The Altos Report shows how strong our seller’s market is. Altos does independent research on real estate sales statewide and provides valuable insight. More sellers are expressing interest in capturing their capital gains without excessive worry about paying taxes. If this this is the time to move, get going! If you move elsewhere and decide you don’t like your neighborhood or house, just wait two years and you will be eligible for another $250,000 per person on title tax-free appreciation and find another residence. Altos Report
We have a seasonal market.
Every year our median prices fluctuate. Last year more expensive properties closed escrow in August. The median price is the price in the exact middle of all the sold prices. This is informative and better than an average price calculation. If there is one home that sold for over $20 million, the average price goes way up. The median price could have remained the same.
Would you like to see the full report? Full Report details
In this report, you can access the listings for each of the last 12 months. There is a field for the month below the graph in which you select the month and the sold listings for that month will appear. If you click on an address, you will see on the map to the right, a box with the first picture of the home and some details. If you click on “Detailed Listing”, then you will see all of the pictures and more information. Of course, these properties have sold and you can no longer visit them. But if you like a neighborhood and the price range fits your budget, I can show you others.
What are the active listings in Laguna Niguel today? Active Listings There are 43 listings. The most expensive is 13 Old Ranch Road. This iconic home is over 15,000 square feet with six bedrooms, 6 full bathrooms, 4 half bathrooms, and a panoramic, ocean view. Tim Smith of Coldwell Banker listed this home eight months ago but homes of this size, price, and unique decor are usually on the market for some time. It is beautiful. 13 Old Ranch
You have over 13 acres of land to enjoy. No neighbors on any side. If this fits your budget, please give me a call. 949 230-1834.
Inventory has steadily decreased over the last five years.( (InfoSparks February 2024 based on MLS data).
The decrease in inventory over the last five years has resulted in prices increasing and staying high. Interest rates matter and they will force some buyers out of the market; however, there is an underlying demand for housing as long as the population is steady or increasing, employment remains steady, and unemployment is low. Our country is unrelentingly optimistic and refuses to accept defeat. We can expect great things.
Prices? These are rising.
Over the last five years, prices have increased. (InfoSparks February 2024 based on MLS data).
Prices have increased overall in the last five years but there was a spike that took place after COVID-19. That rate, fortunately, did not continue. Prices typically take a step up in the first five months of the year, then level off and possibly sink a little at the end of the year when properties that have languished on the market have decided their price is above the condition it warrants. The market is still rational.
This chart shows the number of new listings (brown) in each of the last 12 months versus the closed sales for that month (gray). The months of December, January, and February flip and flop. January makes up for the sales lacking in December. What do you think after looking at the chart? Most listings sell! The market is absorbing the new listings. There is no trend downward. Listings are not sitting on the shelf. Prices should stay high and continue to increase.
If you are interested in this beautiful city, you should familiarize yourself with the properties on the market over a period of time. There is a lot of variation and good deals go quickly.
Being near the coast of Southern California is just about the finest place to be on earth. I may be biased but it is true!
Take a look at the active listings currently on the Multiple Listing Service. Active listings
The homes start at $990,000 and go up to $39,995,000. Something for everyone!
If you are curious about the most expensive listing, you can click on 13 Old Ranch Road, listed by Tim Smith of Coldwell Banker Realty. The customer facing listing page of the MLS allows you to click through all the pictures and gives you the information you need to decide you want to see this home in person. I will arrange an appointment to show you this home as well as all of the others. You do have to be qualified to buy it before the owners will allow the showing, but many people are qualified.
December was an excellent month for sales. Good new for sellers but distressing for buyers. Thirty-four homes were sold but only 17 came on the market in Laguna Niguel. This was the Christmas season and other holidays. Sellers and buyers were busy. Many of the sales were put in escrow in November, the average days in escrow were 30. But the result is there are fewer homes for buyers. Today there are only 43 homes on the market.
The median sales price was $1,507,500 in December.
