The Dana Point real estate market

The Dana Point real estate market, a smaller portion of the larger Orange County housing market, showed signs of a possible ‘double-dip’ recession despite continually rising home prices. According to a June 11, 2010 interview in the Orange County Register, “In the short to near term, I expect a double dip. This is the logical aftermath of the sugar shot from the Federal first time buyer tax credit. It borrowed buyers from the future, and we are now going into that future. Also we are not too far from the end of the traditional SoCal buying season.” The piece, which questioned economist Christopher Cagan, continued to state that “But I don’t expect a catastrophic drop. To a great extend, prices and mortgage rates are now governed by the authorities – Fed, government, etc.”

The average price of communities such as Dana Point increased in the majority of Orange County communities. According to a June 12, 2010 article in the Orange County Register, “For the 22 business days ending May 25 – DataQuick’s freshest stats – Orange County homebuying patterns showed: 57 of O.C.’s 83 ZIP codes had gains in their respective median selling price. Overall, prices were +9.9% vs. a year ago. Taking sales volume in consideration, home pricing is up in ZIPs representing 73% of the Orange County market.” The piece went on to state that “6 of 83 O.C. ZIPs had median sales prices above $1 million in the period vs. 11 million-dollar ZIPs when the county median price peaked in June 2007…56 of 83 O.C. ZIPs had year-over-year sales gains in the period. Overall, countywide sales were +14.6% vs. a year ago.”

The median sales price fell relative to March but increased compared to last year, indicating a possible decline in the future. According to a May 24, 2010 article in the OC Metro, “Orange County’s median home price popped 13.7 percent in April, compared to the same time last year, according to a new report from the California Association of Realtors. The number rose to $491,120, up from $432,110 in the same month last year. However, the median fell 0.4 percent from March, when the number hit $493,120.”