand will keep the market stable and we will probably see appreciation during at least the first half of the year. I also expect the market to start heating up about a month earlier than usual this year so I'm recommending sellers have their homes ready to hit the market sometime in February and buyers need to start getting those pre-approvals from their lenders so they can hit the ground running in the next few weeks.

????Last market update of the year! ????What's happening right now in the market, and how it is setting up the housing market for 2020? Some key points to look at:

-Still in a seller's market in December

-The housing market will be heading into an even hotter seller's market starting January

-Interest rates should stay low for the foreseeable future

-Most economists are predicting appreciation of anywhere from 3-7% on homes in 2020

FHA loan limits will be increasing in 2020 for both Riverside and Orange County. FHA loans only require a minimum of a 580 credit score and 3.5% down payment which is why they are one of the most popular types of loans out there right now.

November Orange County Housing Market Update - Supply is starting it's normal decline for the holiday season(14% in the last 4 weeks), but demand is doing it's own thing this year and has actually increased by 3% over the last 4 weeks. Typically demand falls at about the same rate as supply. This increase is largely due to great interest rates and a strong southern california economy. Sellers who already have, or are are putting their homes on the market, at fair market value will see more buyers than usual and get into escrow faster than just 2 months ago. Buyers can take advantage of low rates(3.75% as of Nov. 20th). Just last year they were right around 5%. This alone will save them hundreds on their average monthly mortgage payment on the same priced home as last year. Over the next 4 weeks expect supply to continue falling quicker than demand.