According to recent reports, there’s some good news to share about the Orange County real estate market. Apparently, there are a lot of economic factors that have successfully amalgamated to raise and augment the optimistic view of the future of the Orange County real estate market and this has brought a smile to the faces of those waiting to sell off their homes. The mortgage experts are of the opinion that various positive conditions that are coming together to egg on the people who wish to purchase homes in Orange County. Though mortgage loans are needed to finance your dream house in Orange County, Freddie Mac’s survey shows that the mortgage rates are drastically low and this is increasing the first mortgage loan and mortgage refinance applications. As per the Mortgage Bankers Association, loan application volume has ticked up by 1.3% and first mortgage loan applications were more as compared to the refinancers.

Running through the 2012 Q1 Orange County real estate market statistics:

The real estate and the housing experts say that the first quarter of 2012 ended in a positive note for the Orange County real estate market as the house sales were up. The market conditions, in fact reminded the top Orange County realtors of the real estate boom that took place during 2004-2005. Here are some aspects that can be mentioned about the Orange County real estate market.

Foreclosures: The real estate agents in Orange County noticed a marked difference between Q1 of 2012 and Q1 of 2011 due to the noticeable drop in the number of foreclosures. The foreclosure level has reached the lowest level in the last 5 years. Though no one is sure about how long this positive market conditions will continue, as there are fears of yet another wave of foreclosures that may hit the market before the end of 2012.

Short sales: Thanks to the lenders like Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Bank of America, that we saw a large number of Orange County short sales. Such banks sped up the short sales processes and therefore the homeowners could facilitate the entire procedure and complete it within a period of 20 days as compared to 30 days from other lenders. One more thing that helped the short sale market was the government programs and the cash incentives that provided financial aid of about $3000 to $35,000 to the homeowners so that they could short sale their homes. Such incentives helped the homeowners to release themselves of their underwater state and move on.

Median home price: The first quarter of 2012 ended strong with the median home prices at $430,000 and there were almost 11,500 homes that were available for sale and this implies that we are in a seller’s market in the sub 600k price point.

The consumer attitude according to the National Housing Survey

Doug Duncan, the Vice President of Fannie Mae, who is a chief economist as well, is of the opinion that due to the rise in the key economic indicators, the prospective buyers are all less hesitant to buy a house with the present real estate market conditions in the Orange County. The confidence is there among the consumers as they feel that their personal finances are stabilizing and will get better in the next few months. The remarkably low mortgage rates is also making home buying affordable and the unemployment rate is also dropping gradually.

The recovery is taking place in the Orange County real estate market and this is also boosting the home sales in this place. If you’re someone who is interested in selling off your home, you should leverage the present real estate market as this is perhaps the best time to take the plunge.

Please visit our market statistics section to see how the market is trending in specific Orange County cities: Orange County real time market trends

The Aaronson Group is committed to offering the highest standards of professional service for all your Orange County Real Estate needs. We take pride in getting top dollar for our home sellers with the least amount of time. For our home buyers we employ our extensive knowledge and experience to find the perfect home. By specializing in short sales, bank foreclosures and reo properties we have had tremendous success in procuring bargains for our clients. If you would like more information in regards to buying or selling a home, please contact us

Orange County Real Estate Market | Increased Home Sales Boost Confidence