COLDWELL BANKER Real Estate Market Update April 2022

How’s the Huntington Beach Market?

The “Days of Supply” is the best indicator of market conditions, and presently the reading is just 28 days indicating Strong Seller’s Market Conditions.

The below graph illustrates market conditions over the last eight years. The market reaction to the elimination of the mortgage interest deduction can be seen in Q4 2018 and Q1 2019. The immediate “CV-19 Shock” can be seen in April-May 2020, followed by the Strongest Seller’s Market Conditions ever seen persisting during all of 2021.

Now is a remarkably good time (the best ever seen) to sell a home in Huntington Beach.

Orange County Housing Summary Source: Reports on Housing 4/18/22 For the first time since June 2020, the general inventory of homes has been generally increasing rather than decreasing. Although conditions still strongly favor sellers, the market has started to transition back toward more normal conditions most likely due to higher mortgage rates: The active listing inventory surged higher by 180 homes, up 12%, and now totals 1,732 homes, still its lowest level for this time of the year since tracking began 18 years ago. In the first couple of weeks of April, there were 23% fewer homes that came on the market compared to the 3-year average prior to COVID (2017 to 2019), 476 fewer.

Last year, there were 2,384 homes on the market, 652 additional homes, or 38% more.

Demand, (the number of pending sales over the prior month), decreased by 45 pending sales in the past two weeks, down 2%, and now totals 2,241, its first drop of the year. Last year, there were 3,070 pending sales, 37% more than today. The 3-year average prior to COVID (2017 to 2019) was 2,777, or 24% more.

With supply surging higher and demand dropping, the Days of Supply (the number of days to sell all Orange County listings at the current buying pace), increased from 20 to 23 days in the past couple of weeks. This shows a slight movement away from an insanely Hot Seller’s Market.

The Days of Supply is the best overall indicator of the strength of the market, and sellers still have the upper hand for the time being.

Mortgage Rates Hit Five Percent MCLEAN, Va., April 18, 2022 Freddie Mac today predicted that the single-family purchase market will remain solid in 2022 despite increases in mortgage rates. A new Quarterly Forecast released by the company’s Chief Economist estimates that rising rates will lead to moderation in homebuyer demand and house price appreciation. But overall, the housing market will remain a bright spot in the U.S. economy.