Orange County Housing Report: A 2023 Forecast

The year started off with an active inventory of 954 homes, the lowest level to start a year since tracking began in 2004. The average start prior to the pandemic was 4,500 homes, so there was nearly nothing available in January. Yet, with a rapidly rising mortgage rate environment, demand slowed substantially as the year progressed. After starting 2022 at 3.25%, rates eventually surpassed 5% in May and eclipsed 6% in June. As a result, the inventory rapidly grew from mid-April until it peaked at the beginning of August at 4,069 homes, a rise of 327% from January 1st. The 3-year average peak prior to COVID (2017 to 2019) was 6,959 homes, 71% higher than this year. From August through year’s end, the number of available homes decreased to 2,642, very similar to 2020 levels and 41% below the 3-year average end to December of 4,479. Click here to view the entire report.

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