Orange County Real Estate Market Update

June 10, 2025

The orange county housing market is different from price range to price range, and different for detached homes and attached condominiums and townhomes.

INVENTORY:

The active listing inventory in the past couple of weeks increased by 50 homes, up 1%, and now sits at 4,645, its highest level since July 2020.
Last year, there were 2,786 homes on the market, 1,859 fewer homes, or 40% less. The 3-year average before COVID (2017-2019) was 6,501, which is 40% higher. From January through May, 25% fewer homes came on the market compared to the 3-year average before COVID (2017-2019), 4,585 less. Yet, 1,908 more sellers came on the market this year than last, and 3,632 more compared to 2023.

DEMAND:

Buyer demand, the number of pending sales over the prior month, increased from 1,621 to 1,633. Last year, there were 1,640 pending sales, nearly the same as today. The 3-year average before COVID (2017-2019) was 2,766, which is 69% higher.

MARKET TIME:

With supply and demand rising at a similar pace, the Expected Market Time, the number of days to sell all Orange County listings at the current buying pace, remained unchanged at 85 days in the past couple of weeks. Last year, it was 51 days, substantially faster than today. The 3-year average before COVID (2017-2019) was 71 days, which is also significantly faster than today.

LUXURY:

In the past two weeks, the Expected Market Time for homes priced between $2.5 million and $4 million increased from 146 to 151 days. For homes priced between $4 million and $6 million, the Expected Market Time increased from 216 to 248 days. For homes priced above $6 million, the Expected Market Time decreased from 376 to 324 days.

DISTRESSED HOMES:

Short sales and foreclosures combined, comprised only 0.2% of all listings and 0.2% of demand. Only four foreclosures and four short sales are available today in Orange County, with a total of eight distressed homes on the active market, up four from two weeks ago. Last year, seven distressed homes were on the market, similar to today.

CLOSED SALES:

There were 1,863 closed residential resales in April, down 5% compared to April 2024's 1,968 and up 3% from March 2025. The sales-to-list price ratio was 99.1% for Orange County. Foreclosures accounted for 0.1% of all closed sales, and there were no short sales. That means that 99.9% of all sales were sellers with equity