The year ended just about exactly how it started. There was a spike during summer but it faded away and resumed the normal bumpy ride from month to month. This is actually encouraging because interest rates were rising and we could have had a downturn in prices.
If you would like to see the full report click here, Full Report You can choose between the number of properties and the median prices. Then you can scroll down and choose the month you are interested in. Below will appear all of the addresses and information. If you choose one of the addresses, click on the address and to the right a map will appear with a few details on the home and a picture.
If you click into the box where it shows “Detailed Listing”, you will see all of the pictures and the description and all of the details.
This report gives you a detailed analysis of every property and the market overall. It spans twelve months which puts any one month into perspective.
If you see a neighborhood you like, give me a call or send me a text. Cathleen Pryor 949 230-1834. We can chat about the area and how it could be perfect for your new home. Do you like close to the beach or prefer quick access to the freeways? The map is very helpful.
Over the last year, home values have skyrocketed. It was dizzying. Across the board, homeowners saw a 30% rise in the value of their homes. People are starting to feel this must be the top of the market.
The first two months of 2022 show a small but steady increase in inventory.
A new trend started in 2022.
Starting in June of 2022, sales outpaced new listings and our inventory of homes to sell kept dropping. It is still disastrously low but any improvement is a sign we could see a more balanced market before the end of the year. Rapidly escalating prices are a joy to homeowners but anxiety increases too. If people are contemplating retirement or moving closer to grandchildren, they feel pressured to take action or they will miss the top of the market. If they miss it, it may be another 5-7 years to see the top of the market again.
The overbidding of property is slowing.
Median sales prices moving toward listing prices
While median prices are increasing, the sale price is matching the listed price for the first time in months. Sellers and their agents are pushing up the initial price but they appear to be on track with the buyers. The appraisers are doing their best to accommodate everyone because there are multiple offers, sometimes as many as ten or more. The banks and the secondary market do not have any worry about repossessing a property. There will be a lineup of people to buy it. Of course, underwriting standards are so tough, people are over-qualified before they are approved for a mortgage.
These graphs do not highlight the fact that only 23 homes sold. We should see 50-60 homes sell every month. That underscores the inventory problem.
If you would like to see the full report, click here Full Report
When you see the first page, scroll down and click on any address. The address has additional information. You can see the listed price and the sold price, the percentage difference and the days the home was marketed prior to accepting an offer.
2 Brownsbury RD
$2,795,000.00
$3,065,000.00
9%
9d
After you click on an address, to the right a picture from the MLS will appear with a link at the bottom to give you access to the details and photos. The little box with the picture of the home is placed on a map to show you where it is.
This will appear for any listing you click on.
On the opening page, you can change the month to any month in the past twelve months to see the activity.
Let’s take a look at the properties actively on the market! In Laguna Niguel there are 37 listings for sale. The most expensive home is listed at $50 million. It is beautiful! I am attaching this link which will take you to all the active listings, if you choose, and you can define the right property using the options. Active Listings
There is a frenzy out there in the real estate market. Buyers are driving the prices higher than sellers. This is not a problem for the Federal Reserve but it is a problem for lenders. However, this is coming at a time of inflation, To combat inflation, the Federal Reserve will do its best to slow price increases. By increasing the interest rate The Fed charges banks for short-term loans, the mortgage market will respond by increasing rates too.
This lake is part of the Regional Park supported by County Tax dollars not an expense for the City of Laguna Niguel. The park is immense. Lots of room to picnic, fish, play, host events, & BBQ.
Governor Newsome was not recalled. The vote appeared to be cast along party lines with the Democratic Party winning the day. That will have a stabilizing effect on the real estate market.
Right after the election was decided, he signed into law several possibly controversial pieced of legislation. The assumption is he did not want to sway the election with changing some very basic real estate laws. For instance, the Counties and Cities in California decide how to organize the areas of residential and commercial properties. There were areas zoned for single family housing. The State has removed that obstacle to multi-family housing unilaterally. This could be unpopular. It was an attempt to create more housing on existing desirable land.
Would you like to read the legislation? Click here SENATE BILL 9
This is a problem.