Welcome to a Buyer’s Market
It is official, the Orange County housing market has tipped in the buyer’s favor with the slowest June since 2011.
With inventory climbing 61% since last year and demand remaining almost unchanged, the market has slowed substantially.
Standing at the grocery store checkout on a busy afternoon, the lines can stretch on for what seems like forever. Upon looking around, there are inevitably several registers that are not open, despite the throngs of shoppers waiting for someone to ring them up. After waiting for several minutes, not one, but three registers open up, and all lanes are open. “Next in line,” the new cashiers announce. Suddenly, the lines move rapidly, and everyone is able to check out so that they can get home and put away their groceries.
Home buyers have been stuck in long checkout lines with a limited inventory that dates back to the start of 2020. Open houses have been crowded. Multiple offers were the norm. Throngs of buyers toured homes, wrote offers, and hoped that someday they too would be able to secure a home. Suddenly, with the highest June supply since 2019, buyers have a lot more choices, and negotiations are lining up in their favor. Buyers are finally able to “check out” and secure a place to call home.
Excerpt taken from an article by Steven Thomas.
