With the market slowing down significantly over the summer, it’s clear that the numbers for September may look weary. However, this shouldn’t scare any homesellers or buyers, considering the impact of the summer. In reality, we may just be gearing up for an even hotter 2017! Nonetheless, here are September’s housing numbers, compared to the previous month of August:
Median Home Prices Inching Downward
For many prospective homebuyers, this can definitely be seen as a sign of relief. The median home price of OC homes in September was $869,950. This is just under 3% less than in August, which saw median home prices at $895,000.
Number of Homes Sold Dropped Significantly
Seeing a massive drop in number of homes sold, September was clearly showing signs of the slow-down. Whereas in August there was 804 homes sold, September saw that number drop to 554, a 31% decrease.
Average Days on Market Skyrocketed
Considering the slower housing trends which are known for this time of the year, this shouldn’t come as a shock. Less people buying, more days on the market. The number of days on market in September increased by 12% to 56 days, from 50 days seen in August.
Sales Price versus List Price Remains Unchanged
As the market starts to balance itself out after a record year, it looks as if the sales and listing prices are balancing out as well. The ratio of the two numbers in each month remained relatively unchanged. In September, we saw these numbers increase by 0.2% up to 97.9%
Pending Properties Nearly Vanish
With many properties still in escrow awaiting the final closing day in August, there was a drastic drop in pending properties in September. In the previous month of August, the number of pending properties reached 398. However, this was not nearly the case with September, as there was a 98% decrease in total pending properties, down to only 8.
Although these numbers may seem a bit grim, prospective buyers or sellers should take this information with a grain of salt. After such a hot housing market for the first three quarters of 2016, it was only a matter of time until the market checked itself. And good thing it did. Stable growth is better than wild growth, and we’re hoping to see more of the same as the year draws to a close and 2017 begins!